Season-ending injury deals blow to depleted Kentucky football secondary

Kentucky’s secondary came into 2019 needing to fill a lot of holes. Now the Wildcats will be without one of their few veterans in the fall.

Safety Davonte Robinson will miss the 2019 season with a torn right quad, the university announced Thursday. Robinson, 6-foot-2, 197-pound junior, played in every game of the 2017 and 2018 seasons after redshirting as a freshman.

Robinson last season started in three of UK’s final five games, including its victory over Penn State on New Year’s Day. As a sophomore he recorded 42 tackles, broke up four passes and recovered two fumbles, including a 30-yard TD return that sealed the Cats’ streak-snapping victory over Florida. Robinson, a soft-spoken individual who was a football and track-and-field star at Henry Clay High School, worked on becoming more of a vocal leader throughout the spring.

He suffered the injury on Tuesday. No timetable for his recovery was announced.

His loss is an unexpected blow to a defensive backfield already with several question marks. Four starters in the UK secondary — Derrick Baity, Mike Edwards, Darius West and Lonnie Johnson — entered the NFL Draft. Between the safeties and cornerbacks, UK’s only defensive back with significant experience is Jordan Griffin, a 6-foot senior who had 13 tackles in 12 games last season. Griffin started four of UK’s first five games last year, making his last start in the Cats’ win over South Carolina.

Tyrell Ajian, a sophomore, recorded 10 tackles and three pass break-ups in 13 games last year. Yusuf Corker, another sophomore, had eight tackles in the same amount of appearances. Neither has made a start.

This story was originally published July 25, 2019 at 11:51 AM.