A new running back option has emerged for Kentucky football after preseason scrimmage

Kentucky football’s running back committee may already be changing two weeks into preseason camp.

Ohio State transfer Chip Trayanum and senior Demie Sumo-Karngbaye were viewed as the top options at the start of spring practice. Then early enrollee Jason Patterson staked a claim for a spot in the rotation during spring practice.

As no single running back has separated from the pack, UK coaches continue to project a committee approach at the position. Rather than narrowing the focus, the Wildcats’ first preseason scrimmage appears to have added another contender though.

“Jamarion Wilcox did a really nice job,” offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan said.

Wilcox arrived at UK with the hype of a four-star prospect prior to the 2023 season. He was viewed as a possible immediate contributor in the competition to replace Chris Rodriguez but ended up redshirting without playing in a game.

As Ray Davis starred at running back last fall, Wilcox faded into the background. While Davis left UK for the NFL after just one season, Kentucky signed Trayanum as a possible replacement. When Patterson began receiving praise from coaches shortly after arriving on campus in January, the path to carries for Wilcox seemed even more difficult.

Finally though the light appears to have come on for Wilcox.

“There’s always been a level of toughness with him,” Hamdan said. “... Of all the backs, he’s got that explosive play potential. So now it just comes down to the scheme, knowing what to do on every play, not just some of those plays for him. And playing a little bit overall, more consistent.”

Wilcox rushed for more than 2,000 yards and scored 30 touchdowns as a senior at South Paulding High School in Georgia. He picked UK over finalists Auburn, Clemson and Ohio State.

But after arriving at UK Wilcox quickly discovered mastering a college offense would not be as simple as his high school production and recruiting offer list might have suggested.

“Football can teach you how to be a man,” Wilcox said. “You get a lot of struggles in life, and football kind of teaches you how to embrace those struggles and move forward.”

To further complicate matters, the playbook Wilcox worked to learn as a freshman was replaced when offensive coordinator Liam Coen left for the NFL and Stoops hired Hamdan. While Hamdan’s system was similar to Coen’s, there were still significant changes that could have derailed any progress Wilcox had made.

Asked about Wilcox during spring practice, Hamdan called him one of the best athletes on the team but acknowledged coaches had to “just keep things simple for him.”

“He’s always gonna have the talent, he’s always gonna have the speed,” Sumo-Karngbaye said of Wilcox. “It’s just getting deeper into the playbook and understanding the football as a whole football player. So freshman year was … just be on the scout team and just understand things from the back seat. Now he’s starting to drive a little more.”

Wilcox credited the work he did in the weight room during his freshman season as leading to his early camp breakout too.

The combination of speed and power for the 5-foot-10, 197-pound running back gives him one of the higher ceilings of Kentucky’s running back options .

The running back rotation became harder to projected when news broke Tuesday that Trayanum, the favorite to receive the first carry in UK’s Aug. 31 opener, had been sidelined for the “foreseeable future” by a hand injury. Sumo-Karngbaye brings versatility to the position after splitting time between running back and slot receiver in his first season as a Wildcat in 2023. Patterson has been viewed as a dark horse candidate to seize a featured role as a freshman.

But Wilcox’s potential cannot be discounted if he continues to show he understands the offense.

“Probably one of the guys I’m really the most pleased with in so many different areas of growth,” running backs coach Jay Boulware said. “Part of my job as a coach is to help those young men. This is my calling, right? God has put me here for a reason.

“Sometimes just to help young men like that grow up and become the men that they need to become to be productive citizens and also along the way help us play, help us win some football games too.”

This story has been updated to reflect news of Trayanum’s injury.

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