Former Frederick Douglass High School standout wide receiver Dekel Crowdus will not take the field in 2021, Mark Stoops confirmed Thursday.

“We’re looking at next year at this point with the injury and taking care of his rehab and all that,” Stoops said. Crowdus will take his redshirt season and will be dubbed a freshman once again in 2022.

Crowdus injured his knee during fall camp in mid-August where it was confirmed he suffered a strained ligament rather than torn, which was the original scare for those inside the Kentucky football program. At the time, Stoops was confident that Crowdus would be back “within weeks.” That wish never panned out as Crowdus will sit the remainder of his freshman season.

During his senior season at Frederick Douglass, Crowdus compiled 31 receptions for 397 yards and 10 touchdowns, helping his team earn a 5A KHSAA State Playoff semifinal berth before falling to current Rutgers quarterback Gavin Wimsatt and Owensboro.

While those numbers seem slightly low for a four-star recruit, that’s in-part due to the fact that he was sharing receptions at The Farm with current four-star recruit and recent Kentucky commit Dane Key, who has 78 receptions for 1,303 yards and 18 touchdowns over the past two seasons.

Key said after his commitment last month that the thing he’s most looking forward to in coming to UK is the fact that he’ll be reunited with Crowdus. Add in the fact that reigning co-Mr. Kentucky Football and current freshman offensive linemen Jagger Burton is also a product of Nathan McPeek’s Frederick Douglass family—the future is bright for all three Lexington natives in the Kentucky program over the next four seasons.