UK football monitoring QB, kicker injuries ahead of South Carolina game
University of Kentucky quarterback Sawyer Smith and kicker Chance Poore were listed in the No. 1 spots on the latest depth chart. Whether they’ll start at South Carolina later this week could be up in the air because of injuries each suffered at Mississippi State.
Smith, because of soreness in his right shoulder, would not have been able to throw if he was allowed to on Sunday (it is Kentucky’s mandatory off day), head coach Mark Stoops said. Smith injured his throwing shoulder on the Wildcats’ final drive of the second quarter and at halftime was questionable to return, but he played the remainder of the game.
Poore’s leg still hurts after he was hit on his final field-goal attempt at Mississippi State, Stoops said. Backup Matt Ruffolo, who kicked UK’s last field-goal try on Saturday, will practice with the first-stringers early in the week.
Stoops said Saturday that, even had Poore not been injured, it might have been time anyway for UK to use another kicker against the Bulldogs; Poore connected on his first attempt in Starkville but missed his next two, and is 1-for-4 on his last four field-goal tries.
There’s uncertainty behind Smith — who’s set to make his third straight start after Terry Wilson went down with a season-ending injury against Eastern Michigan in week two — should he be unavailable. His immediate backup is Walker Wood, a sophomore and former standout at Lafayette High School in Lexington. Amani Gilmore, a true freshman, is UK’s only other scholarship quarterback. Kolbe Langhi, a Christian County graduate, is a sophomore walk-on.
None of the three reserves has played in a college game.
Stoops described Wood, who has battled knee and shoulder injuries since coming to UK, as “an extremely hard worker” who knows how to take care of the football.
“(He’s) worked coming back off his surgeries to compete and to play at the highest level he can,” Stoops said. “We’re confident in Walker.”
UK would also have to consider “some other options” as well, but Gilmore “has a ways to go,” Stoops said.
“He’s got a little work to do,” said Stoops, who brought up Nik Scalzo, another true freshman quarterback on scholarship. Scalzo was lost in the preseason to an injury of the ACL in his right knee, his second time suffering that injury in less than a year. “Nik was a guy that was doing some really good things in preseason camp. “
“Other options” likely would include Lynn Bowden, a wide receiver who leads the team in receptions and who has been UK’s primary recipient of the ball in its wildcat formations this season. Bowden is 1-for-2 throwing the ball and has rushed for 55 yards on seven carries out of the wildcat.
Other injuries
▪ Isaiah Epps, a junior wide receiver, remains without a timetable for his return from a fracture in his left foot. “He’s running in the treadmill and things of that nature, and in the water,” Stoops said. “… They gave me no indication he’d be back this week, but it’s getting close. I think it’s after the bye.”
▪ Senior safety Jordan Griffin was “banged up” at Mississippi State and didn’t play his usual snap count as a result, but he is listed as the No. 1 strong safety. Taj Dodson, a true freshman who played extended minutes after Yusuf Corker was ejected against Florida, is expected to be available this week after suffering an injury late against the Gators, but he was not listed on the depth chart.
Next game
Kentucky at South Carolina
7:30 p.m. Saturday (SEC Network)
