Jordan Wilkins injured his knee at fall camp but is ‘OK’, per report

Ole Miss running back Jordan Wilkins was thought to have been dealt another bad break due to an undisclosed injury in practice, but according to the Ole Miss Spirit’s Chuck Rounsaville, he only suffered a minor knee sprain and should be back at practice “soon” and is “OK”.

As mentioned above, this would’ve been another tough break for a guy who had to sit out all of last year thanks to an eligibility SNAFU on the part of the athletics department’s academic advising armature. That certainly stung at the time, and rippled far into Ole Miss’ 2016 campaign, which saw the team rank 86th in the country in rushing success rate.

So Wilkins is certainly looking to improve on his 2015 performance this coming season. Two years ago, he racked up just 379 total yards for four rushing scores, after appearing in every game.

The most recent incarnations of the Rebel rushing attack have generally been a run-by-committee, but a healthy Wilkins would enter 2017 as a lock to earn the lions share of carries, at least in the early going. Backup Eric Swinney is an explosive talent but is coming off of his second season-ending injury in as many years. Sophomore D’Vaughn Pennamon is a former four-star who looks to develop into a study downhill ballcarrier, but he had just 20 rushing attempts as a frosh.

Here’s the gist of it: an Ole Miss offense trying to become more efficient on the ground under new coordinator Phil Longo doesn’t need to lose its top running back before the season even starts. If you ask me, Matt Luke needs to take Jordan Wilkins to the training room and cover him in bubble wrap until September 2nd.