Kentucky Wildcats Football: Max Smith Out, Both Freshmen To Play

Quick news post as several outlets are reporting Joker Philips announced Max Smith has a torn ankle ligament and will require surgery. Jalen Whitlow will start in Smith's place but Joker has also said that Patrick Towles will have his redshirt removed and will also play. This is an unfortunate turn of events in an already unfortunate season for Kentucky. But, there are some silver linings:

-Smith was going to be playing with a injured shoulder for the rest of the year anyway. He was probably going to be incapable of playing at some point, and now at least he will be forced to sit out and not risk further damage to his most important asset, his right arm.

-This will be put up or shut up time for everyone involved in the QB hunt for Kentucky. Some fans wanted to see Towles run the offense, and were openly critical that he wasn't playing. Patrick's father had been vocal about his disappointment that his son wasn't playing. Well, now we are going to see once and for all who the better freshman QB is and who gives Kentucky the best chance of winning. No one can say that he didn't get a chance.

-Assuming both of these guys can be somewhat effective, UK is going to be a hard team to prepare for the rest of this year. Whitlow and Towles bring completely different skill sets to the table. Preparing for both of them will be a chore and might help us in games where we still have a chance.

Other bad injury news as Dakotah Tyler is out for the year with a torn ACL. Tough news for a hard nosed player who'd worked to get back into the fold with the program. Expect freshman Daron Blalock to see even more playing time. CoShik Williams and Raymond Sanders III are listed as day to day.