Jordan Dingle, left, was all alone when he caught a touchdown pass from Will Levis. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Quarterback Will Levis knew it was a designed pass play but he also knew after he faked a handoff to running back Chris Rodriguez, he could have “walked” into the end.
Instead, he hit redshirt freshman tight end Jordan Dingle with a 1-yard scoring pass to give Kentucky a 14-3 lead at Missouri Saturday in what turned out to be a 21-17 win.
“Dingle has been working his tail off and deserved one (touchdown),” Levis said.
Dingle had three receptions for 35 yards and a touchdown against Missouri. He now has three touchdown catches this season, which ties the previous freshman receiving touchdown record shared by Derek Abney (2000) and Tommy Cook (2001) before current freshman Dane Key raised that mark to five this season.
The former four-star prospect from Bowling Green had two catches for first downs on UK’s first two drives at Missouri.
He’s now had a catch in all nine games this season, something only Key has also done. Overall he has 17 catches for 188 yards and has become a vital part of the UK offense.
“He is blocking well and doing a lot of good things,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “I thought Jordan really had a good game. It started in that early drive when Will hit him. He is just doing a lot of good things.”
Stoops even pointed out that in the 44-6 loss at Tennessee a week earlier, Dingle had one of UK’s best offensive plays.
“That over the shoulder catch (at Tennessee) is hard for a big man. Not everyone can make those catches,” the Kentucky coach said.
