Assuming all nine of those players pass the four-game threshold that eliminates the ability to redshirt at some point in the regular season, it would mark the most freshmen to burn their redshirts in a non-pandemic season during Mark Stoops’ UK tenure.
“If they can help us, they are going to help us,” Stoops said of his freshman class prior to the season opener.
You can thank the transfer portal for the increased action for UK’s freshmen.
With players free to transfer without sitting out a season, roster turnover has hit an all-time high for college football teams. That instability makes it less prudent to worry about preserving a redshirt since the odds of a player sticking around for multiple years without playing a significant role are slim.
If you can’t count on a player to still be on campus to use the extra season a redshirt would grant him, why not make the most of his talents immediately?
“If they can play some special teams, there is a lot more accountability there that even they understand,” Stoops said. “The way we practice and the way we go into meetings, the intensity that Coach (Jay) Boulware (has) and how he goes about special teams, I mean that is some serious business and we let nothing slide.”
Stoops has backed up that promise through three games.
Freshmen Cam Dooley, Willie Rodriguez, Quay’Sheed Scott, Steven Soles, Antwan Smith, Jerod Smith and David Washington have played in each of the first three games. Terhyon Nichols and Jason Patterson have appeared in two games.
Of that group, only Patterson, a running back, has filled a prominent role on offense or defense, but he missed the Georgia game due to injury. Other players in the group are being used in specific situations on offense or defense, but the majority of their snaps have come on special teams.
Prior to the mass transfer movement, it would have made sense to be cautious about using freshmen on special teams if they were not going to contribute on offense or defense, too, in order to preserve a redshirt season. Even a year ago, Stoops played just five freshmen in more than four games.
“If they can help us, they’re going to help us,” Stoops said. “There are a lot of young athletes that can run, and we need them to continue to grow up and play. The first step with them is being accountable and helping us on special teams.”
Kentucky defensive back Cam Dooley (18) and linebacker Steven Soles Jr. (35) are among the freshmen playing regularly through three games. Brian Simms/bsimms@herald-leader.com
Early in Stoops’ tenure it was common for freshmen to play featured roles as he sold immediate playing time during the recruiting process due to the myriad holes on the roster. Stoops played at least seven freshmen in four of his first five seasons when the NCAA prohibited players from appearing in any game of a redshirt season.
By the time the NCAA moved to allow players to appear in up to four games while redshirting in 2018, the need for freshmen to contribute had lessened at Kentucky thanks to improved depth on the roster. The advent of the transfer portal then allowed Stoops and other coaches to plug holes on the roster with veteran transfers.
The only season Stoops played more than nine freshmen in at least five games came in 2020 when all players were granted an extra season of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the list of available players could shift widely each week based on coronavirus positive tests and contact tracing quarantines.
The 2024 class could still end up passing the 10 freshmen who played more than four games in 2020.
Wide receiver Hardley Gilmore was the most hyped of the freshmen during spring practice and preseason camp before suffering an injury that is expected to keep him out for a significant portion of the season, but the offense could still use him if he is healthy for the second half. Linebacker Devin Smith has also been listed as out on the availability report the last two weeks. Since the SEC only requires teams to list players who would normally contribute on the availability report, that is an indication Smith could play when healthy again.
Already there have been indications the freshmen could expand beyond special teams roles.
Soles has been on the field in pass rushing situations. Scott saw more time at cornerback against Georgia with starter Maxwell Hairston limited. Rodriguez has been used in multiple tight end sets as Kentucky looks to help a struggling offensive line in pass protection.
Any freshmen who play in more than four regular-season games (a bowl game would not count against the redshirt limit) will still have the option to redshirt in the future. For instance, linebacker D’Eryk Jackson played in nine games as a freshman in 2020 but used his redshirt a year later when an Achilles tendon injury caused him to miss the first nine games of the 2021 season.
Playing immediately also does not guarantee Kentucky can keep a player from the transfer portal. Multiple freshmen who played more than four games in 2021 and 2022 still eventually left UK via the transfer portal.
No wonder Stoops is more worried about the immediate needs than the long-term future of the roster.
“If they can’t do little things, they can’t do big things,” Stoops said. “We talk about that all the time. A little thing might be backside on a kickoff return or finishing a block or doing things that nobody sees, but if you execute it and you do your job big things may happen. We will continue to harp on that and continue to bring those guys on.”
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