Kentucky Football 2015 Signing Class: Running Back

The Kentucky Wildcats missed out on Damien Harris - I'm not sure if you're aware - and for a time it wasn't known if UK would sign a running back in this class. I'll hazard to guess they were always willing to sign a great one, but when Braylon Heard declared for the NFL the decision to replenish the backfield was decided if it hadn't already. On the eve of NSD, the news was broken by Rivals that an offer had been made and accepted by Sihiem King of Georgia who is listed as an all-purpose back who had great production his senior season.

King, who appeared to have been leaning towards Wake Forest according to Twitter last night, also claimed offers from Cincinnati, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, and Washington State. The diminutive back has some wheels judging by his highlights, and will almost certainly be used to catch balls out of the backfield and exploit coverage mismatches against slower linebackers. Shannon Dawson likely has a plan in mind for King, who will probably get used similar to how Stanley Williams also gets used next season.

It's hard to know if King will redshirt next season, but I lean towards thinking he won't. At the listed 5'8'' 170 pounds he's probably carrying enough good weight to compete next season. The departure of Heard means UK only has four scholarship running backs in Jojo Kemp, Stanley Williams, Mikel Horton, and Josh Clemons. Running backs inevitably get hurt during the grind of a season, and King may have to step up at some point. If those guys stay healthy, he may get to keep his redshirt on.