Chip Trayanum happy to have debut behind him, focused on finding rhythm

Mark Stoops said Ohio State transfer Chip Trayanum had been “champing at the bit” to make his debut after sitting out the start of the season with a broken hand. It’s been a frustrating injury with a number of setbacks after coming in as the projected starting running back with Demie Sumo-Karngbaye, Jamarion Wilcox and Jason Patterson backing him up.

Then that trio found success in their own respective ways while the star portal addition had to impatiently watch and wait.

At long last, Trayanum saw live game action in blue and white, rushing for 26 yards on seven carries with a long of eight yards — albeit in a 48-20 loss at Florida. It wasn’t the result anyone wanted and maybe he wanted to bring more to the table individually, but those around him were happy to see him get his feet wet as a Wildcat for the first time. His hard work to get back on the field and produce had finally paid off.

“It was good seeing him out there,” Stoops said. “I know he’s been frustrated by being hurt, that’s been really tough on him. It was good to see him out there and hopefully he’ll improve and keep on getting better with reps.”

“It was great seeing him out there,” Barion Brown added. “I’ve just seen the hard work he puts in, Chip is always in my ear telling me what’s right in front of me. It was really good seeing him out there today.”

Trayanum feels the same way, happy to just get his debut behind him and focus on actually making an impact for his new team. He couldn’t get them in the win column this time around, but the Ohio State transfer plans to get the Wildcats there as quickly as possible.

“It felt good to be back out there tonight. Obviously I’m not satisfied with the outcome, but it definitely felt good to be back out there with my brothers,” he said. “… I would just more so say it’s hard to take any (positive) because — with a competitor mindset, you don’t plan on taking any losses. We definitely had high hopes coming into this one.”

For some, it might take a minute to get used to the physicality and taking tough hits coming back from an injury like his, trusting your broken hand to feel and move the same as it did prior to injury. For Trayanum, it was more about finding his groove with real reps after so much time off.

The loss was a bigger adjustment than getting tackled.

“No, not really (an adjustment taking hits),” he said. “Just trying to get back into a rhythm. Just gonna be really critical with the film, looking back and seeing what we can all do better. … Just leaning on my faith heavily, learning on God. It sucks that I came back and we lost, but ultimately, that’s where I put my faith in each and every day and I’m going to continue to do that.”

Trayanum also hopes the added reps allow him to take on the leadership role he maintained when he first arrived as the leader of the backfield. It’s tough to call shots and voice your opinion when you’re not playing. His return should help in that regard.

“I feel like I could definitely take on more. It was just kind of hard to try to be that vocal guy when you’re not really in there,” he said. “That’s definitely a goal in mind to really kick things into overdrive. Hopefully we can get over this hump and start going in the right direction.”

His first message to the team as a leader now that he’s back in the rotation? Focus on what’s ahead with everyone holding themselves accountable. The entire team made mistakes in the 28-point loss in Gainesville. Own them all.

“It’s definitely tough (losing), but at the same time, you’ve just got to keep the next game mindset. This upcoming Auburn game is the most important game on the schedule because it’s the next game,” Trayanum said. “Ultimately, we’re just going to get back to the film room tomorrow, look at every game critically and taking accountability for what everybody did. Everybody made mistakes out there, so ultimately, we’re looking forward to Auburn and just trying to get the win there.”

Why should fans believe in the offense to turn things around in the back half of the schedule with Trayanum back in the lineup? We’ve seen spurts of brilliance. They just need to figure out how to turn those spurts into sustained high-level production.

Starting more quickly wouldn’t hurt.

“We have moments and we have our peaks,” he said. “I just feel like we have to stay consistent through and through, through it all, no matter the circumstances. We’ve just got to come out swinging fast.”

They’ll need it in a must-win game against Auburn next week.