With one week and one win in the books for Kentucky football, the focus has shifted to SEC play as the Wildcats head into a clash with the South Carolina Gamecocks.
With another week of football on the way, that can only mean one thing: another depth chart deep dive.
Starting with the offense:
Quarterback:
Starter- Brock Vandagriff
Backup- Gavin Wimsatt
Following an impressive week one performance, Vandagrifff will likely be back under center for the Wildcats in week two.
Week one performance:
Vandagriff- 12/18, 169 yards, 35 rushing yards, three touchdowns, one interception
Running back:
Starter- Demie Sumo-Karngbaye
Backup- Jason Patterson
While DeaMonte “Chip” Trayanum remains injured, Sumo-Karngbaye and Patterson both saw action in week one and contributed to the Cats’ 150 total yards on the ground. Expect a similar two-back approach in week two.
Week one performance:
Sumo-Karngbaye- 59 yards, one touchdown
Patterson- 28 yards
Wide receivers:
Starters- Barion Brown, Dane Key, Ja’Mori Maclin
Backups- Fred Farrier II, Anthony Brown-Stephens
Once again, no changes to speak of when it comes to the wide receiver room that accumulated 169 yards in the week one victory.
Week one performance:
Brown- four catches, 28 yards, 14 rush yards, two touchdowns
Key- three catches, 60 yards
Maclin- two catches, 66 yards
Farrier II- one catch, 12 yards
Tight ends:
Starters- Josh Kattus and Jordan Dingle
Backups- Willie Rodriguez and Khamari Anderson
The tight end room remains the same moving into the second week of action with Dingle the only tight end with a catch in week one.
Week one performance:
Dingle- two catches, three yards, one touchdown
Offensive line:
Starters- Marques Cox (LT), Jager Burton (LG), Eli Cox (C), Jalen Farmer (RG), Gerald Mincey (RT)
Backups- Malachi Wood (LT), Aba Selm (LG), Koby Keenum (C), Dylan Ray (RG), Anfernee Crease (RT)
The “Big Blue Wall” is another group that remains unchanged in week two. The O-line did its job in week one as Vandagriff was not sacked or hurried once.
***
Moving over to defense:
Defensive end:
Starter: Tre’vonn Rybka
Backup: Octavious Oxendine
After a shutout in week one, the defensive ends are yet another group that remains unchanged moving into the second week of play.
Week one performance:
Rybka- one sack, two total tackles
Nose guard:
Starter: Keeshawn Silver
Backup: Kendrick Gilbert
Coming into week one, the nose guard position was one to watch due to injury but in week one both Silver and Gilbert saw playing time and earned their first stats of the year.
Week one performance:
Silver- one tackle, one assist
Gilbert- one assist
Defensive tackle:
Starter: Deone Walker
Backup: Kahlil Saunders
It was a quiet week one for the standout Walker, who did not get a tackle or an assist, but Sanders was instead able to find his way onto the stat sheet.
Week one performance:
Saunders- two assists
Strongside linebacker:
Starter: Alex Afari Jr. OR Tyreese Fearbry
Afari Jr. made his mark in week one by being a part of a linebacker group that shined in the shutout victory.
Week one performance:
Afari Jr.- two tackles
Outside linebacker:
Starter: J.J. Weaver
Backup: Noah Matthews
With no changes coming into week two, Weaver will remain the starter after contributing to the week one shutout.
Week one performance:
Weaver- one tackle, two assists
Middle linebacker:
Jamon “Pop” Dumas-Johnson OR Daveren Rayner
The duo of Dumas-Johnson and Rayner come into week two with the same “or” designation they entered week one with. Both men saw action and contributed in week one.
Week one performance:
Dumas-Johnson- two solo tackles, one interception
Rayner- one tackle, one assist
Weakside linebacker:
Starter: D’Eryk Jackson
Backup: Alex Afari Jr.
Rounding out the linebackers and remaining the same is Jackson as the starter. Jackson had a solid week one performance.
Week one performance:
Jackson- two tackles, one assist
Field cornerback:
Starter: JQ Hardaway OR Jantzen Dunn
Moving over to the corners, both men saw action in the Wildcats’ debut and that is expected to continue.
Week one performance:
Hardaway- one tackle, one assist, one interception
Dunn- two assists
Boundary cornerback:
Starter: Maxwell Hairston
Backups: DJ Waller Jr. or Nasir Addison
The standout corner in Hairston did not find his way onto the stat sheet in week one, but is expected to be right back in his same position for week two.
Strong safety:
Starter: Zion Childress
Backup: Kristian Story
Childress had the best week one performance on paper as he led the team in tackles and is expected to start again this weekend for the Wildcats.
Week one performance:
Childress- four tackles
Free safety:
Starter: Jordan Lovett or Ty Bryant
Entering week two with the same “or” designation as week one, the duo of Lovett and Bryant are both expected to see playing time, much like week one.
Week one performance:
Lovett- one tackle, one assist
Bryant- one tackle
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Rounding out the depth chart is the specialist group:
Kicker:
Starter: Alex Raynor
Backup: Jacob Kauwe
Building upon his breakout season last year, Raynor was perfect in his 2024 season debut.
Week one performance:
Raynor- 4-4 point-after-attempts, 1-1 field goals (41 yards)
Kickoff:
Starter: Aidan Laros
Backup: Jacob Kauwe
Laros made his season debut in week one and did not have any mistakes when it came to kick off, so he is expected to be back on kickoff duties in week two.
Punter:
Wilson Berry OR Aidan Laros
While it was a good day for the offense, it was not perfect as it was forced to punt one time. Head coach Mark Stoops was true to his word when saying it would be Berry who came onto the field.
Week one performance:
Berry- one punt, 37 yards
Long and short snapper:
Starter: Alex McLaughlin
Backup: Walker Himebauch
No changes to show at long and short snapper.
Holder:
Starter: Wilson Berry OR Aidan Laros OR Beau Allen
The holder position remains unchanged heading into week two.
Kickoff return:
Starter: Barion Brown
Backup: Demie Sumo-Karngbaye
While he didn’t get the chance to return any kicks in week one, Brown remains as the return man in week two.
Punt return:
Starter: Ja’Mori Maclin OR Barion Brown
Backup: Dane Key
When it came to punts in week one, Maclin could be seen awaiting the punts, but Brown remains an option for punt returning for week two.
***
With the depth chart now official, Kentucky football will kickoff SEC play at home on Saturday, Sept. 7, against the South Carolina Gamecocks. The game is set to kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET and will air live on the SEC Network.
