Injuries have been a nagging concern for the Kentucky football program throughout the offseason, and even after taking precautions in fall camp, the Wildcats will enter the 2024 campaign a bit shorthanded.
UK, which wrapped up its final scrimmage Saturday in Lexington, will be without running back Chip Trayanum and wide receiver Hardley Gilmore at least through the start of the season.
Trayanum, an Ohio State transfer who was projected to take over UK’s backfield after Ray Davis left for the NFL, recently broke his hand in practice and, although there’s no timetable for the senior’s return, he’ll miss at least the Cats’ opening-week contest against Southern Miss.
First-year UK offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan has previously indicated that the Cats plan to spread touches among their ballcarriers, but now they’ll have to rely on younger players like Jason Patterson and Jamarion Wilcox to help fill the void.
“Obviously, with us losing Chip, it becomes even more of that,” Hamdan said Tuesday. “Again, we’ve made that comment of however many times we’re handing the ball off, making sure that we have a plan of who’s receiving those handoffs. We’re trying tobe creative, with multiple guys touching it, and that’s what we’re trying to get done.”
True freshman wide receiver Hardley Gilmore also suffered a collarbone injury and “will be out for a decent bit,” according to head coach Mark Stoops. Expectations are for Gilmore, who earned acclaim as a standout performer during spring and fall camps, likely won’t be back until midseason and could be in line for a redshirt season.
UK coaches are still confident in their crop of pass-catchers, too.
“The biggest thing is all those guys are bought into Coach Hamdan’s system, so it makes it a lot easier,” said wide receivers coach Daikiel Shorts. “… Everybody in that room, they’re really good kids and they work their tails off. That’s the thing I’m most happy with coming out of this camp.
“They continue to buy in and work hard, and they care about each other, so it makes it a lot easier.”
And, as always, the Cats aren’t making excuses.
“There’s contingency plans, obviously, when guys go down,” Hamdan added. “It’s a next-man-up philosophy with every team, but we’ve got to get those next guys up and ready to go because we’ve got a serious schedule ahead of us.”
UK will kick off its 2024 season on Aug. 31 against Southern Miss at Kroger Field.
