Kentucky takes another hit at left tackle

The Kentucky Wildcats are 5-0, but one of their key positions is a big question mark.

Before the season even began, Kentucky lost left tackle Landon Young for the season due to a knee injury. Young was probably the team’s second-best offensive lineman, and losing him was a major loss on the blindside of the quarterback.

Thankfully, Naasir Watkins and EJ Price to help offset the loss while rotating throughout the game for the first five contests. But against South Carolina, Watkins went down with a knee sprain that could cost him time.

After the game, head coach Mark Stoops revealed Watkins’ injury could sideline him for a bit.

“Naasir, he just has a knee injury. Expect him to be out for a short period of time. Nothing major.”

As to what the loss would mean, Stoops did bring up a true freshman who was a potential redshirt candidate.

“We’ll have to talk to John (Schlarman) and see what we’ll do. Darian (Kinnard), I would expect Darian, you know, so I’m not sure how many games he played in yet, we can always use him and that’s where that rule would have come in, could play him and let Naasir clear up, we have a bye week after next week, so could plug him in and maybe still keep his year.”

For now, Price is the full-time left tackle, and he’ll get a big first test in this role against a good Texas A&M front seven.