Setback for Chip Trayanum means Ohio State transfer will have to wait longer for UK debut
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Ohio State transfer Chip Trayanum’s Kentucky football debut might not be imminent after all.
Trayanum, who was projected to start at running back for Kentucky before suffering a hand injury during a preseason scrimmage, returned to practice before UK’s win at Ole Miss but was still ruled out for that game.
UK coach Mark Stoops confirmed Monday that Trayanum had experienced a setback in his rehab, throwing his status for the near future back into doubt.
“We’ll see where that goes,” Stoops said at his news conference previewing the Vanderbilt game.
Kentucky’s need for Trayanum has decreased due to the emergence of Demie Sumo-Karngbaye, Jamarion Wilcox and Jason Patterson at running back, but Trayanum was still viewed as the best power back of the group.
“The other running backs really are doing a good job, but Chip, he was No. 1 for a reason,” recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach Vince Marrow, who recruited Trayanum to UK, said after Trayanum returned to practice.
Trayanum, who spent two seasons at Arizona State and two at Ohio State, has not yet used his redshirt season in college, so he could appear in up to four games and preserve a year of eligibility this season.
Stoops declined to go into specifics about Trayanum’s setback or divulge other injury news Monday, instead noting he would provide an update when he releases the SEC-mandated availability report Wednesday night.
That means fans will have to wait longer to learn if cornerback Maxwell Hairston can play against Vanderbilt. Hairston, who did not play in the upset win at Ole Miss, was included on the depth chart Monday, but that alone has not been a reliable indication of whether a player is available for a game.
Hairston was limited earlier in the season due to a shoulder injury, but it is unclear if whatever kept him out of the Ole Miss game was related to that injury or a new condition. Cornerback JQ Hardaway confirmed social media speculation after the win in Oxford that Hairston watched the game from the hospital.
With Hairston out, Michigan transfer DJ Waller made his first start for Kentucky. Waller was credited with two tackles and one key pass breakup.
Hardaway, who started the first four games opposite Hairston, continued his improved play with a team-high 11 tackles and one forced fumble.
“It was just the way we competed, the way we bounced back,” Stoops said last week when asked about the play of UK’s cornerbacks in Hairston’s absence. “Like JQ, he gets beat on a play and two or three plays later he causes a fumble. Just constantly grinding, constantly fighting. It’s tough.
“It’s tough covering those guys. We put them on some islands, we put them in some space. … I just appreciate their effort. I think (defensive backs coach) Chris Collins has done a really good job with some new guys, and they’re getting better.”
Freshman cornerback Terhyon Nichols also was singled out for praise by Stoops on his radio show after the Ole Miss game for playing through an injury. Nichols was also credited with a key pass breakup on an attempted deep ball.
Stoops said Nichols’ status would also be evaluated later in the week.
As long as Hairston is out, UK will count on Waller, Hardaway, Nichols and Jantzen Dunn, who also plays nickel back, to carry the load at cornerback.
The length of Waller and Hardaway, both are listed at 6-foot-3, can be a boost to the position, but neither has the experience of Hairston, who The Athletic rated as a top-40 2025 NFL draft prospect before the season.
There was good injury news on at least one Wildcat as freshman wide receiver Hardley Gilmore has returned to practice. Stoops confirmed that the staff would not try to limit Gilmore, a consistent target of praise from coaches during spring practice and preseason camp, to four games and a redshirt season if they believed he could help when first available. Gilmore has yet to play this season after suffering an injury in a preseason scrimmage.
This story was originally published October 7, 2024 at 1:04 PM.
