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When Kentucky was able to sign Georgia standout running back Jamarion Wilcox, UK coaches thought he could make an impact on the offense in 2023.
Instead, he did not get a carry in 2023 and came into the season No. 4 on the UK running back depth chart. No one questioned his talent or speed, but his practice habits and work ethic kept him from earning trust from UK coaches and getting a chance to play.
Injuries to running backs Chip Trayanum and Jason Patterson have elevated Wilcox to UK’s backup running back and Saturday he had eight carries fora career-high 82 yards, both career highs, in a 41-6 win over Ohio.
Wilcox, who had 43 yards on nine carries against Georgia, had runs of 19, 21, and 23 yards against Ohio.
However, UK coach Mark Stoops made it clear after the game that Wilcox still had work to do.
“Jamarion is a guy that you’ve heard me say many times that I believe in his talent, and he’s a very good player. We are leaning on him to be consistent on and off the field. Do things right, be on time to meetings, the little things, know all the protection,” Stoops said.
“As he gets more snaps, he’ll be more engaged and he’ll get better with opportunities, as far as all the little nuances to the offense and the protections and things of that nature.”
But do not doubt his running ability or explosiveness.
“As far as running the ball, he’s tough as nails. A week ago, you guys probably don’t see it, but he’s on kickoff and he’s running people over on kickoff team, getting to the football as a running back,” Stoops said. “He has the toughness, and I think he saw last weekend and this week, just the way he runs it. He’s been very efficient, very tough, and trying to be more accountable in all ways.”
Trayanum, the Ohio State transfer, is expected to be back from his hand injury against Ole Miss in UK’s next game after missing the first four but Wilcox has made it clear he’s ready to be a productive part of the UK offense.
4 Responses
8 runs – 80 yards!!!
Stoops should shut up about work ethics & meetings. He has missed the point when a guy averages 10 yards and doesn’t get a chance to carry to a few more time to get 100!
So typical of Stoops to hold back a guy who is not as interested in meetings as he is in being a boss in the field!!
Herschel Walker was on the bench for UGA until conservatives coach Vince Dooley had little choice but to give him a chance when TN was walloping UGA… AT TN! Herschel kite rally ran over an All-American LB soon after he entered the game & led UGA a come from behind win.
If you are too insecure to let a guy play more just because he is not interested in listening to Stoops (infamous for putting players to sleep just before kick-off with his anti-pep speech), then Stiops should go in his office & shut the door, shut his mouth, so the players who are successful on the field (and not just during the week) get more snaps.
He also averaged 4.6 yards vs the vaunted UGA defense! Two weeks in a row of real game productionis much better than the players who get the hype all week and fail in the games!
I agree they should have been feeding jamarion you could see his explosion when he runs the ball. He’s much faster than DSK who is more of a power runner. With the line we have we need a fast back and Wilcox proved this during the game. He should have gotten a minimum of 15 carries and he only got 8. Also it seemed like we did much better in the red zone with Gavin as the quarterback. Stops doesn’t know how to mix things up and keep doing what’s working. We need to run the ball with this team 70-80% of the time. We have a run blocking line not a pass blocking. It will show again vs ole miss that we need to run the ball even more if we want to beat any SEC teams.
Stoops is the boss period. If a guy isn’t doing what he is supposed to do off the field, it wouldn’t be fair to the guys that are. The coaches are tasked with making men out of players. Teaching life skills. If you’re in the real world not doing what is required at a job, it’s going to be hard to keep that job. It sounds like he needs to learn the play book better. That’s what the meetings are for.
I agree with Jimmy, it’s call accountability and I like what Stoops is making men out of them and be responsibility on the field or off.