LSU may not have one starting-caliber running back in 2026. It may have three. And Dilin Jones has put himself squarely at the center of that conversation.

LSU already had Caden Durham and Harlem Berry. Then Lane Kiffin added Dilin Jones.

The Wisconsin transfer may not have arrived in Baton Rouge with the national attention of some of LSU’s other offseason additions, but Jones has become increasingly difficult to overlook. He is a former four-star recruit who started seven games in the Big Ten last season, has the size to run between the tackles, and brings the versatility needed to play in Kiffin’s offense. Now he is making noise in fall camp—and the early returns only reinforce what the Tigers saw in the spring.

Jones entered August competing with Durham and Berry in one of the deepest and most intriguing running back rooms on LSU’s roster. Early camp observations have reinforced that he is not simply another body. He has a legitimate chance to become an important—and potentially leading—part of LSU’s offense in 2026.

A Proven Big Ten Starter

Jones comes to LSU after two seasons at Wisconsin. His career numbers are modest because he has played only 10 college games, but there is more to the story.

He has rushed 92 times for 388 yards and two touchdowns (4.2 yards per carry). He appeared in three games as a true freshman in 2024 and preserved his redshirt, carrying 16 times for 88 yards, including a breakout performance against Purdue (7 carries, 65 yards, 47-yard run).

The following season, Jones earned Wisconsin’s starting job. He started the Badgers’ first seven games in 2025 and rushed 76 times for 300 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught nine passes for 21 yards. He opened the season against Miami of Ohio with a career-high 14 carries for 73 yards, scored his first college touchdown against Middle Tennessee, produced 63 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries at Michigan, added 69 yards on 16 attempts against Iowa, and averaged five yards per carry at Alabama (25 yards on five attempts).

His season abruptly ended with a turf toe injury against Ohio State. Instead of returning to Wisconsin for 2026, he entered the transfer portal and landed at LSU.

A Big-Time Recruit Before Wisconsin

Jones did not suddenly become a talented running back in college. He was one of the most highly regarded backs in the 2024 recruiting class.

He played at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Maryland and was a consensus four-star prospect. The Rivals composite ranked him as the No. 12 running back nationally; ESPN rated him No. 6 at the position. Over his final two high school seasons he rushed for more than 2,100 yards and scored 32 touchdowns. He was twice named Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Player of the Year and earned second-team MaxPreps Junior All-America recognition in 2022.

His athletic background extended beyond football—he also competed in track and wrestling. Track developed speed; wrestling demanded balance, leverage, and physicality.

Jones even had a memorable performance in Baton Rouge years before becoming a Tiger. On September 2, 2022, Good Counsel played Catholic High in Baton Rouge. Jones rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns as Good Counsel escaped with a 38-35 victory. Four years later, Baton Rouge is home.

What Jones Brings to LSU

LSU’s current roster lists Jones at 5-foot-11 and 211 pounds. That makes him a substantial back, but his game is not based solely on running through defenders.

Jones has described himself as a running back who can run, catch, and handle pass protection—the last skill especially valuable in Kiffin’s offense. A back who cannot protect the quarterback becomes a liability on passing downs; one who can run, catch, and block gives the offense far more flexibility.

Jones showed LSU’s coaches enough during the spring to earn significant attention and first-team work. Kiffin praised his vision, footwork, and ability in pass protection, noting that he had performed better than might have been expected from a transfer who did not arrive with enormous publicity. Jones was not trying to prove he belonged on an FBS field—he had already started seven games in the Big Ten. He was trying to prove he could become a weapon in LSU’s offense.

The Competition Is Serious

Jones could not have picked a much tougher running back room. Caden Durham has already demonstrated he can produce against SEC defenses. Harlem Berry possesses exceptional speed and big-play ability. Then there is Jones.

All three bring something different, and that may be exactly what Kiffin wants. LSU does not necessarily need one running back to dominate the carries. Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. have enough talent to attack defenses with different backs in different situations.

Durham brings proven SEC production. Berry brings explosive speed. Jones gives LSU a 211-pound back with starting experience who can contribute in the running game, passing game, and pass protection. The competition is real, but so is the possibility that all three play significant roles.

Jones Is Making Noise in Fall Camp

The most encouraging development is that Jones’s spring performance has carried—and accelerated—into August.

He was singled out as an early standout when LSU opened fall camp. During media viewing windows, he looked polished in individual drills emphasizing pad level, body position, and stiff-arm technique and required little correction from running backs coach Kevin Smith. More importantly, the coaching staff’s feedback has only grown stronger. After the early practices of camp, Kiffin said Jones “has been great,” “really has had a great week too,” and has “kind of taken off from where he did in the spring.” He noted that Berry and Durham still have work to do to improve.

Multiple reports from the first week of camp describe Jones dominating drills, leading rotations, and emerging as the likely top option or “RB1” while the three-man competition continues. Media access remains limited and no official starter has been named, but Jones has remained firmly—and prominently—in the conversation. LSU’s backfield continues to feature a deep group of Durham, Berry, and Jones, with each capable of giving the offense something different.

For LSU, that is good news. This looks less like a running back room searching for an answer and more like one with several of them.

Why Pass Protection Matters

Jones may have one skill that becomes especially important when LSU begins playing meaningful football: pass protection.

Running backs often earn attention for rushing yards and touchdowns, but coaches have to trust them when the quarterback drops back. If Jones can consistently identify pressure, step up against linebackers, and keep the quarterback clean, he becomes much more difficult to take off the field. That creates possibilities for Kiffin and Weis. Jones can take a handoff between the tackles, release into the passing game, or remain in the backfield and protect. Because the defense cannot immediately determine LSU’s intention based on which running back enters the game, the Tigers can play faster and disguise what they are doing.

That is where versatility becomes more than a scouting buzzword. It becomes an offensive weapon.

There Is Still More to Unlock

Perhaps the most exciting part of Jones’s story is how little college football he has actually played. He has only 92 career rushing attempts.

LSU is getting a former four-star recruit who has already won a starting job in the Big Ten, yet he has carried the football fewer than 100 times in college. His 2025 season was cut short just as he was getting his first extended opportunity. Now he gets another chance.

Jones is a redshirt sophomore. He is back on the field competing in LSU’s fall camp and practicing inside an offense with a history of producing huge rushing numbers. Kiffin and Weis have demonstrated they know how to build productive running games. At Ole Miss in 2022, their offense rushed for a school-record 3,336 yards and averaged 256.6 rushing yards per game. Jones now gets to compete for touches in that system.

LSU May Have Found Something

There is no reason to declare Dilin Jones LSU’s starting running back in August. He has not been officially named the starter. There is also no reason to treat him as merely depth behind Durham and Berry. Jones has too much talent, too much starting experience, and too much versatility for that—and his fall camp trajectory has only reinforced the point.

He was a consensus four-star recruit rated among the nation’s best high school running backs. He won a starting job at Wisconsin and rushed for 388 yards on his first 92 college carries. He showed LSU’s coaches enough during the spring to earn praise from Kiffin, and he has carried that momentum into fall camp, drawing further strong comments from the head coach while continuing to separate himself in drills and rotations.

LSU entered 2026 knowing what it had in Caden Durham and knowing how high the ceiling could be for Harlem Berry. Dilin Jones was the new variable. Every week that passes, he looks less like insurance and more like another—and potentially the primary—weapon.