Days away from the season opener, the last thing any football coach wants is a distraction. Yet a distraction is exactly what Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops is dealing with before Saturday night’s date with Miami (Ohio) at Kroger Field.
The Chris Rodriguez situation is a distraction. It has been a distraction all summer thanks to not just his DUI charge in May — he pleaded guilty in July — but also the rumors of additional problems that have swirled around the star running back.
Now we know that there was something to the rumors and, in fact, other UK football players were involved in whatever sparked the rumors. We know this because outside linebacker Jordan Wright’s name was also missing from the depth chart the school released at Stoops’ Monday press conference. We also know this because Stoops himself said, “I expect a few of them to have multiple-game suspensions, but I don’t know.”
Moments later when asked for more details on the suspensions, Stoops said, “I didn’t say suspended; you did. They are unavailable to play.”
No matter the semantics, it’s obvious some Cats will be “unavailable” the next few games. How many? We don’t know. Why will they be missing? We don’t know — not exactly anyway. Why won’t Stoops be more transparent about the situation? The coach mentioned players’ rights on Monday, then added, “I’m not withholding anything. I’ve been pretty in tune to when I felt like things were going to happen, but I have bosses, and they have bosses, and so on.”
When might we know more? “I’ll address it next week,” the coach said. “I expect maybe one of them to be back next week, but we’ll see how that goes.”
With veteran Kavosiey Smoke, newcomer Ramon Jefferson and the versatile JuTahn McClain, UK has a strong stable of running backs. Still, Rodriguez is a first-team preseason All-SEC selection, just 1,134 yards shy of passing Benny Snell as the school’s all-time leading rusher. Last year alone, Rodriguez rushed for 1,379 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Wright’s absence is not to be overlooked, as well. The grad student from Florida has played in 42 career games with 12 starts. He had four tackles for loss and a sack while being limited to nine games last year because of injury. His career numbers show 7.5 sacks and four fumble recoveries.
Kentucky faced a similar situation heading into last season with the uncertain status of six players because of burglary charges relating to an alleged incident at a fraternity party. It wasn’t until late September before a grand jury declined to hand down indictments, allowing the six to return to team activities.
Last year’s situation played out in public records. The current one has not. That lack of transparency has led to additional speculation, which, of course, presents that very last thing the coach wants — a distraction.
Truth be told, Stoops and his team have been dealing with that all summer. From what we know, this isn’t anything new. There are layers and considerations and issues to be settled, outside forces involved, but from a football standpoint the final question to be answered is the disciplinary measures. That hasn’t either been decided or announced. At least not yet.
As for Saturday, Miami (Ohio) is no pushover. The Red Hawks are a popular pick to win their division and advance to the MAC championship game. Still, a bigger concern is UK’s second game, Sept. 10 at Florida, when SEC play begins. The outcome against the Gators is key to the Cats’ 2022 fortunes. Will Rodriguez be available? Will Wright be available? At this point, we just don’t know.
What we do know this: Since arriving in 2013, Stoops has talked a lot about building a culture. Strong cultures withstand distractions. Last year’s preseason distraction didn’t keep the Cats from their second 10-win season in four years. The guess here is that this year’s distraction, while more impactful, won’t be a season-killer. At least as far as we know. And there’s a lot we still don’t know.
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