Following its first bye week of the season, Kentucky football returns to action for the first time since upsetting former No. 6 Ole Miss 20-17 as it is set to host the Vanderbilt Commodores.
After a break thanks to the bye, another game week has arrived for the Cats and so has another depth chart deep dive.
Starting with the offense:
Quarterback:
Starter- Brock Vandagriff
Backup- Gavin Wimsatt
Vandagriff continued his duties as the starter as he continues to find his way as an SEC quarterback and seems to be the clear-cut “QB1” despite concerns early in the year. Despite that, Wimsatt has carved himself out a role mostly as a running threat, but still earns playing time.
Week five performance:
Vandagriff- 18/28, 243 yards, three rushing yards, one touchdown.
Wimsatt- 26 rushing yards.
Running back:
Starter- Demie Sumo-Karngbaye
Backup- Jason Patterson
While DeaMonte “Chip” Trayanum was cleared before the Ole Miss game, he was inactive for that contest and is still not on the depth chart yet. The injury report later in the week should clear up his status for Saturday. Sumo-Karngbaye continues to lead the back field while Patterson’s snap count has decreased over the last few weeks despite still being the listed backup.
Week five performance:
Sumo-Karngbaye- 47 yards, one catch, six receiving yards.
Wide receivers:
Starters- Barion Brown, Dane Key, Ja’Mori Maclin
Backups- Fred Farrier II, Anthony Brown-Stephens
After perhaps their most complete showing of the year against the Rebels, the wide receiver room remains unchanged as the Cats return home.
Week five performance:
Brown- five catches, 88 yards.
Key- eight catches, 105 yards, one touchdown.
Farrier II- two catches, 17 yards.
Maclin- one catch, two yards.
Tight ends:
Starters- Josh Kattus and Jordan Dingle
Backups- Willie Rodriguez and Khamari Anderson
The depth chart remains unchanged, but Rodriguez was the only tight end to find his way onto the stat sheet and record a tackle on special teams.
Week five performance:
Rodriguez- one catch, 25 yards, one tackle.
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)
After an up-and-down game protection wise, the “Big Blue Wall” is unchanged heading into week seven.
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Moving over to defense:
Defensive end:
Starter: Tre’vonn Rybka
Backup: Octavious Oxendine
As the defense continues to impress, the duo of Rybka and Oxendine continue to split time as they both made a mark against the Rebels .
Week five performance:
Rybka- one tackle.
Oxendine- two tackles, one assist, two sacks.
Nose guard:
Starter: Keeshawn Silver
Backup: Kendrick Gilbert
The duo of Silver and Gilbert continued splitting time this season, but Silver was the only one to get onto the stat sheet against Ole Miss.
Week five performance:
Silver- two tackles.
Defensive tackle:
Starter: Deone Walker
Backup: Kahlil Saunders
Walker had himself a busy day in week five as he and Saunders both got in-game reps .
Week five performance:
Walker- one tackle, three assists, half sack, one tackle for a loss.
Saunders- one assist.
Strongside linebacker:
Starter: Alex Afari Jr. OR Tyreese Fearbry
Moving over to the linebackers, both Afari Jr. and Fearby continue to split time as the strongside group remains unchanged.
Week five performance:
Afari Jr.- one tackle, two assists.
Fearbry- one tackle.
Outside linebacker:
Starter: J.J. Weaver
Backup: Noah Matthews
The outside group made a big impact versus the Rebels and is unchanged heading into the Cats’ next conference test.
Week five performance:
Weaver- one tackle, one assist, one sack.
Matthews- fumble recovery.
Middle linebacker:
Starter: Jamon “Pop” Dumas-Johnson
Backup: Jayvant Brown OR Grant Godfrey
Daveren Rayner remains off the depth chart as a redshirt decision looms, therefore there are no changes following the Ole Miss matchup.
Week five performance:
Dumas-Johnson- three tackles, four assists.
Weakside linebacker:
Starter: D’Eryk Jackson
Backup: Alex Afari Jr.
Rounding out the linebackers, Jackson is expected to remain the headliner for the weak side group.
Week five performance:
Jackson- two tackles, five assists.
Field cornerback:
Starter: JQ Hardaway OR Jantzen Dunn
Moving to the corners, much like the rest of the season thus far, the duo of Hardaway and Dunn are expected to split time as both recorded stats in week five.
Week five performance:
Hardaway- seven tackles, four assists, one forced fumble.
Dunn- one tackle.
Boundary cornerback:
Starter: Maxwell Hairston
Backups: DJ Waller Jr. or Nasir Addison
Hairston missed the game against the Rebels while dealing with an injury, but Waller and others stepped up and got the job done by keeping the Rebel offense at bay.
Week five performance:
Waller Jr.- one solo, one assist.
Strong safety:
Starter: Zion Childress
Backup: Kristian Story
Childress and Story are expected to continue to split time heading into week seven as both found their way onto the stat sheet in week five.
Week five performance:
Childress- two tackles, one assist.
Story- one tackle, one assist.
Free safety:
Starter: Jordan Lovett or Ty Bryant
Rounding out the defense, the “or” designation remains for the Bryant and Lovett duo, but both are expected to see the field like they have in every game this season thus far.
Week five performance:
Lovett- three tackles, one assist.
Bryant- two tackles, two assists.
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Rounding out the depth chart is the specialist group:
Kicker:
Starter: Alex Raynor
Backup: Jacob Kauwe
Raynor continues to be a steady hand for the Wildcats as he remained perfect on the season against Ole Miss.
Week five performance:
Raynor- 2/2 field goals (48 and 27 yards).
Kickoff:
Starter: Aidan Laros
Backup: Jacob Kauwe
Laros continued his duties against Ole Miss and that is not expected to change moving forward.
Punter:
Wilson Berry OR Aidan Laros
The punter position has become a more fluid part of the team as both Laros and Berry have seen action against Ole Miss, but Laros’ volume has increased in recent games. Despite that, it seems to be on a punt-by-punt basis for the duo.
Week five performance:
Laros- five punts, 214 yards, 53 long.
Berry- one punt, 33 yards.
Long and short snapper:
Starter: Alex McLaughlin
Backup: Walker Himebauch
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 seven.
Kickoff return:
Starter: Barion Brown
Backup: Demie Sumo-Karngbaye
Brown seems to be just seething to break off that big return as he continues to get limited opportunities due to teams playing keep-away.
Punt return:
Starter: Ja’Mori Maclin OR Barion Brown
Backup: Dane Key
Despite having the “or” designation, Maclin has fielded all punt returns on the year so far and he is expected to retain the role moving forward.
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With the depth chart now complete, Kentucky football will host Vanderbilt under the lights at Kroger Field on Saturday, Oct. 12, with kickoff scheduled for 7:45 p.m. ET. The game will air live on the SEC Network.
