Chris Rodriguez has even been working with the scout team to stay in playing shape. (UK Athletics Photo)
For about two months the speculation has been that Kentucky running back Chris Rodriguez would likely miss UK’s first four games.
The senior running back pleaded guilty to a DUI charge in July but apparently had another off-field issue that led to him already missing UK’s first two games even though no specifics were ever explained by coach Mark Stoops or any UK official.
Guess what? Kentucky confirmed Monday that Rodriguez had been cleared to play when UK visits Ole Miss Oct. 1 in the fifth game of the season. So just as speculated, he’s going to miss four games.
But what I wonder is why if the speculation for months would be that he would miss four games, why did it take until the third week of the college football season to announce it.
Stoops has indicated before the matter was out of his hands — “I have bosses and they have bosses” — and he had been told to stay mum on the situation.
Stoops declined Monday to confirm the NCAA was involved in the decision.
“I realize you all (media) have a job to do and everybody wants to dig at it, but it is what it is,” Stoops said. “He’ll be back for the Ole Miss game and we will be more than happy to welcome him back and have him go compete when he can.”
Rodriguez has 2,739 career rushing yards, more than any other active SEC running back. He had 1,379 yards — more than any returning SEC player — and 12 touchdowns in 2021. He’s sixth on Kentucky’s all-time rushing list and needs 1,134 yards to break Benny Snell’s all-time rushing record. That means he would have to average almost 130 yards per game in UK’s eight regular-season games and one bowl game to surpass Snell.
“We’ve been prepared to handle this situation for weeks now,” Stoops said. “We’ve been getting the other (running backs) ready, continuing to progress but also keep him in shape, get him reps when we can.”
“Chris is wonderful because he’s competing on the scout team. He goes down there and gets his reps down there. He’s willing to do scout team special teams. He’s doing whatever he can to stay in shape, get those movements down with the run game and continue to take reps with the first and second team offense when he can. He’s staying active and getting ready to go.”
Senior Kavosiey Smoke and redshirt freshman La’Vell Wright were UK’s primary runners at Florida with Rodriguez out via suspension and Ramon Jefferson and JuThan McClain injured. Kentucky is averaging only 60 yards rushing per game but the running game did seem to come to life in the second half in last week’s win at Florida.
Rodriguez’s attitude through this ordeal has been terrific. He did not miss a summer workout. He was at Fan Day smiling and signing autographs. After UK’s season-opening win he stayed late signing autographs for fans. He’s now working with the scout team.
“He’s still going to root for his team on the sidelines, sign autographs and take photos with fans because he loves this game!” his father , Chris Sr., posted on Twitter after his son stayed to interact with fans.
Chris Rodriguez Sr. posted this on Twitter Saturday before UK won at Florida: “Game day! Let’s go! I have full trust that Coach has given the tools needed to win/be productive in this game. Our players and coaching staff will execute at the highest degree. The defense will be stellar and the offense will flow to move the ball. I’m excited for tonite!”
He was right. The defense was stellar and the offense flowed enough to get the 26-16 win.
And keep this in mind — senior linebacker Jordan Wright was suspended for the first game and he was the star of the Florida win with an interception and a strip sack along with keeping Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson from running wild.
Maybe Rodriguez can have the same impact for the UK offense at Ole Miss in a game where both teams should be 4-0.
3 Responses
UK’s per game rushing stats are deceptive. This stat has always included losses due to quarterback sacks, but against Florida, the final game stat includes a 39 yard loss on the extra long punt snap that gave Florida the safety, -39 yards.
Therefore, the real rushing numbers, including sacks, is 39 yards larger, or about 20 yards per game higher.
80 yards per game on the ground is nothing to write home about, but it is better than the reported 60 yards per game.
good points Professor
I look for the rushing yards to dramatically improve when Rodriquez returns in time for Ole Miss. As for keeping him out of four games, it stinks! It is very troubling too. Good news is UK is 2-0, and 1-0 in the SEC. With this much tight lipped silence about this strange matter, I have concluded that we probably never will know the real story. Maybe it is best to let the "sleeping dog lie."