Portal Profile: Wisconsin RB Dilin Jones

By Hunt Palmer

No team in the SEC has run the ball worse than LSU for two seasons.

The Tigers have finished 16th in a 16-team league in back-to-back season in terms of rushing yards per game. That’s unconscionable. And it stops in 2026.

When Frank Wilson wasn’t retained and took a job at Ole Miss, questions swirled around the running back position. Ju’Juan Johnson and Kaleb Jackson bolted, and the futures of Caden Durham and Harlem Berry remained in question.

What wasn’t in doubt was LSU’s need for backs. They got them.

WHAT WE KNOW

Dilin Jones started seven games for Wisconsin in 2025 before a turf toe injury shut him down.

He’s 6 feet tall and about 210 lbs. Coming out of high school in Maryland, he was a consensus four-star recruit. Wisconsin nabbed him and threw a redshirt on him in 2024. He did bust a 47-yard run against Purdue that year but only played in three games.

In 2025, he emerged as the starter. He rushed 76 times for 300 yards on the number and a pair of scores. Three of those seven games came against Alabama, Michigan and Iowa.

LSU’s newest RB Dilin Jones pic.twitter.com/CPkiB9HWsx

— AYS Sports (@AYSSPORTS) January 13, 2026

He ran for 63 yards and a score on Michigan and 69 yards on 16 carries against Iowa.

Jones, like many in this portal class, has multiple years of eligibility remaining. He’s entering his sophomore season just like Berry.

THE FIT

With Durham and Berry returning, LSU has a pair of backs most would be comfortable with handling the workload. Durham has been excellent at times through two injury-riddled seasons. Berry showed flashes as a true freshman, specifically against Ole Miss and Texas A&M.

They were the tailbacks on an awful running team, but that’s hard to pin on them.

LSU had to add some depth, and that came with Rod Gainey and Raycine Guillory, but neither of those two has really proven himself at the college level. And neither would be considered a power runner. Jones is short, but he’s powerful. He also runs very hard.

LSU’s running back room felt a little bit light until Jones committed. He rounds it out. Now LSU has five scholarship backs again, and three of them have real power four starting reps under their belt.

HUNT’S PROJECTION

I think Jones fits perfectly here. To me, Berry is the starter with Durham nearly equaling his reps. If Jones were called into duty, I think he would excel. The highlight clips of his limited work last year are encouraging.

He cuts hard and lowers his pads well. I see a role for him in front of Guillory and Gainey.

Barring injury, which is nearly inevitable at running back, I see Jones as the third back who runs five or six times per game with more action in the pair of rent-a-wins. Ju’Juan Johnson had 41 carries for the team that ran the ball less often than any team in the league. So, I’ll pencil Jones in for 50 carries.

It’s important to reiterate that Jones has three years of eligibility remaining. I think he’s got a chance to make a real impact in Lane Kiffin’s rushing attack which has ranked in the top six of the SEC every season since he took the Ole Miss job in 2020.