On Monday, during his morning workout, Torre Smith was asked a question that’s been on the minds of college football fans across the state. How did Quinshon Judkins end up at Ole Miss instead of Alabama or Auburn?
The answer was a bit long for Smith, a school board member in Pike Road, Alabama, and mentor for Judkins, to share between squat racks and treadmills. Still, let’s get the misnomer out of the way early: Judkins wasn’t the little three-star recruit that could.
The second-leading rusher in college football’s toughest conference was identified as a “special” eighth grader by those that studied him. That included Smith — who met Judkins by coincidence five years ago at a youth league practice — and Smith’s friends, NFL veterans Ryan Clark and Marcus Washington. Smith sent them Judkins’ highlights. They watched him dissect middle school defenses much like he’s done through his freshman year at Ole Miss, totaling 14 touchdowns for Lane Kiffin’s offense.
Judkins is a star for the eight-win Rebels while the Crimson Tide and Tigers have had uneven offenses. His 1,036 rushing yards would lead Alabama and Auburn’s running back rooms by a wide margin. Though both squads don’t lack talent in the backfield, Judkins’ commitment to the ‘Sip’ over Notre Dame, Clemson and Auburn has proven to be a glaring miss on the recruiting trail for coaches and evaluators alike. (Bama never offered and 247Sports’ Composite ranked Judkins as the 46th-best player at his position.)
Auburn saw it when Judkins scored twice in a 14-point Ole Miss win on Oct. 15. The Tide will get its look this Saturday when it heads to Oxford, Miss., for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff.
“(Quinshon) was such a good teammate, so neat to be around in the process,” Kiffin said. “Very little ego. I just thought he’d be really special.”
NFL secondary coach Joe Whitt Jr. was one of the few to see Quinshon Judkins’ potential as early as five years ago.
Joe Whitt Jr., a 14-year NFL secondary coach and the son of an Auburn coaching legend, was one of Smith’s friends impressed by Judkins’ film. He made it a point to visit Judkins at a camp prior to his ninth-grade season. Judkins was shy at first, eventually revealing his split persona.
There is ‘Q,’ the kind-hearted son of Quincy and Teva, a small-business owner and longtime employee at a Montgomery law firm. The type of kid who spent a portion of last winter putting together stocking stuffers for a charity drive with Pike Road’s captains. Then there is ‘No. 4,’ the hard-nosed running back who doesn’t lack any confidence between the lines.
However, due in part to the pandemic, college coaches weren’t able to see either. Summer camps where teams get their best opportunity to scout high schoolers were canceled. Judkins also tweaked his hamstring prior to his senior year, sidelining him for nearly a month. It limited the chance for coaches, just recently allowed back on the recruiting trail, to get the crucial in-person look.
Auburn interim head coach Cadillac Williams, a prolific recruiter of running backs, was in constant contact with Judkins. The first unofficial visit Judkins ever took was to Jordan-Hare Stadium. But the Tigers’ offense and Bryan Harsin had question marks. Alabama’s Nick Saban and Charles Kelly, who landed Judkins’ teammate Khurtiss Perry in 2022, stopped by Pike Road multiple times. But it had two prospects at Judkins’ position in Geneva County five-star Emmanuel Henderson, a special teams contributor this year, and Texas four-star Jamarion Miller, who scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns.
“All of them showed me on the board, on the field, how successful they are with the new staff coming in,” Judkins said of Ole Miss during his commitment ceremony. ” … Lane Kiffin is known for offense and that was special for me.”
Pike Road’s Quinshon Judkins loses his helmet against Pleasant Grove during the AHSAA Super 7 Class 5A championship at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Ala., Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. (Dennis Victory | [email protected])
At one point in the 2022 cycle, an area high school coach labeled Judkins a “priority” for Auburn. Kelly told another they “really liked” Judkins. But it just wasn’t enough. One of Judkins’ suitors even requested he work out for them, extending a non-committable offer.
Judkins scoffed at the idea, especially when the same team made a push for him prior to signing day. Throughout, Kiffin would call Judkins and reassure him he was staying at Ole Miss while the coaching carousel twirled Kiffen’s name around other job openings.
“Quinshon liked the options he had on the table,” his former head coach Patrick Browning said. ” … ‘Why am I gonna go waste my time at camp when I can take that same time and figure out, of the options I have, where I’d really want to go to?’
“Just to be honest with you? Kiffin out-recruited those guys.”
Kiffin and then-Ole Miss staffer Kevin Smith had already built a bond and made Judkins a clear target, especially at the high school level. In a moment that’s since become a meme thanks to Kiffin himself, the head coach made the two-plus hour drive last December to see Judkins during Pike Road’s state championship victory. The only other college coach in attendance? Jacksonville State’s Rich Rodriguez.
Prior to this fall, Pike Road secondary coach Anthony ‘Amp’ Davis read the reports of Judkins’ stellar spring camp and, like Clark and Whitt Jr. before him, predicted a breakout. Davis said Judkins would contend for the Heisman Trophy.
“He was a kid that never pouted or complained about what offers he did and didn’t get. He was more of an ‘I’m gonna prove you wrong,’ kind of guy,” Smith said.
While he’s not listed by oddsmakers, SEC analyst Jordan Rogers said he should be in the “conversation” after a 205-yard showing on his 19th birthday on Oct. 30. Smith is among those in Pike Road eagerly anticipating his follow-up this Saturday against the Tide.
Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].
