Is Dee Beckwith the answer at running back for Kentucky? Not likely

The Kentucky football running back room has been depleted by injuries just one week into the 2022 season.

The Wildcats started the season without Chris Rodriguez in the lineup. Chasing the school’s all-time rushing record, it’s unclear when we will see No. 24 in action. Kentucky must plan to play without C-Rod for the foreseeable future.

Against Miami (OH) Kavosiey Smoke was the first to have his number called. He totaled just 32 yards on seven carries. Ramon Jefferson received plenty of praise throughout preseason camp, but the FCS All-American suffered an injury on his second carry as a Wildcat, sidelining him “for the extended future.” In addition to Jefferson’s injury, former four-star tailback JuTahn McClain is considered week-to-week. North Hardin product La’Vell Wright flashed potential in only 10 snaps Saturday. However, the redshirt freshman was limited throughout preseason camp with a nagging injury.

Once one of the deepest position groups on the team, Kentucky will be short-handed in Gainesville. Searching for more production, many folks around the Big Blue Nation began asking the question, “Can Dee Beckwith help the Cats?” After all, he is a big body (6’5″ 225 pounds) that previous played the position at Tennessee.

Mark Stoops was asked about Beckwith on Monday night’s call-in show. “Dee is versatile,” said Stoops. “He’s playing wide receiver and we can move them around and play some different spots, but he’s playing wideout for us right now.”

In short, Beckwith is not an option at running back. It’s unclear if he can contribute at all elsewhere this fall. There’s one more option on the table for the Wildcats, Michael Drennen. A top 250 running back in the 2020 recruiting class, he bounced between receiver and running back in his first two seasons. After a lackluster spring, Donut got lost on the depth chart.

Kentucky is running out of options at running back. The solution to this problem is the simplest: get Chris Rodriguez back in a Kentucky football uniform.