Following a 20-13 home loss to Vanderbilt, Kentucky football will look to rebound on the road against Florida. 

With another game in the books, it means another game week has arrived and so has another depth chart deep dive. 

Starting with the offense:

Quarterback:

Starter- Brock Vandagriff 

Backup- Gavin Wimsatt 

It was a tough week all around for the offense and Vandagriff had far from his best game. However, he is expected to retain “QB1” status heading into the matchup with the Gators. 

Week seven performance:

Vandagriff- 15/25, 158 yards, 37 rushing yards, one touchdown.

Wimsatt- 25 rushing yards.

Running back:

Starter- Demie Sumo-Karngbaye 

Backup- Jason Patterson

The status of DeaMonte “Chip” Trayanum remains up in the air after not playing against Vanderbilt, however the injury report later in the week should provide some clarity on his status. Meanwhile, Sumo-Karngbaye is expected to keep lining up at RB1 like he has all season. 

Week seven performance:

Sumo-Karngbaye- 59 yards, three catches, 31 receiving yards.

Wide receivers:

Starters-  Barion Brown, Dane Key, Ja’Mori Maclin 

Backups- Fred Farrier II, Anthony Brown-Stephens 

Outside of Key, the offensive struggles were shown based on the lack of production from the wide receiver room. Despite that, no changes were made moving into week eight. 

Week seven performance:

Brown- three catches, 36 yards.

Key- eight catches, 83 yards, one touchdown.

Tight ends:

Starters- Josh Kattus and Jordan Dingle 

Backups- Willie Rodriguez and Khamari Anderson

No changes to show when it comes to tight ends on the depth chart after a quiet week seven where only one tight end hauled in a pass. 

Week seven performance:

Dingle- one catch, eight 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)

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 

The duo of Rybka and Oxendine remain unchanged as the season rolls on. The two are expected to continue splitting time.

Week seven performance:

Rybka- four assists. 

Oxendine- one quarterback hurry (QBH).

Nose guard: 

Starter: Keeshawn Silver 

Backup: Kendrick Gilbert 

Silver has taken a larger role at the position as this marks two weeks in a row that he’s the only tackle to find his way on the stat sheet. 

Week seven performance:

Silver- one tackle.

Defensive tackle: 

Starter: Deone Walker

Backup: Kahlil Saunders 

Walker continues to be a game wrecker like he has his entire Kentucky career and that’s not expected to change. Furthermore, Saunders continues to earn playing time. 

Week seven performance:

Walker- three tackles, two assists.

Strongside linebacker: 

Starter: Alex Afari Jr. OR Tyreese Fearbry 

Moving over to the linebackers, the duo of Afari Jr. and Fearbry are expected to keep splitting time as both find themselves on the stat sheet near weekly.

Week seven performance:

Afari Jr.- three assists, half tackle for a loss.

Fearbry- one tackle, one assist.

Outside linebacker: 

Starter: J.J. Weaver 

Backup: Noah Matthews 

Weaver had another solid performance and is expected to remain the starter.

Week seven performance:

Weaver- two tackles, two assists, one sack, one tackle for a loss. 

Middle linebacker:

Starter: Jamon “Pop” Dumas-Johnson

Backup: Jayvant Brown OR Grant Godfrey 

No changes with the middle linebacker group as Daveren Rayner continues to be left off with a redshirt decision pending. Dumas-Johnson has emerged as a leader of the defense and is expected to maintain the starter. 

Week seven performance:

Dumas-Johnson- six tackles, three assists, one sack, two tackles for a loss.

Weakside linebacker: 

Starter: D’Eryk Jackson 

Backup: Alex Afari Jr. 

To finish off the linebackers, Jackson filled up the stat sheet and is expected to maintain his starting role.

Week seven performance:

Jackson- five tackles, two assists, one sack, two tackles for a loss, one interception.

Field cornerback: 

Starter: JQ Hardaway OR Jantzen Dunn 

Looking at corners, the duo of Hardaway and Dunn is expected to continue splitting time like they have all season long thus far.

Week seven performance: 

Hardaway- four tackles.

Dunn- one tackle. 

Boundary cornerback: 

Starter: Maxwell Hairston 

Backups: DJ Waller Jr. or Nasir Addison 

Hairston was sidelined for his second game in a row with injury, which has propped Waller Jr. into a bigger role. The injury report later in the week should clear up the start corners status.

Week seven performance:

Waller Jr.- two tackles. 

Strong safety: 

Starter: Zion Childress 

Backup: Kristian Story 

Childress was the only strong safety who found himself on the stat sheet as he and Story are expected to continue splitting time. 

Week seven performance:

Childress- four tackles, three assists, half tackle for a loss. 

Free safety:

Starter: Jordan Lovett or Ty Bryant 

Finishing off the defense, the duo of Lovett and Bryant both see a steady amount of playing time and continue to find their way onto the stat sheet and the road test against the Gators should be no difference. 

Week seven performance: 

Lovett- five tackles, four assists.

Bryant- two assists.

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Rounding out the depth chart is the specialist group: 

Kicker: 

Starter: Alex Raynor 

Backup: Jacob Kauwe 

Raynor had no recorded attempts despite being lined up for one that went south when a bad snap did not give him the chance to kick. Similarly, an extra point attempt was nullified by another botched play. 

Week seven performance:

N/A.

Kickoff: 

Starter: Aidan Laros

Backup: Jacob Kauwe 

Laros is expected to maintain kickoff duties like he has all season. 

Punter: 

Wilson Berry OR Aidan Laros 

Despite having the “OR” designation still, Laros was the only punter to see the field on fourth down for the Cats against Vanderbilt.

Week seven performance:

Laros- two punts, 80 yards, 41 long.

Long and short snapper:

Starter: Alex McLaughlin 

Backup: Walker Himebauch 

There are no changes at long and short snapper despite a few botched snaps in the week seven loss.

Holder: 

Starter: Wilson Berry OR Aidan Laros OR Beau Allen 

Like long and short snapper, the holder position remains unchanged, but it may be worth keeping an eye on as the special teams unit struggled in week seven, which resulted in Berry throwing a pass on a busted play. 

Week seven performance:

Berry- 0-1 passing. 

Kickoff return: 

Starter: Barion Brown 

Backup: Demie Sumo-Karngbaye 

No changes to show on the kickoff return crew.

Punt return: 

Starter: Ja’Mori Maclin OR Barion Brown 

Backup: Dane Key 

Despite having the “or” designation, for the first time this season, both Maclin and Brown returned punts in the week seven loss, so it may be worth keeping an eye on moving forward.

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Kentucky football heads down to “The Swamp” to face off against the Florida Gators on Saturday, Oct. 19, with kickoff scheduled for 7:45 p.m. ET. The game will air live on the SEC Network.