The Ole Miss Rebels added running back Logan Diggs of the LSU Tigers this offseason by way of the transfer portal, but it may be a while before he can see the field of play.
Diggs underwent offseason knee surgery, head coach Lane Kiffin confirmed on Tuesday, and his timetable for on-field participation is still unclear.
"Our hope is that he helps at some point during the season," Kiffin said. "How fast? I don't know, so that could be a blessing too. ... When somebody comes back from an injury, and it's later in the season, they've got fresh legs. Sometimes, it can be a really good thing."
With Diggs on the shelf for an uncertain amount of time, that leaves the Rebels in an interesting spot at the running back position after the departure of bell cow Quinshon Judkins this offseason.
Ulysses Bentley IV, already an established part of the Ole Miss offense, is expected to be "RB1" this fall, but behind him, there are a lot of unproven commodities in the backfield, namely sophomore Kedrick Reescano.
Kiffin was asked point-blank on Tuesday if he believes his team could target the running back position again in the transfer portal, and he was pretty clear with his answer.
"I do; You're going to have another free agency window coming up," Kiffin said. "If you guys look out there and look at our running back position, just like you would in the NFL, you're going to attack free agency at that spot. It is what it is."
Of course, in Kiffin lexicon, "free agency" is a reference to the next portal window, one that will open on April 15.
"There's good and bad to everything," Kiffin said. "The good thing about this really poor system is that you can go fix issues twice a year, but also you may have your own issues, because your own players may be leaving, too, at some other spots that seem to be good right now."
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