Asim ‘A.J.’ Rose Jr. has announced that he will be foregoing an extra year of eligibility at Kentucky and enter the 2021 NFL Draft. Rose made the announcement Tuesday via Twitter:
Dreams come true Thank you #BBN #RoseWay pic.twitter.com/BozWLMHv1k
— AJ Rose Jr (@ajrose_10) January 5, 2021
Rose came in to Kentucky in the class of 2016, same as fellow running back Benny Snell. Rose was a three-star recruit out of Ohio with not a lot of offers or hype surrounding him, but he was recruited by Vince Marrow who saw something in him.
Rose finished his final season for the Kentucky Wildcats with 666 yards rushing and two touchdowns, splitting carries for most of the season with Chris Rodriguez Jr. Rose finishes with 1,971 total rushing yards, just 29 short of 2,000.
The Cleveland (OH) product finished his career with arguably his best game, as he ran for a career-high 148 yards while averaging 12.3 yards per touch as he was named Gator Bowl MVP in the 23-21 win over NC State. He also finished the season with back-to-back 100+ yard performances for the first time in his career after going for 101 yards and one score in 14 carries on Senior Day vs. South Carolina.
Rose played behind Benny Snell for two seasons in 2017 and 2018, operating as the change-of-pace to Snell. The lightning to Benny’s thunder, if you will. Rose was so good in his backup role, that fans felt confident in Rose’s ability to become RB1 last season after Benny Snell had left for the NFL.
Rose did not disappoint in his two seasons as the main back for the Wildcats, rushing for the bulk of career yardage, with 1,492 yards and eight touchdowns.
Rose ranks No. 10 all-time on the career rushing list at Kentucky. The running back class of 2016 produced the No. 1 (Benny Snell) and No. 10 all-time leading rushers in Kentucky history.
Take a bow, A.J. Rose.
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