Chris Rodriguez Jr. is hard to tackle

Kentucky’s offense in 2021 starts with redshirt junior tailback Chris Rodriguez Jr. There is no getting around that.

Back in the spring, new offensive coordinator Liam Coen stated the Wildcats wanted to get Rodriguez 25 touches a game because of the talent he possesses. The preseason All-SEC tailback is a true weapon.

“It’s my job and our job as an offensive staff to find different ways for him to touch the football, as opposed to turning around and giving him the ball,” Coen told the media about Rodriguez’s workload during spring practice. “That’s something that’s new — being able to free-release from the backfield and catch the football. It would be hard for me to say right now how many touches a game each guy would like to get, but I do know we want to try to get Chris over 25 a game for sure.”

This was music to many ears across the Commonwealth. Last season, Rodriguez was one of the most efficient players in college football posting a 65.55 percent success rate but only received 13.22 rush attempts. That was clearly not enough touches for the offense’s best player. Coen would be looking to fix that in 2021.

However, Kentucky has been keeping it safe with their star running back in practice. The former low three-star recruit from Metro Atlanta was held out of scrimmages in the spring and has been on a pitch count during fall camp. However, Kentucky unleashed their star back last week in their first scrimmage of fall camp. He did not disappoint.

“I hadn’t been able to see him live because we didn’t have him in any of the scrimmages in the spring. That was my first time seeing Chris Rodriguez live and — it’s nice to see. It’s nice to see.”

“Because you can’t do it out here, you just can’t simulate what he brings to the table in a controlled setting. And when he gets into those settings where you actually have to tackle him — it’s not easy — and that’s nice to see.”

Tackling him sure is not easy. Rodriguez seems primed for a monster season in 2021. The veteran will attempt to chase down the single-season rushing record (1,600 rushing yards) that has been held by Moe Williams since 1995. Kentucky is making sure the tailback is fresh to give it a run throughout the 12-game schedule.

Rodriguez will be a focal point of the offense for the entire season because he is extremely hard to tackle.