Kentucky football player injured during warm-ups, questionable to play

Phil Hoskins, a senior defensive lineman, suffered a knee injury prior to the start of Kentucky’s football game against Florida.

Hoskins was helped off the field by two people after going down at the 25-yard line on the press box side of the field during UK’s warm-ups. Hoskins was listed as the second-string defensive tackle behind Calvin Taylor Jr. entering the game. A UK spokesperson told the Herald-Leader he was questionable to play in Saturday’s game.

He returned to the UK sideline in the first quarter but took a seat on the Wildcats’ bench.

The 6-foot-5, 306-pound senior from Toledo missed UK’s first two games this season due to what was described as an “academic issue.”

“I think Phil will be helpful. We need Phil in there,” UK head coach Mark Stoops said this week of Hoskins’ return. “What I like about Phil is he brings us a little different dynamic, brings us some quickness in that defensive line. And again, we’re fairly big and strong, but, you know, it’s good to have Phil in there. He’s just a different guy. He’s a little bit looser. He plays a little bit faster, a little twitchier, so he’s a good change-up.

Hoskins last year recorded 21 tackles and three sacks and played in all 13 games. One of Hoskins’ sacks last year came during UK’s 27-16 win over Florida.

This story will be updated.

This story was originally published September 14, 2019 at 7:05 PM.

Josh Moore

Lexington Herald-Leader

Josh Moore covers the University of Kentucky football team for the Lexington Herald-Leader, where he’s been employed since 2009. Moore, a Martin County native, graduated from UK with a B.A. in Integrated Strategic Communication and English in 2013. He’s a fan of the NBA, Power Rangers and Pokémon. Support my work with a digital subscription