Mark Stoops identifies multiple Kentucky defenders expected to miss significant time in 2024

Kentucky already has several defenders banged up ahead of the start of the 2024 college football season. Wildcats coach Mark Stoops mentioned four players who will either miss the entire season or a large chunk of it when meeting with the media on Friday.

Kentucky defensive linemen Josaih Hayes, Tavion Gadson and Darrion Henry-Young are all dealing with significant injuries, as is cornerback Quavo Marshall, per Stoops.

“Josaih Hayes will be out for an extended period of time. Tavion Gadson, who filled in as a young d-lineman last year for Josiah… he’ll be out for an extended period of time,” Mark Stoops said. “These are either going to be the full year or close to it. The same with Quavo Marshall at corner. And then Darrion Henry-Young at defensive line, as well.”

Josaih Hayes has played in 42 games over the course of his college career, making four starts. He recorded 24 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks last season. He got banged up during the spring.

Tavion Gadson also suffered an injury during the spring. He appeared in four games last season while redshirting and is a young player the coaching staff is excited about.

Quavo Marshall is entering his freshman season with the Wildcats. He signed with Kentucky after being rated as a three-star cornerback in the class of 2024, per the On3 Industry rankings.

Henry-Young appeared in eight games last season, finishing the year with 10 tackles, including 2.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.

Deone Walker details pivotal conversation with Mark Stoops about both returning to Kentucky

Elsewhere with the Kentucky defense, the Wildcats return one of the best defensive linemen in the country in Deone Walker.

However, at one point, Walker considered transferring elsewhere when it looked like Mark Stoops might be on the move.

Walker spoke with On3’s Andy Staples at SEC Media Days about what it was like weighing his options. He admitted that he wondered about his future following the last Governor’s Cup to end the regular season as Stoops considered leaving for Texas A&M in the hours afterward. However, once his head coach said he’d be back in the bluegrass, he knew that he would be too.

“After our Louisville game, you know, a bunch of that talk was being made. I actually called him, you know. Like, ‘Coach, if you’re going to leave, just tell me. Let me know now,’” Walker recalled. “But he said that he was going to stay loyal to me, stay loyal to the university. So I had to do that for him.”