Kentucky football lingering questions: Should fans be concerned about running back?

Each week leading up to the start of Kentucky football preseason camp, the Herald-Leader will take a look at one significant question facing the 2024 Wildcats.

Up first, how will carries be split among the running backs?

A year ago Ray Davis faced no shortage of questions about whether he could live up to the legacy of recent UK running backs that had preceded him. Not only did Davis prove worthy of mention alongside Benny Snell and Chris Rodriguez in one year at Kentucky, he upped the ante even more for Kentucky’s next starter at the position.

But Kentucky left spring practice without a clear answer of who would follow Davis as the starter in 2024.

“It’s been a solid group,” new offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan said in April. “Not necessarily one guy day in and day out just jumping off as the clear favorite, but, again, (Ohio State transfer) Chip (Trayanum) has been a tremendous addition to the program. He’s a pro, he knows what it looks like. Demi (Sumo-Karngbaye) is really doing a nice job. We talked about Jason (Patterson) and him coming along.

“That group has got some guys that have a lot of ability. We’ve just got to continue to bring them along.”

Kentucky’s running back history

While the hire of Hamdan means Kentucky will have a new offensive coordinator for the fourth consecutive season, the emphasis on a successful rushing attack has not changed.

The turning point of the Mark Stoops era at Kentucky coincided with the emergence of Snell as a freshman. He left UK as the program’s leader in career rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.

Kentucky split carries between running backs A.J. Rose, Kavosiey Smoke and Rodriguez in 2019 before Rodriguez emerged as the workhorse back in 2020. Despite missing four games due to suspension as a senior in 2022, Rodriguez ended his UK career ranked third in total rushing yards and yards per carry.

Davis made sure to tell fans and reporters after arriving as a transfer from Vanderbilt he was a different type of running back than the physical Snell and Rodriguez, but he carved his own path by breaking the single-season UK record for total touchdowns scored with 1,452 all-purpose yards.

The options for 2024

Trayanum arrives at UK with a reputation as the same type of bone-crushing runner that Snell and Rodriguez were in Lexington, but he has never rushed for more than 401 yards in a season after four years at Arizona State and Ohio State. He does have big game experience, having scored the game-winning touchdown in Ohio State’s win over Notre Dame last season.

Versatility is a strength for Sumo-Karngbaye, who split time between running back and slot receiver after transferring to UK from N.C. State prior to the 2023 season, but he has yet to prove he can take on the workload of a featured running back.

Coaches and teammates were impressed by Patterson, a three-star signee in Kentucky’s 2024 recruiting class, during spring practice after he graduated a semester early to enroll at UK, but even Snell did not play right away as a freshman. Patterson does wear No. 26 like Snell though and already has taken some first-team reps.

Redshirt freshman Jamarion Wilcox and freshman Tovani Mizell will look to break into the rotation as well in preseason camp.

How Bush Hamdan views the running back position

In each of Hamdan’s three seasons as an offensive play-caller for an FBS program, his team has featured a 1,000-yard rusher. With Hamdan running the offense at Boise State last season, star running back Ashton Jeanty ranked seventh nationally in rushing yards per game (112.3).

“The stats don’t lie,” Hamdan said at his introductory news conference. “That’s going to be something that’s extremely important to us and creating explosives off that.”

While Hamdan has shown a preference for using one featured running back when his roster allows, he stressed throughout spring practice he was OK with a committee approach if that was best for Kentucky.

If there is a reason for concern about UK’s running back options it is the staff’s flirtation with adding another transfer at the position after spring practice. Kentucky was connected Oregon State star Damien Martinez before he committed to Miami. At one point the Wildcats looked on the verge of landing 2023 Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year Penny Boone, who spent the spring semester at Louisville, before that pursuit hit a snag. Boone eventually landed at UCF.

Were the pursuits of Martinez and Boone a sign Kentucky still needs an upgrade at running back or simply opportunities too good to pass up on? Either would have fit the mold of the type of every-down running back Hamdan has usually featured as a play-caller.

Prediction

For all of Davis’ success last season, Kentucky struggled in short-yardage situations where defense knew a run was coming for much of the season. Those are the spots Snell and Rodriguez so often thrived, and if nothing else Trayanum should help in that area.

The prediction here is Kentucky opens the season in a situation similar to the 2019 rotation with Trayanum, Sumo-Karngbaye and Patterson all receiving carries. The two veterans will be needed, but do not be surprised if Patterson eventually takes on the largest share of the load.

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