Sometimes all it takes is one moment to seize the opportunity of a lifetime, and for Columbia High School rising senior Kentrel Bullock his moment lasted all of 4.38 seconds.
The 190-pound running back had already secured 12 scholarship offers prior to taking the field at Ole Miss Saturday for a camp, but after he blazed a 4.38 40-yard dash the Rebels coaching staff offered him his 13th. He said after the camp, he was asked to go to head coach Matt Luke’s office where he was extended the offer. Twenty-four hours later, Bullock announced his commitment on Twitter.
“Well it’s all said and done… mom we’re going to the University of Mississippi!!” he wrote.
Bullock said he knew he could at least run in the 4.4s and that he had been training with drills designed to increase explosion off the line but was shocked when he learned he ran sub-4.4.
“I knew I was running fast because I felt some stuff pull in my leg a little bit. But then I knew I had run a good 40 time because everybody just stopped. There was like this big noise then everybody, the whole camp, just stopped. Everybody was just looking at me like I did something wrong or something, but then I found out it was a 4.38,” he explained.
For comparison the fastest running back at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine was Oklahoma State’s Justice Hill, who ran the 40-yard dash in 4.40 seconds.
The Ole Miss coaching staff had called Bullock multiple times the week of the camp to get him to come, and he’s glad he did.
“They knew I could do what I did. The coaches were watching me the whole time, and after it was over coach Luke called me in his office,” he said.
Bullock said after he got back to Columbia he talked to Wildcats head coach Chip Bilderback and his family, and Ole Miss rose to the top of his list.
“They were showing love and wanted me there so I just took the chance and committed. It’s a Power 5, and I think it’s a good school,” he said. “And I think the environment fit me.”
Bullock chose the Rebels over offers from Memphis, Louisiana Tech, UAB and others and said Bilderback encouraged him to make a decision early so that it wouldn’t be too late in the recruiting process as each school’s incoming class begins to fill up.
On Monday Bullock thanked Bilderback and his mom, Lashunda Henderson, for helping him achieve his dream.
“Coach Bilderback is a cool coach, and when he coaches he coaches hard. We’ve had our ups and downs, but we fought through it. He helped me get through this for two years. My mom was the same way. She was right there with him, and they just helped me get through it all,” he said.
Bullock rushed for 1,251 yards (7.8 yards per carry) and 19 touchdowns in just 10 games as a junior in 2018. He only caught five passes in the Wildcats’ run-first offense, but one of them was perhaps the biggest play in recent Columbia football history as he hauled in a 32-yard game-winning touchdown to upset Jeff Davis County in October.
Bullock said he hopes his efforts in 2019 will lead the Wildcats to a state championship, which he said there is a “100 percent” chance of Columbia claiming the title. He added it’s going to be relaxing to know that he doesn’t have to think about recruitment anymore.
“I can just focus on getting this ring and getting the rest of the school work out of the way,” he said.
The attention garnered over the weekend has also caused Bullock to soar in recruiting rankings. Last week he was listed as the 54th best prospect in Mississippi by 247 Sports, but he has risen all the way up to No. 17 as a three-star prospect and the No. 50 running back in the country.
Pictured Above: Columbia High School rising senior Kentrel Bullock received his 13th scholarship offer Saturday from Ole Miss and promptly committed to attend the Oxford school Sunday. The running back ran a 4.38 40-yard dash at an Ole Miss camp and was offered by the Rebels immediately after. | Photo courtesy of Ole Miss
