Charles Stackhouse, former Ole Miss FB, calls out LSU RB coach’s claim of recruiting Rebels’ best running backs
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Despite a late comeback attempt by LSU, Ole Miss spoiled Lane Kiffin‘s return to Oxford with a 32-24 win in front of a raucous Vaught-Hemingway Stadium crowd.
The game wasn’t without trash talk on both sides, though. And some of that came from one of the Tigers’ coaches, specifically running back coach Kevin Smith. Smith served in the same role at Ole Miss under Kiffin in 2020 and 2021, and later from 2023 to 2025 before following him to Baton Rouge.
Smith, to his credit, recruited and/or coached some terrific running backs at Ole Miss (see Quinshon Judkins and Kewan Lacy). But former Rebels fullback Charles Stackhouse heavily pushed back on Smith’s claim about coaching the best ever to come through the program.
“Tell Coach Smith who #1 and #2 are. You didn’t recruit them. I know (because) I blocked for both of them,” Stackhouse wrote on X on Sunday morning. “The unmitigated gall of these guys.”
Again, that’s not to say that Smith deserves accolades for his work. And Wisconsin transfer Dillin Jones, for his part, ran for 106 yards and a touchdown in what’s been a strong start to his Tigers career. But, to be fair, Deuce McAllister and Joe Gunn’s numbers do speak for themselves.
Ultimately, Smith’s attempts to get under the skin of Rebels fans resulted in a long bus ride home for him, Kiffin, and the rest of the Tigers team after suffering a loss in one of the most anticipated games of the year.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
