OXFORD, miss. – As we prepare for the first week at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium to kick off the 2024 Ole Miss football season, The Rebel Gang Each day, the team will highlight one player for our Ole Miss 22 rankings, explaining who they are, how they got here and what we expect from each one.
Today we look at player No. 7 on the list, Running back: Ulysses Bentley IV.
After being part of Ole Miss’ backfield for the past two seasons, a door has opened for Bentley IV. A crowd favorite and counterpart to former running back Quinshon Judkins, Bentley IV now appears to be the leader of Ole Miss’ running back room – a group to which head coach Lane Kiffin has added many interesting players this offseason.
How did Ulysses Bentley IV come to Ole Miss?
Bentley, a three-star recruit, played his high school career at CE King, just outside of downtown Houston. During the 2018 season, Bentley ran 50 times and posted 518 rushing yards while leading his Texas team to the high school playoffs. After receiving offers from schools such as Syracuse and Houston, Bentley decided to attend SMU as a member of the class of 2019.
After appearing in just four games in his freshman season at SMU, Bentley was an undrafted player for the Mustangs. He rushed seven times for 36 yards. In his sophomore year, Bentley made a big impression after becoming a starter for SMU in 2020. He earned several honors, including All-AAC First Team and Co-Rookie of the Year for the conference. Bentley followed up another year as a starter in 2021, where he earned All-AAC Second Team honors.
Following the 2021 season, Bentley entered the transfer portal after his three seasons at SMU. SMU coach Sonny Dykes left the team to take the job at TCU. Shortly thereafter, Bentley was committed to Ole Miss, where he was part of the Rebels for the past two seasons.
Career prospects
In his time at SMU and Ole Miss, Bentley has amassed over 2,100 yards on the ground and 23 total rushing touchdowns. Last year, Bentley was rated as the Rebels’ top-graded rusher at 89.5, according to PFF.
Back to his time at SMU, in 2020, Bentley ran for 913 yards on 170 carries and 5.4 yards per carry. He also scored 11 total touchdowns. That year, he led the AAC in both rushing yards and attempts. This was also a COVID-shortened season and SMU played in 10 total games. In 2021, Bentley shared the runs in the backfield with Tre Siggers, who transferred to SMU from North Texas. In 11 games, both Siggers and Bentley combined for 1300 yards. In 2021, Garrett Riley took over offensive coordinator duties completely, opting for a more pass-heavy approach with a new QB.
AT OLE MISS: When Bentley arrived at Ole Miss in 2022, he was ranked behind Zach Evans and Quinshon Judkins. In addition to a strong running back group, Bentley also struggled with a wrist injury that kept him out of action for part of the season. In his freshman year at Oxford, Bentley appeared in six games and totaled 73 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. His most notable performance came against Georgia Tech, where he ran eight times and reached the end zone twice in a 42-0 route.
Last season, Bentley was in a better position as a relief player at Ole Miss. Bentley’s yardage increased to 5.7 yards per carry and totaled 540 yards. As the primary returner, he was also a key player for the Rebels’ special teams unit.
On the way to 2024
For the first time since 2020, Bentley is ready to be the primary running back. That could change at any time during the season; however, Bentley has the production and experience to carry the load as RB1 for a quality team. Bentley was ranked 10th for returning rushing grades in the P5. This is for every P5 team last year and does not include transfers to a P5 program this year. With a supportive group of Domonique Thomas, Henry Parrish Jr., Rashad Amos and Logan Diggs There are many options and packages that the Rebels could bring to market next season.
Barring injuries, this could in all likelihood be the first time since 2020 that Bentley gets over the 100-carry mark. At 6’1″ and 200 pounds, he offers a different skill set than his counterparts in the Ole Miss backfield last year. As a runner, Bentley can accelerate quickly with the ball in his hands. He has excellent vision and can find the right lanes to get into the second and third levels of defense. If Ole Miss can keep him clean on the first handoff, Bentley can get down the field quickly at home run speed to break up many chunk plays.
One area to keep an eye on with Bentley is how he handles as a pass catcher and pass protector. It wouldn’t be common for teams to lag in zones like they did for Ole Miss in the early 2020s. If Bentley can successfully execute some of those swings and short routes to the flat, he can help gain more yards when teams lag behind. Over the course of his career, he has recorded 53 total receptions, including 11 last year. Given his size and the depth of this group, it’s likely we’ll see Bentley as an early-down back.
Camp Notes
When I come to camp this year, Rebel Walk Insider Kam Wicker noted that Bentley appeared to be being treated cautiously at the start of training camp. On August 12, it also appeared to us that Bentley was fully participating in practice, where he “seemed to be at full speed now,” according to Kam.
Bentley was recently named a nominee for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, which is given to the best college football player with a Texas connection. He was already named a nominee for the Doak Walker Award, which goes to the best running back in college football. And he was recently named a nominee for the Senior Bowl.
TJ Oxley
TJ Oxley is the Vice President of Operations and Director of Community Relations at The Rebel Walk. He is also the Director of Basketball Content and Senior Basketball Writer. He has over five years of experience producing in-depth analysis of college basketball across multiple platforms. An Ole Miss MBA alum, TJ started at The Rebel Walk in 2019.
