Chris Rodriguez, Jamin Davis among 10 players who won’t play for UK at Alabama
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Game day: Alabama 63, Kentucky 3
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s Kentucky-Alabama football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
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Three University of Kentucky starters without previously reported injuries will not play at Alabama on Saturday.
Inside linebacker Jamin Davis, tight end Justin Rigg and running back Chris Rodriguez won’t be available to play Saturday. None of the three were reported as injured following UK’s last game against Vanderbilt.
UK was without starting offensive guards, Luke Fortner and Kenneth Horsey, against the Commodores last week and both were questionable coming into Saturday; specialists Max Duffy, the reigning Ray Guy Award winner, and Matt Ruffolo, UK’s starting place-kicker, were both unavailable last week. According to the UK Sports Network, both Duffy and Fortner are unavailable this week; Horsey and Ruffolo were not mentioned.
Additionally, five reserves — linebackers D’Eryk Jackson and Torrance Davis, defensive backs Taj Dodson and Jamari Brown, and tight end Brenden Bates — will not be in uniform.
DeAndre Square, Kentucky’s other starting inside linebacker, was only available “in case of emergency” last week against Vanderbilt but was expected to be back on the field this weekend.
Rodriguez, a sophomore, leads Kentucky in rushing with 562 yards and six touchdowns. Senior A.J. Rose, the Wildcats’ starter, is expected to be available along with sophomore Kavosiey Smoke, who played limited snaps in UK’s last two games after missing three games with a rib injury suffered against Mississippi.
Davis has recorded double-digit tackles in five straight games and leads Kentucky with 73 tackles this year. Rigg last week caught his first touchdown of the season and has started all seven games for the Wildcats.
Outside of the known injuries UK’s absences seem to have originated from positive COVID-19 tests and subsequent contact-tracing procedures leading to the quarantining of known contacts. Jon Hale of the Courier Journal reported that UK had not reached out to the Southeastern Conference to ask it to consider postponement of Saturday’s game, indicating that the program still has the required minimum number of game-ready players (53) to field a team.
Kentucky has not released specific information about COVID-19 testing to the public throughout the season, but had previously reported total testing results from the athletics department through Sept. 16. Two coaches were unable to participate in practice last week due to positive COVID-19 tests ahead of the game against Vanderbilt, but both were able to coach during the game.
The SEC’s coronavirus policy requires teams to have at least 53 scholarship players, including one quarterback, seven offensive linemen (including one center) and four defensive linemen, available. The SEC also allows schools to request a postponement or cancellation if there are “compelling reasons why it cannot begin a contest regardless of the scholarship and position minimums.”
Alabama’s most recently-scheduled contest against LSU on Nov. 14 was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak at LSU. It had a scheduled open week on Nov. 7 and hasn’t played since Oct. 31.
This story was originally published November 21, 2020 at 2:46 PM.
