Three takeaways, including injury news, after Kentucky football’s second scrimmage

Three takeaways after Kentucky football completed its second fall scrimmage — closed to the media — before the Wildcats’ season opener Aug. 31 against visiting Southern Mississippi.

1. Freshman receiver Hardley Gilmore IV will miss time

After last Saturday’s first fall scrimmage, UK coach Mark Stoops said he believed the team were able to complete work without a significant injury. Turns out that wasn’t the case. During the week it was revealed that expected first-team running back Chip Trayanum would miss time because of a broken hand. This Saturday, Stoops added freshman wide receiver Hardley Gilmore IV to the injured list.

“Hardley will miss a decent bit,” said Stoops without revealing the nature of Gilmore’s injury. “I’m not sure (how long). It’ll be at least midseason or more.”

A 6-foot-1, 178-pound product of Belle Glade, Florida, Gilmore was impressive during spring drills after enrolling early. He was expected to compete for playing time this fall.

Luckily, receiver is one of Kentucky’s deeper spots. Junior wideout Barion Brown caught 85 passes for seven touchdowns in his first two seasons as a Wildcat. Fellow junior wideout Dane Key caught 69 passes for 11 touchdowns after graduating from Lexington’s Frederick Douglass High School.

UK added transfer Ja’Mori Maclin, who caught 57 passes for 1,004 yards and 11 touchdowns last season at North Texas. Maclin averaged 17.6 yards per reception and has previous experience working with new UK offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan. Returnee Anthony Brown-Stephens and UAB transfer Fred Farrier II have also flashed in camp.

“We’ve got good depth at that position,” Stoops said. “As I’ve mentioned before, I really believe in the guys that we have, it’s just total numbers. You just can’t start losing more.”

2. Where Kentucky stands at running back

Counting down toward the opener, injuries are obviously a concern. Saturday’s scrimmage was not a full-contact affair, and Stoops said much of the time was spent working with young players.

One position where young players will have to step up early is running back, thanks in part to Trayanum’s injury. The Ohio State transfer rushed for 373 yards and averaged 4.4 yards per carry last season as a Buckeye. He also caught nine passes for 53 yards. The only experienced back behind Trayanum is holdover Demi Sumo-Karngbaye, who carried 20 times for 139 yards last season backing up Ray Davis.

“Demi has been really good,” Stoops said Saturday, but also referenced Jamarion Wilcox , a 5-10, 197-pound redshirt freshman from Douglasville, Georgia. “Jamarion has got to push. He’s got the talent. Jamarion is a guy that has some juice, has some talent and he’s getting more reps. He just needs to be consistent.”

3. Kentucky’s offensive line shaping up

In his post-scrimmage interview, veteran center Eli Cox said he was pleased with the offensive line two weeks before the opener.

“I’d say we’re off to a great start,” Cox said. “We’ve had a really solid camp. We always strive to improve on different things. There are so many different situations you work on this late in camp that I think we’re trying to iron out the details on.”

UK returns three starters in Cox, right guard Jager Burton and left tackle Marquis Cox. It added transfers in left guard Jalen Farmer from Florida and right tackle Gerald Mincey, who played two seasons at Tennessee after spending his first two seasons at Florida.

“We have a really talented group,” Cox said. “I think this is one of the deeper offensive line rooms we’ve had in a long time. We brought in some key transfers and we have some key guys coming back, as you all know. I’m very excited where we are.”

Another change is the return of Eric Wolford as offensive line coach. Wolford spent the past two seasons at Alabama after coaching UK’s O-line in 2021.

“I’m happy with the work we’ve put in with Coach Wolf since he got here in the spring and the reps we’ve been able to bank,” Cox said. “I’m very confident in this group going into the year.”

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