A.J. Rose will stay at UK. He could finish as one of the school’s top rushers.
University of Kentucky junior A.J. Rose, the Wildcats’ starting running back through the entirety of the 2019 season, will return for his final year of eligibility at the school.
Rose announced his decision via Twitter on Thursday.
“Many of you have asked what I’m doing next season and although playing in the NFL has always been my dream, I have decided to return for my senior year and help my brothers compete for the East and a SEC championship,” Rose wrote.
Rose assumed the starting role this past season after backing up Benny Snell, the program’s all-time leading rusher, in 2017 and 2018. He finished 2019 with 826 yards and six touchdowns on 149 carries, leading a trio of running backs who generated 1,975 rushing yards on top of the 1,468 gained by wide receiver-turned-quarterback Lynn Bowden.
In his career Rose has rushed for 1,305 yards, putting him 27th all-time in school history. Were he to replicate or exceed his total from this season, Rose would finish his career as the school’s 10th player to reach the 2,000-yard rushing mark.
Only three players in UK history have rushed for 3,000 or more yards in their careers — Snell (3,873), Sonny Collins (3,835) and Moe Williams (3,333).
In addition to Snell, Stanley “Boom” Williams also reached the 2,000-yard career mark under Mark Stoops; he rushed for 2,511 yards from 2014-2016. Three of the school’s 15 leading rushers have played for Stoops; Jojo Kemp ranks 13th in history with 1,709 yards accrued from 2013-2016.
Rose is one of Kentucky’s all-time performers when it comes to one statistic: his current average of 5.5 yards per carry ranks fourth in school history — minimum 200 rushes — behind Bowden (7.4), Williams (6.91), and Randall Cobb (5.76).
He has been on campus for four straight bowl teams and as a senior could help UK match a school record with a fifth straight bowl appearance. Only 11 Kentucky teams have won eight or more games, and Rose was a reliable contributor for the last two to achieve that feat.
“In 2016, I arrived on campus as a freshman ready to be a part of something special at the University of Kentucky,” Rose wrote. “We have definitely changed the program into something special, but we have unfinished business to take care of in 2020.”
Barring transfers, Kentucky should have at least six scholarship running backs next season. Chris Rodriguez and Kavosiey Smoke, Rose’s backups, will be sophomores and Travis Tisdale, who played limited snaps as a true freshman, will be a redshirt freshman. UK signed Ohio running back JuTahn McClain during the early signing period and expects to sign a fellow buckeye, Torrance Davis, next month.
UK could add another running back in Michael Drennen, a four-star prospect for whom the Wildcats have long been considered the leader but whose recruitment has picked up over the past couple of months.
This story was originally published January 9, 2020 at 3:33 PM.
