By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
For some reason, LSU football fans and some media members feel like the Tigers should have a running back by committee. Sometimes they should, when a single back has not come to the forefront. And sometimes they shouldn’t have a committee.
Like now.
LSU has a lone wolf running back so far in 2026 in redshirt sophomore transfer Dilin Jones of Wisconsin. He is currently fourth in the Southeastern Conference in rushing and 25th nationally with 95 yards per game (64 attempts, 285 yards, 3 TDs) going into Saturday’s game between No. 10 LSU (2-1, 0-1 SEC) and No. 23 Texas A&M (2-1, 0-1 SEC) at Tiger Stadium (6:30 p.m., ABC).
This is a bit odd. LSU last had a lone wolf back in 2021 as Ty Davis-Price carried 211 times for 1,003 yards. The next most-used back that season was Corey Kiner with 79 rushes for 337 yards. In 2022 and ’23, quarterback Jayden Daniels did most of the running and won the Heisman Trophy in ’23 with 1,134 yards rushing and 3,812 passing.
Returning junior Caden Durham led LSU in rushing the last two seasons, but returning sophomore Harlem Berry nearly equally shared the carries in 2025. And Josh Williams had only 23 fewer carries than Durham in 2024.
Jones took over the position in spring drills after LSU coach Lane Kiffin found him at Wisconsin. The redshirt sophomore signed with the Tigers as the No. 944 prospect in the portal and No. 75 running back after missing half the ‘25 season with a foot and toe injury.
Most figured Jones to be the No. 3 running back at best at LSU behind Durham and Berry, who was the No. 1 prep running back in the nation in 2025 out of St. Martin’s in Metairie. And few thought anyone but those two would get the tiger’s share of the carries this season.
“I’m really competitive. I like competition,” Jones said before the season when asked why he came to LSU with two established backs. “I thought it would drive me to be the best player I could be. And I’d say the other guys in the running back room pushed me to be better.”
And inadvertently pushed themselves out of any rotation.
Through the first three games of 2026, Jones’ 64 rushes for 285 yards dwarfed LSU’s other backs. Stacy Gage, a redshirt sophomore transfer from Central Florida and the surprise No. 2 tailback, is next with only 15 carries for 56 yards through three games.
Berry, who gained 491 yards on 104 rushes last season, had just five carries for 13 yards in two games. And Durham, who gained 753 yards on 140 rushes in 2024 and 505 on 111 in 2025, had all of one net yard on four rushes in two games. Neither played in the 32-24 loss at Ole Miss as Jones rushed 23 times for 106 yards (4.6 yards a carry) and a touchdown. Gage carried just three times for three yards.
And there is no real reason to play anyone else, considering how powerful the significantly more physical Jones (5-foot-11, 211 pounds) is compared to LSU’s other backs. Jones has also shown a tendency to run stronger as the game goes on. He had 64 of his 106 yards against Ole Miss in the second half.
And that’s behind an offensive line that has not exactly been giving Jones a lot of room.
LSU offensive line grades are in, and they’re pretty offensive. @kacehk https://t.co/BeaIFH7d9n
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) September 21, 2026
But someone still asked Kiffin on Monday, “Would you like to get more people involved to keep Dilin healthy throughout the whole season?”
Kiffin didn’t say this isn’t Little League. There are no rules that everyone has to play. But he could have. And Jones is not hurt.
“Dilin’s doing really well,” Kiffin said. “Both of the last two games, he ran really well in the second half. Makes people miss, extends runs. So, yeah, we’d obviously like to play more (backs), if that’s the situation. But at the same time, too, you get in a game, and sometimes the situations dictate what they dictate.”
Translation? Jones is going to continue to run the ball most of the time. He’s the man. But he does give credit to others, particularly new strength coach Nick Savage, who followed Kiffin from Ole Miss.
“I’m just a big, physical back, but the strength staff got me faster,” Jones said. “The extra speed has helped my game a lot.”
New running backs coach Kevin Smith, another former Ole Miss assistant who came with Kiffin, also improved Jones. Smith should know. He gained 4,864 yards at Central Florida and played five years in the NFL with Detroit.
“Coach Smith has helped me with the decision making – when to make a cut and when to hit the hole,” Jones said.
And there is something else that keeps Jones on the field most of the time.
“It’s what you do without the ball in your hands, too,” Jones said. “Being able to block and run routes.”
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