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Marquan McCall could be sidelined over a month, per report

Not good, but Kentucky has the depth to push through it.

Drew Brown - Sea of Blue

On Monday morning, Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops updated the media on the injury status of starting nose guard Marquan “Bully” McCall after he exited Saturday’s game against Florida with an injury.

Stoops called it a, “lower extremity” injury. When asked about a timeline for his return, Stoops stated it would, “be a little bit.”

According to a report this morning by KSR’s Nick Roush, McCall could end up being out for 4-6 weeks.

With this timeline, it would put McCall out until at least until the team travels to Mississippi State, or a possible return against Vanderbilt if it ends up being the longer recovery time.

Currently this season, the senior out of Detroit (MI) has totaled six tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. But the pressure he brings up the middle is undeniable, as well has how he maintains his gap and makes it very hard for teams to run at.

With this injury news, Brad White will now lean on Justin Rogers and Josaih Hayes to apply that pressure up the middle. Both players were highly ranked recruits in the Class of 2020, and were the cornerstone pieces in what ended up being one of the best defensive-line classes in the country.

In Saturday’s win, both players got some snaps, but it was Justin Rogers who really shined in his opportunity. If Rogers can continue to get the push up front, and Hayes can continue to play some quality snaps, this UK run defense should stay just as stout as it was with McCall running the middle.

Stoops did say that Hayes was a little banged up from this past weekend, but should be good to go against LSU.

Now is the time for the two players to start their highlight reel.