After coming up one point short against No. 1 Georgia, Kentucky football is set to host Ohio in week four.
With another game week underway, the depth chart has once again released ahead of the upcoming game and the Kentucky Kernel is breaking it down:
Starting with the offense:
Quarterback:
Starter- Brock Vandagriff
Backup- Gavin Wimsatt
Vandagriff maintained the starting job after the South Carolina blowout and the Cats are sticking with him after the Georgia loss as well.
Week three performance:
Vandagriff- 14/27, 114 yards, 44 rushing yards.
Running back:
Starter- Demie Sumo-Karngbaye
Backup- Jason Patterson
The running back room remains unchanged as Sumo-Karngbaye continues to impress week-after-week as the starter. However, despite missing last week’s game, Patterson remains slotted in as the backup this week with DeaMonte “Chip” Trayanum still injured.
Week three performance:
Sumo-Karngbaye- 99 yards, two catches, 12 receiving yards.
Wide receivers:
Starters- Barion Brown, Dane Key, Ja’Mori Maclin
Backups- Fred Farrier II, Anthony Brown-Stephens
No changes to speak of in the wide receiver room after a game where several pass catchers hauled in at least one ball.
Week three performance:
Brown- three catches, 34 yards.
Key- three catches, 23 yards.
Maclin- two catches, 19 yards.
Farrier II- one catch, six yards.
Brown-Stephens- one rush, three rushing yards.
Tight ends:
Starters- Josh Kattus and Jordan Dingle
Backups- Willie Rodriguez and Khamari Anderson
After a near silent week two, the tight ends found themselves back on the stat sheet against Georgia and remain unchanged heading into week four.
Week three performance:
Dingle- two catches, 17 yards.
Kattus- one catch, three yards.
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” remains unchanged on the depth chart despite an injury that kept Burton off the field against Georgia. The injury report that comes out later this week should clear up Burton’s status for this week.
***
Moving over to defense:
Defensive end:
Starter: Tre’vonn Rybka
Backup: Octavious Oxendine
The defense kept Kentucky in the game and gave it a chance to do the impossible, so the defensive end group remained unchanged.
Week three performance:
Rybka- two tackles, one assist, one quarterback-hurry.
Nose guard:
Starter: Keeshawn Silver
Backup: Kendrick Gilbert
The nose guard position had a lot of question marks coming into the season due to injuries, but the duo of Silver and Gilbert have secured the position since week one.
Week three performance:
Silver- one tackle, one assist.
Defensive tackle:
Starter: Deone Walker
Backup: Kahlil Saunders
While Walker did not get a tackle against the Bulldogs, his assists and Saunders’ tackles got the tackles onto the stat sheet.
Week three performance:
Walker- four assists.
Saunders- two tackles.
Strongside linebacker:
Starter: Alex Afari Jr. OR Tyreese Fearbry
Moving over to the linebackers, no changes to show forth coming into week four for the strong side group.
Week three performance:
Fearbry- one quarterback-hurry.
Outside linebacker:
Starter: J.J. Weaver
Backup: Noah Matthews
Weaver continues as the starter for the outside linebacker group after a productive week three.
Week three performance:
Weaver- two tackles, two assists, one quarterback-hurry.
Middle linebacker:
Jamon “Pop” Dumas-Johnson OR Daveren Rayner
While they still have the “or” designation, much like every game this season, the duo of Dumas-Johnson and Rayner are both expected to see playing time.
Week three performance:
Dumas-Johnson- one tackle, two assists.
Rayner- two tackles, one tackle-for-loss.
Weakside linebacker:
Starter: D’Eryk Jackson
Backup: Alex Afari Jr.
Rounding out the linebackers with the weak side group, Jackson will remain the starter for week four.
Week three performance:
Jackson- three tackles, three assists.
Field cornerback:
Starter: JQ Hardaway OR Jantzen Dunn
Looking at corners, Hardaway remains the starter after finding his way onto the stat sheet against Georgia.
Week three performance:
Hardaway- one tackle, two assists.
Boundary cornerback:
Starter: Maxwell Hairston
Bakcups: DJ Waller Jr. or Nasir Addison
After some concerns with injury leading into week three, Hairston played and, unsurprisingly, remains the starter into week four.
Week three performance:
Hairston: three tackles, one assist.
Strong safety:
Starter: Zion Childress
Backup: Kristian Story
Childress has become one of the most prominent stories of the defense as he’s dominated thus far and is expected to start once again.
Week three performance:
Childress- five tackles, one assist, one tackle-for-loss.
Story- one tackle.
Free safety:
Starter: Jordan Lovett or Ty Bryant
To finish off the defense is the duo of Lovett and Bryant, who continue to both see playing time despite having the “or” designation.
Week three performance:
Lovett- one tackle, three assists.
Bryant- five tackles, one assist, one forced fumble.
***
Rounding out the depth chart is the specialist group:
Kicker:
Starter: Alex Raynor
Backup: Jacob Kauwe
Raynor was the team’s offense in week two as his two field goals were the only points on the board. In week three, he continued to be the entire offense for the second week in a row and he set the school record for furthest kick in school history with his 55-yarder.
Week three performance:
Raynor- 4/4 field goals (55, 32, 40 and 51 yards).
Kickoff:
Starter: Aidan Laros
Backup: Jacob Kauwe
Laros continues his kickoff duties into week four as he has thus far the entire season.
Punter:
Wilson Berry OR Aidan Laros
Despite still having the “or” designation, Berry has won the punting job as every punt this season has come off his foot and that’s expected to continue.
Week three performance:
Berry- four punts, 38.5 average yards-per-punt, 41 yard long.
Long and short snapper:
Starter: Alex McLaughlin
Backup: Walker Himebauch
As with the rest of the depth chart, there are no changes at long and short snapper.
Holder:
Starter: Wilson Berry OR Aidan Laros OR Beau Allen
Like long and short snapper, the holder position stays untouched heading into week four.
Kickoff return:
Starter: Barion Brown
Backup: Demie Sumo-Karngbaye
Brown has not had one of his signature kick returns yet in the young season, but he remains the kickoff returner.
Punt return:
Starter: Ja’Mori Maclin OR Barion Brown
Backup: Dane Key
Maclin maintained his workload of returning punts in week three, and that’s expected to continue.
***
With another depth chart locked in, Kentucky football will look to get back in the win column at home on Saturday, Sept. 21, when it takes on Ohio. The game is set to kick off at 12:45 p.m. ET and will air live on SEC Network.
