Kentucky Coach likes Depth of Running Back Room with Starter Out

Kentucky is preparing for their first game of the season on Saturday against Southern Miss. The Wildcats will be without starting running back Chip Trayanum, who will miss at least the first week, and could be out for the game against South Carolina in Week 2. Head coach Mark Stoops likes the depth at the position, and is confident in the others stepping up while he's out.

With Trayanum out, Demie Sumo-Karngbaye, Jason Patterson, and Jamarion Wilcox will all see time at the position, in what likely will be a committee type role in the backfield. Stoops talked in depth about the top three players in the running back room on his weekly radio show on Monday, starting with Sumo-Karngbaye. "Demie, last year, we were trying to utilize his skills, and he's the type of guy that was a very good running back, but also we had Ray (Davis), and we were short at receiver, so we played him some in the slot and tried to get him the football in a variety of different ways," Stoops said. "He's been full-time at running back because we need him to be there, and you've seen the progress. Just the normal progression, the maturation process that happens when guys stay at a program longer and longer. They get better, they understand our system, and you're seeing that with him. So, we have a lot of confidence in him."

Stoops went on to say Sumo-Karngbaye was pretty close with Chip Trayanum on the depth chart before the Ohio State transfer got hurt in practice, so he isn't concerned with a drop-off in production. The head coach then talked about the two players behind Sumo-Karngbaye with Trayanum out right now. "The next guy, Jason Patterson, he is a guy that is a Freshman," Stoops said. "So, you're putting the ball in the hands of a Freshman. Anytime that happens, you've gotta make sure they're prepared. Coach Boulware does a great job with the running backs. Gets them prepared, along with special teams. He had a really good spring. He's been very conscientiousness about knowing what to do, taking care of his blocking responsibilities, especially on blitz pickup and things of that nature for young guys, and protecting the football. He's shown flashes, he's a big, strong guy that has some top-end as well."

The head coach then went on to rave about the speed of Jamarion Wilcox, who is next up in the running back room and should see some quality snaps with Chip Trayanum out. "Jamarion WIlcox is a guy who we want to get touches anyway," Stoops said. "He's a guy that just flashes. He's got top-end speed, he's got another gear that maybe we haven't seen for a while around here. I hope to get him the ball and give him some space, because I want to see what he can do." Stoops then compared Wilcox's game to a former Kentucky star running back, who he called "electric" as a runner.

With Chip Trayanum out, Kentucky's game on Saturday will give the other running backs more of an opportunity to showcase what they can do.