UK football got its first look at several newcomers. Who impressed Saturday?

Just call Chris Rodriguez a mini-Benny.

That’s pretty much how Kentucky star Benny Snell sees the true freshman, who got his first carries in the Cats’ 48-10 win over Murray State on Saturday.

“He reminds me of freshman me,” Snell said of Rodriguez, who got two carries for 43 yards, including one that covered 27 yards and in which he carried several Racers with him.

“He falls forward. He fights for every yard. He never lets just one guy tackle him. ... He’s got that edge about him. He wants to score. I see myself in him so much.”

It’s the type of play UK has seen from the 5-foot-11, 218-pound running back from McDonough, Ga., since he arrived on campus.

“We saw that in camp: hard runner, great yards after contact,” offensive coordinator Eddie Gran said. “That’s what I saw in fall camp and it was nice to see him in a game atmosphere and to be able to do that, too. I was really excited for him.”

It was nice to see a lot of the younger players who don’t have much — if any — game experience get in on the action.

“It’s fun getting to see those guys doing their thing,” Snell smiled.

On offense, there was Allen Dailey, a freshman wide receiver who had his first touchdown on a 23-yard pass from backup QB Gunnar Hoak.

“We really got to look hard at getting him some more reps, because he’s a player,” Coach Mark Stoops said. “He has a toughness and work ethic, and he’s got instincts, and I really like him. He’s got to get in there some more.”

In his limited action, Hoak was 4-for-5 for 77 yards and the score. Third-string quarterback Danny Clark guided UK to a touchdown, his own 2-yard run, late in the game.

“Normally, we try to run out the clock there, but we wanted to get him some reps and some throws,” Stoops said of Hoak. “He did a very good job. It was good for Danny (Clark) to get in there and get a few reps, get a touchdown there.”

Zy’Aire Hughes getting a touchdown on his first offensive touch of his career was good for other players to see, the UK coach said.

“There are so many guys that work hard,” he said. “We are deeper than we’ve ever been. Guys, you know, want to play, and the frustration sets in at times.

“This is a great football team. They’re very united, but they still want to play. And they got to know, you know, we’re going to need every one of them to stay the course and to help us get to where we want to go.”

There were quite a few new standouts on defense, too, including linebacker Jamin Davis, who had four tackles, an interception and a pass breakup.

True freshman Marquan McCall, subbing for injured nose guard Quinton Bohanna, got three tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack, as well as a forced fumble.

Jordan Wright had three tackles; fellow linebacker Deandre Square added two tackles, including half of one for loss and a pass breakup.

A new NCAA rule this season allows the Cats to use players in up to four games during the season without them having to forfeit their redshirt year.

“We thought we’d use it for a bunch of those guys just to get them some reps and get them in there,” Stoops said. “There will be a good dose of those freshmen that we will hold and use in emergency situations now.

“At least they got their first reps in game play, got a few snaps. Some of them played quite a few. So we’ll gauge it as we move forward.”

This story was originally published September 16, 2018 at 6:33 PM.