Despite the absence of star transfer DeaMonte “Chip” Trayanum, Kentucky football’s running game still appeared strong in a 31-0 win over Southern Miss on Saturday.
The Wildcats, as a unit, rushed for 148 yards on 24 attempts, logging a touchdown and an average of 6.2 yards per carry.
Fans went into the game expecting to see a running-back-by-committee, a new thing for the Wildcat faithful that have grown accustomed to three consecutive 1,000-yard rushers and bonafide NFL draftees in Benny Snell Jr., Chris Rodriguez Jr., and Ray Davis.
This was even further solidified when news broke ahead of the season that UK’s biggest name in the running back room, Trayanum, had broken his hand in fall camp, taking the former Ohio State running back out of action for the first portion of the season.
With no single star to take the bulk of the carries and Trayanum out, eyes turned to the rest of the room and, more specifically, the duo of former NC State transfer Demie Sumo-Karngbaye and freshman Jason Patterson.
Ultimately, it was Sumo-Karngbaye who shined the brightest with 59 rushing yards in eight attempts, an average of 7.4 yards per carry. The New Jersey native also logged a rushing touchdown, the only score from the ground of the night.
“We felt very confident with Demie and Jason I thought showed his physicality and vision and can go,” Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said. “I think he is going to give us something this year. He needs to continue to push and grow and be reliable so we can trust him. And they have some talent.”
Patterson, to his credit, still had a strong showing for being a true freshman. Hailing out of Sneads High School in Florida, Patterson finished with 28 rushing yards on just four attempts, an average of seven yards per carry.
“I think the opportunity he had in the spring to get a lot of reps, he made the most of it,” Stoops said. “He is one of those guys that is pretty serious. He is locked in on his daily goals and he works hard daily, he kind of puts his head down and keeps his mouth shut and works hard. He is worried about just getting better. I don’t mean that in any selfish way, he just wants to help the team and he wants to get better and I love that attitude.”
The pair also had help from another fellow running back in Jamarion Wilcox, a redshirt freshman out of Georgia, who rushed for eight yards in two attempts.
Outside of true running backs, multiple wide receivers including Barion Brown, Ja’Mori Maclin and Fred Farrier II all also combined to run for 18 yards in five attempts, an average of a little over three yards per carry.
While nothing to write home about, one non-running back who did have a stellar night on the ground was quarterback Brock Vandagriff, who perhaps solidified himself in the hearts of the Wildcat faithful by proving his mobility and willingness to fight for extra yards.
Vandagriff, a former five-star recruit and Georgia transfer, ran for 35 yards on five carries, an average of seven yards per quarterback keeper.
Simply put, Kentucky’s running game may not have made the front page of SportsCenter or garnered headlines like it did when Davis rushed for 280 yards and four touchdowns against Florida, it was a very sturdy and reliable unit in an abridged season opener.
The Cats will have a much more significant test against South Carolina on Saturday before hosting No. 1 Georgia to really determine the state of the running back room, but as far as week one is concerned, an area of concern turned out to be one of the steadiest on the field.
Kentucky football will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 7, against the South Carolina Gamecocks. The game, which marks UK’s SEC opener, will take place at 3:30 p.m. ET and will air live on ABC.
