Josh Kattus not dressed, will miss game vs. Vanderbilt

Kentucky will be without sophomore tight end Josh Kattus for Saturday’s SEC opener against Vanderbilt, according to multiple reports. The Ohio native is in Nashville but has been spotted in sweats less than half an hour before the opening kickoff.

Kattus was taken out of the game early against Akron due to an undisclosed injury, and Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops wasn’t willing to provide much of an update when he was asked earlier this week.

The former three-star recruit has caught two passes for 24 yards and a touchdown for the Wildcats this season.

Kickoff between the Wildcats and Commodores is set for Noon ET live on the SEC Network.

Clark Lea praises former Vanderbilt running back Ray Davis ahead of matchup

Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea had nothing but praise for his former star running back ahead of the conference matchup.

“Ray’s a good player,” Lea said during his Tuesday press conference, via On3’s Peter Warren. “He was good when he was here. He’s got good vision, has good feet. He’s got a knack for finding the space. He’s got a knack for knowing when to cut back and get against the grain and break the long one. He’s also a really good receiver in the pass game and we saw that when he was here.

“I see that not only they’re using him as a check-down option, but they’re also designing catches for him in the offense, which I think is really smart because he can do that.”

He finished last season with 232 carries for 1,042 rushing yards and five touchdowns. With his performance, Davis became only the 10th player in school history to top 1,000 yards before entering the transfer portal.

“We sat down and talked about it,” Lea said. “There’s always layers to things that I don’t know, that I need to talk about now. But it was a great conversation. At that point, he was exploring options, one of which was an NFL future and then the possibility of, playing his last year of eligibility somewhere else. I supported the decision, just like I do anytime. My job is to not control but to support, to be behind young people as they try to plot their way in life and have the best experience they can.”

Davis leads the Wildcats in rushing with 236 yards and three touchdowns on 33 attempts. That results in a clip of 7.8 yards per attempt. He also has nine catches for 143 yards and another two scores before Saturday’s game.