Following its second straight loss, Kentucky football is set to take on the Auburn Tigers at home in week nine.
It’s another game week in the Bluegrass, so that means it’s time for another depth chart deep dive.
Starting with the offense:
Quarterback:
Starter- Brock Vandagriff
Backup- Gavin Wimsatt
Vandagriff, like the rest of the offense, is still trying to find his way to be consistent this late into the season. Nonetheless, no changes to show at quarterback.
Week eight performance:
Vandagriff- 12/26, 165 yards, 33 rushing yards, one touchdown, two interceptions.
Wimsatt- eight rushing yards, one rushing touchdown.
Running back:
Starter- Demie Sumo-Karngbaye
Backup- Jason Patterson
DeaMonte “Chip” Trayanum made his debut in the loss against Florida, but Sumo-Karngbaye remains RB1. Patterson has not had a touch in weeks as he has actually fallen down the depth chart. Besides Traynaum and Sumo-Karngbaye, it has been Jamarion Wilcox getting snaps.
Week eight performance:
Sumo-Karngbaye- 39 yards, two catches, 18 receiving yards.
Wide receivers:
Starters- Barion Brown, Dane Key, Ja’Mori Maclin
Backups- Fred Farrier II, Anthony Brown-Stephens
With a few drops leading to an interception and keeping Kentucky behind the sticks, the wide receivers will look to turn it around against the Tigers.
Week eight performance:
Brown- two catches, 56 yards, one touchdown.
Key- four catches, 48 yards.
Farrier II- one catch, 19 yards.
Brown-Stephens- one catch, one yard
Tight ends:
Starters- Josh Kattus and Jordan Dingle
Backups- Willie Rodriguez and Khamari Anderson
A few different tight ends made their way onto the stat sheet as both Kattus and Anderson hauled in a pass.
Week eight performance:
Kattus- one catch, 21 yards.
Anderson- one catch, two 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 heading into week nine after an up-and-down performance against the Gators.
***
Moving over to defense:
Defensive end:
Starter: Tre’vonn Rybka
Backup: Octavious Oxendine
It was a week to forget for the defense as it got torched on all fronts, but no changes to show as the duo Rybka and Oxendine remains unchanged.
Week eight performance:
Rybka- one assist.
Nose guard:
Starter: Keeshawn Silver
Backup: Kendrick Gilbert
Like other parts of the defense, it was a quiet night for the nose guards as Gilbert did not record a stat, and Silver only got one tackle.
Week eight performance:
Silver- one tackle, one quarterback hurry.
Defensive tackle:
Starter: Deone Walker
Backup: Kahlil Saunders
While it was a quiet night for the defense as a whole, Walker still proved why he is a highly touted NFL prospect and will remain the starter.
Week eight performance:
Walker- one tackle, four assists, one tackle for a loss.
Saunders- two assists, half a tackle for loss.
Strongside linebacker:
Starter: Alex Afari Jr. OR Tyreese Fearbry
Like Walker, Afari Jr. had a busy night as he recorded stats in multiple different ways. When it comes to the depth chart, the duo of Afari Jr. and Fearbry is not expected to change.
Week eight performance:
Afari Jr.- three tackles, four assists, one and a half sacks, two and a half tackles for loss, one quarterback hurry.
Fearbry- one tackle.
Outside linebacker:
Starter: J.J. Weaver
Backup: Noah Matthews
Another quiet spot of the defense in the week eight loss was the duo of Weaver and Matthews as both men had a down game compared to other weeks.
Week eight performance:
Weaver- three assists.
Matthews- one assist.
Middle linebacker:
Starter: Jamon “Pop” Dumas-Johnson
Backup: Jayvant Brown OR Grant Godfrey
While Dumas-Johnson found his way onto the stat sheet, none of the backups were able to. However, the middle linebacker group remains unchanged.
Week eight performance:
Dumas-Johnson- two tackles, two assists.
Weakside linebacker:
Starter: D’Eryk Jackson
Backup: Alex Afari Jr.
Rounding out the linebackers, no changes to show at weakside as Jackson is expected to remain the starter.
Week eight performance:
Jackson- two tackles, two assists, half a tackle for loss.
Field cornerback:
Starter: JQ Hardaway OR Jantzen Dunn
Moving to the corners, the duo of Hardaway and Dunn are expected to split time as both recorded stats in the week eight loss and that is expected to continue.
Week eight performance:
Hardaway- two tackles, two assists.
Dunn- one tackle, one tackle for a loss.
Boundary cornerback:
Starter: Maxwell Hairston
Backups: DJ Waller Jr. or Nasir Addison
Hairston missed his third straight game against the Gators, so it was Waller Jr. who filled in once again. Stay tuned to the injury report later in the week for news on Hairston’s status.
Week eight performance:
Waller Jr.- one solo, one assist.
Strong safety:
Starter: Zion Childress
Backup: Kristian Story
Childress and Story were a busy duo in the loss as they were active in tackles and Story got the lone turnover of the game for the Wildcats.
Week eight performance:
Childress- two tackles, five assists.
Story- two tackles, one assist, one interception.
Free safety:
Starter: Jordan Lovett or Ty Bryant
Lastly for the defense, Bryant and Lovett still carry the “OR” designation, but it’s become obvious that both men will continue to see time on game day.
Week eight performance:
Lovett- three tackles, six assists, one tackle for a loss.
Bryant- three tackles, one assist.
***
Rounding out the depth chart is the specialist group:
Kicker:
Starter: Alex Raynor
Backup: Jacob Kauwe
Raynor missed his first extra point of the season against the Gators and did not have a chance to kick a field goal in the loss.
Week eight performance:
2/3 PAT
Kickoff:
Starter: Aidan Laros
Backup: Jacob Kauwe
Laros remains unchanged at the kickoff position as he’s anchored the role all season.
Punter:
Wilson Berry OR Aidan Laros
It appears that Laros has taken over the majority of the punting duties as he was the only punter used by Kentucky in week eight.
Week eight performance:
Laros- three punts, 127 yards, 46 long.
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
The holder position remains unchanged heading into week nine after back-to-back weeks of shaky play.
Kickoff return:
Starter: Barion Brown
Backup: Demie Sumo-Karngbaye
Brown finally broke off a huge return by taking a kickoff 99-yards to the house.
Punt return:
Starter: Ja’Mori Maclin OR Barion Brown
Backup: Dane Key
Both Maclin and Brown have shared times as the punt returner and that is expected to continue.
***
With another deep dive in the books, all that’s left is kickoff between the Wildcats and the Tigers, which will take place on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 7:45 p.m. ET.
