Ole Miss RB Eric Swinney will have surgery, might redshirt

It looks like incoming freshman running back Eric Swinney might be waiting an extra year to make his Ole Miss debut. He's been diagnosed with a stress fracture on his leg and he'll need surgery to get it fixed. Per Chuck Rounsaville of the Ole Miss Spirit, Swinney will probably take a medical redshirt.

It's not necessarily a major blow to Hugh Freeze's offense, as there's solid depth in the backfield. Jaylen Walton and Jordan Wilkins are firmly planted at the top of the depth chart, and at best Swinney would have began the season sharing rotational carries with Akeem Judd. And yea, the Rebs' garbage run game needs all the help it can get, but last season's struggles were more about the O-line than the guys toting the ball.

Still, Swinney is a talented back who had the potential to run his way into some legit playing time this season. A four-star who came to Oxford as the 13th best running back in the 2015 class, he has the promise to take over for Walten as the feature back in 2016.

But hey, he's still found a way to contribute to the team this week.

Just spoke w new Ole Miss commit Chandler Truitt. He said his former teammate/4* RB Eric Swinney called him "everyday" to get him to commit.

— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) July 17, 2015