Phil Hoskins gets 6th year of eligibility

The Kentucky Wildcats just got a big piece of their defense back for one more season.

On Wednesday, defensive tackle Phil Hoskins announced he had been granted a sixth year of eligibility, so he’ll be back in the middle of UK’s defense for the 2020 season.

Hoskins, a 6-5, 306-pounder out of Toledo (OHI, was expected to be a significant contributor this season. However, he was suspended for UK’s first two games because of an academic issue.

When he returned, Hoskins was listed behind Calvin Taylor at defensive tackle prior to UK’s matchup with Florida, but he suffered an injury in pregame warmups that ended up keeping him sidelined for the remainder of the season. That allowed UK to apply for the rare sixth year of eligibility, and now that he has it, Hoskins will contend for the starting spot left vacated by Taylor’s graduation.

Hoskins committed to UK in the summer of 2016 as a highly-touted JUCO prospect while holding offers from Arkansas, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Mississippi State, Syracuse, Colorado, Iowa State and Houston among others.

In 2018 as a junior, Hoskins totaled 21 tackles, 3.5 tackles, three sacks and one QB hit.

A Sea of Blue comes loaded with the best Kentucky Wildcats links, news, analysis, and some other fun stuff, so be sure to go ‘like’ our Facebook page and then go follow us on Twitter.