Kiffin's "Next Kewan Lacy" š¤«
The Fireman approaches!
Fresh on campus, it's the Birdman Junior. Money too long, teachers, put away your rulers.
- Lil Wayne, musician
FRESH ON CAMPUS in Baton Rouge is Wisconsin transfer, Dilin āGO DJā Jones, formerly a four star-rated RB from Olney, Maryland.
First of all, I have to say that itās very Wisconsin-esque to sign one of their only four-star prospects at the RB position. Not a lot of top-150 players make their way over to Madison. They mostly recruit three-stars, save for two positions: OL and RB.
Indeed, if you navigate over to Wisconsinās 247 archive and subsequently scroll south to the bottom of the page, youāll notice that most of their highest-rated historical prospects are either offensive linemen who signed recently, or players who signed in like, 2005.
In fact, with a composite score of 0.9364, Jones likely ranks within Wisconsinās top 30 all-time recruits signed on 247 Sports.
Jones became a name to know around this time last offseason when he was working his way up the depth chart with the Badgers. Most of the CFF community had assumed that fellow sophomore Darion Dupree would take the reins as the Wisconsin RB1, when it became apparent that Jones might have usurped him.
A similar storyline is unfolding on LSUās campus. Incumbent starter Caden Durham returns, and former five star in-state signee Harlem Berry also chose to return and play under the new regime Kiffin brought from Ole Miss. Naturally, most of us gravitated towards both of those names when assessing the LSU backfield this offseason.
Lost in the shuffle was the name Dilin Jones, who, beyond just being one of many LSU transfers, was a bust in the CFF context last season. Understandably, most of us had soured on him a bit.
But the term āpost-hype sleeperā exists for a reason. Think of a guy like Cam Cook, for example. Yeah, he sucked ass at TCU in 2024. Then he led the FBS in rushing and crushed as a CFF asset in 2025 with JSU. Shit happens, you feel me?
And literally, all Iām seeing on my timeline these days are positive reviews coming out of LSU camp on Dilin Jones. Itās starting to feel like Groundhog Day.
And hereās an interview with the player himself for good measure:
Ok, ok, thatās a lot of hype for sure. But, respectfully, beat writers are oftentimes wrong with their perspectives of what is happening in camp. So letās see what the head coach himself is sayingā¦ here is Lane Kiffin re: Jonesā ascension:
"He looks really good. He has come in and been good in protection, with his vision, with his feet, and running the ball, and has really been a bright spot. For a guy that wasn't a headliner, he's played like it. And that's really critical, because that spot is extremely critical to have somebody or a number of people that again, just like the quarterback spot, makes the plays."
And now Jones himself:
āI think, really, I feel like I can do it all,ā Jones said when asked about his skill set. āSo, a do-it-all back. Itās a tempo offense, so having to do a lot of substitutions will slow it down. And I feel like I can stay in all four downs. I can pick up blocks. I can run the ball. I can catch out of the backfield. My speed is also there, too.ā
I never really thought of it that way, but itās true: teams that want to run up-tempo canāt really afford to substitute often, including at RB, and thus a volume-pig RB emerges more or less by necessity.
Though, to be fair, there have been non-pig seasons under Kiffin, despite his preference for an up-tempo offence. Evidently, we can only work with the ingredients we have, right?
But maybe Jones indeed fits the bellcow prototype Kiffin is looking for. Part of the problem with him is that heās only appeared in 10 games in two years, so we donāt have a lot of data on him.
Well, what did he do last year? Thatās a good question. I actually thought he showed some good things when he was healthy. Obviously it was not what any of us had hoped for, including him (probably). Wisconsinās offence in general was poor. The offensive line was uncharacteristically poor. It was sort of like watching another team that had Wisconsin-coloured jerseys on.
And the only games that he seemed to be healthy for were Wisconsinās toughest opponents: Michigan, Iowa, Ohio State, and Alabama. This dude was running into some heavy traffic. No wonder he didnāt make it out in one piece!
Though it should be said that two of his highest rushing totals came against Michigan and Iowa:
Again, I canāt hold the YPC averages against him because the offence was pretty much a one trick pony consisting of running the backs into stacked boxes. Nothing was really working for the Badgers last fall and the RB production suffered accordingly.
One thing that doesnāt seem to be addressed by anyone thus far, though, is the fact that Kiffinās last porcine bellcow, Kewan Lacy, caught several passes per game at Ole Miss, whereas Jones didnāt seem to have the same profile during his time at Wisconsin. It doesnāt mean he canāt be used that way at LSU of course, but we also donāt have any evidence currently that he can be used that way either.
Also, since weāve been speaking about head coach Lane Kiffin and his up-tempo offence, itās fair to ask: just how good has his system been for the RB position anyway?
COACHING & SYSTEM
RB1 PPG AVERAGE ā HC: 17.9 ā OC: 17.4
The short answer isāitās pretty good, though maybe not as good as some might have expected. Below is a summary of every RB1 statistical output dating back to 2009 from every team Kiffin either OCād or HCād.
Lane Kiffin RB1 ā Full HC + OC Career Fantasy Production
Scoring: 0.1/yd rush, 6/rush TD, 1/rec, 0.1/rec yd, 6/rec TD
The Ole Miss years were up and down. Early on in Kiffinās tenure, they ran a platoon with Jerrion Ealy as the RB1A. Later, when QJ arrived, they began unloading massive amounts of volume into that one player. They attempted to do the same with Henry Parrish Jr., but his body could not withstand the workload, and he broke down by October.
And then of course, Kewan Lacy in 2025, who obliterated Kiffinās previous carry leader at Ole Miss with 306 (in 15 games).
The four year period of 2015-2018 spanning between Alabama and FAU were probably Kiffinās high point in the context of this article. I donāt know how much credit I can give to Kiffin for Derrick Henryās Heisman season, given that DH has been a workhorse everywhere heās gone. Devin Singletary at FAU was pretty legit, though.
Also, what are the odds that two separate Ole Miss runners would finish with the exact same yardage (1567) in the span of four years (QJ in 2022, KL in 2025)? Thatās kind of crazy.
The OC, Charlie Weis, has been with Kiffin every year since 2018 save for a two-year period during the pandemic (2020-21), so his track record is basically identical.
In terms of pace of play calling, Kiffinās offence is often described as āup-tempoā, but just how fast is it? Last year, his Rebels ranked 14th and 13th in seconds per play (23.5) and plays per game (73.4), respectively. Kiffinās three-year average of 21.9 seconds per play would rank him squarely in the top ten of teams each season. So it is a fast offence.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
The spring hype in favour of Jones is great. But we as experienced CFFers have seen this story many times before, too. Many a spring ball hero has faded into obscurity once the lights come on. In fact, Jones himself is one such example from last season.
As mentioned, it was a tough situation at Wisconsin last season. I donāt think this was a case of Jones simply being a spring-ball hero (read: better practice player). What Iām more interested in is seeing how the rotation shakes out with a returning starter and a five star rated sophomore also in the mix, among others. If Jones does indeed win the starting job, Iām happy to go back āinā on him as a CFF asset despite the disappointment last year.
As these camp updates proliferate through the CFF community, Iād imagine that we will start to see Jones get selected in current bestball drafts. I doubt he has a lot of ADP data so far this offseason (none on Campus2Canton), so heāll be a riser over late spring/early summer.
I donāt think itās wise to go all in on a player like this with the current info we have. Drafting him is one thing, taking him early in drafts (like I know a few of you sickos will probably do) is another matter entirely. No need to get too aggressive here, fellas.
Let the camp updates continue to roll out and in the meantime take a few fliers on Dilin Jones where appropriate (heās got no ADP, so letās assume late in drafts?). And thereās nothing to say you canāt swing back and grab Durham and Berry later on, or at some other point in the draft too. Thatās always a good move in a situation like this. ā¾
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