In years past, the Kentucky backfield has been headlined by a sole workhorse running back.
Whether it was Benny Snell Jr., Chris Rodriguez Jr., or Ray Davis, the Wildcats very seldom made it a secret who they were handing the ball off to.
With Davis’ recent departure after being selected by the Buffalo Bills in the 2024 NFL Draft, questions began to arise regarding who that new workhorse back would be this year, or if there would be one at all.
For head coach Mark Stoops, the opening days of fall camp have not made the decision on who would be the Wildcats’ primary ball carrier any easier to make.
“We got to continue to look at it and do it by committee,” Stoops said following the team’s first live scrimmage. “I have confidence in that group, but I don’t think any of them are just popping off the chart at you right now.”
While it seems no Wildcat running back will boast a drastically larger number of carries, Ohio State transfer Chip Trayanum is expected to be the Cats’ feature back despite the role’s inevitable lack of prominence.
Another former transfer in Demie Sumo-Karngbaye will see most of the snaps in relief of Trayanum, with the former NC State back following former Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary to Lexington last offseason.
While the Wildcat running back room will inevitably be headlined by a pair of upperclassmen, several freshmen will also look to make an impact with Jason Patterson drawing his fair share of attention from the Kentucky coaching staff.
But with Big Blue Nation being accustomed to one back dominating the backfield, one could wonder if the choice to structure the running game as a committee came from a lack of quality or, instead, a surplus of it.
For junior quarterback Brock Vandagriff, it appears to be the latter.
“The running back room is really solid overall, just a bunch of good backs,” Vandagriff said. “I think that’s why maybe no one’s really stood out, because they’ve all had really good fall camps.”
With that said, despite how formidable the depth of Kentucky’s running back room is, there is no doubt that a program that has produced a 1,000-yard rusher in six of the past eight seasons will be taking a drastically different approach to its ground offense.
When looking at past instances where teams, both collegiate and professional, went with a committee run game, they thrived because they had multiple dynamic backs who excelled at different things.
Whether it was Nick Chubb and Sony Michel for Georgia or Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram II for the New Orleans Saints, it has been proven that running by committee does not always mean there is a lack of quality backs or that the run offense will struggle.
“Each of the backs bring a little something different to the table,” Vandagriff said. “Hopefully it’ll be a committee effort this season because we could use all of them.”
Whether Stoops and recently hired offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan decide to feature a sole back or multiple, the Wildcats new running back room will be put on display when they take on Southern Mississippi to open the season on August 31 at Kroger Field.
