Hello everyone and welcome back to the the second in our ongoing series looking at the Kentucky football team. In case you missed it, the first one featured the quarterbacks. This time out we’re staying in the backfield. While the signal callers featured a huge turnover it’s not the case with the backs. Let’s check it out with our Kentucky post-portal depth chart-running backs.
Kentucky Post – Portal Depth Chart – Running Backs
A Much More Stable Group
As the headline suggests, the Wildcats have a lot more stability at the running back spot than any other spots on the team. Of the 23 players who left the program since the season-ending loss to Louisville, only one is back. However, it is a pretty big name.
Chip Trayanum, who transferred to Lexington from Ohio State, came in with huge expectations. Unfortunately, he was injured before the season started and only appeared in three games. On the year he ran for 101 yards. He went back to the Buckeye State and is now at Toledo. In an interesting scheduling quirk that’s who the Cats open up the 2025 schedule against.
Kentucky also lost Demie Sumo-Karngbaye, who’s used up all his eligibility.
Top Of The Chart
Heading into Spring practice the Wildcats return their leading rusher from 2024. Jamarion Wilcox appeared in all 12 games rushing for 592 yards and two touchdowns. His best games came in back-to-back weeks late in the season gaining 102 yards against Tennessee and 123 against Murray State.
However, he did have issues with ball control and an even stranger one. Head coach Mark Stoops lamented halfway through the season he couldn’t play Wilcox because of his shoes. According to the UK head man, he wouldn’t tie his shoes, no really. When he’d make a good play he’d have to come out because his shoes came off. They got that straightened out since Wilcox played a lot more down the stretch.
As we continue on with our Kentucky post-portal depth chart running backs let’s look at a newcomer to the program.
Instant Impact Addition
The Wildcats only brought in one running back through the portal. Dante Dowell comes to Lexington by way of the University of Nebraska. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Dowdell originally signed with Oregon coming out of high school in Mississippi.
He appeared in six games during his freshman year in Eugene rushing for 90 yards and a score. Dowdell transferred to Nebraska for 2024 putting up good numbers. He led the team with 614 yards and scored 12 touchdowns. That number put him fourth in the Big Ten. Dowdell was one of the best short-yardage backs in the league last season.
He ranked as the 10th-best running back in the transfer portal. Most likely you could see a possible platoon situation with him and Wilcox.
As we finish up our Kentucky post-portal depth chart-running backs let’s look at the other two backs on the list.
Pushing For Playing Time
UK heads into Spring practice with only four scholarship running backs on the roster. Jason Patterson played in four games last season as a freshman. He saw a lot of touches in the early part of the year. His high water mark was 45 yards in the Wildcats loss to South Carolina. Unfortunately, he missed quite a few games due to injury. He only produced stats in one other game gaining 38 yards against Auburn. He’s your number three back on the depth chart.
The final player on the depth chart is Tovani Mizzell. He had one rushing attempt against Murray State for no yards in his only game action as a true freshman.
Final Thoughts
In all of Stoops’ best teams in his years at Kentucky who thing that stands out is a strong running game. The UK head man and offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan hopes that between the two the Cats can get one or even both towards that 1,000 mark. They’ll need a strong attack as the Cats try to bounce back from last year’s 4-8 disaster.
Thanks for checking out our Kentucky post-portal depth chart-running backs here at Last Word On College Football. Next time we’ll look at a wide receiver room that’s undergone a huge transformation in the off-season.
Main Photo: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images
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