'Everything is starting to click.' Freshman RB Jason Patterson ready to make immediate impact

Kentucky’s running back room will look slightly different in 2024 compared to the past several seasons. After leaning on Benny Snell, Chris Rodriguez, and Ray Davis to help carry the Wildcats’ offense since 2016, there is no clear-cut bell cow on the roster for this fall. Someone will need to establish themselves as the go-to rusher.

Head coach Mark Stoops brought in Chip Trayanum from Ohio State through the transfer portal and will surely use Demie Sumo-Karngbaye, who saw limited playing time in 2023 after transferring from NC State, more often. But otherwise, the running back room is mostly an unknown in Lexington for the first time in a long time.

With that in mind, there are two true freshmen ball carriers (Tovani Mizell and Jason Patterson) and one redshirt freshman (Jamarion Wilcox) who could receive some snaps right away. All three have been mentioned since the spring in some capacity, but one who has been drawing plenty of offseason praise is Patterson, the 5-foot-10, 205-pound Florida native.

He put on a good showing at the scrimmage on Saturday and is a name that continues to pop up in media interviews thanks to a steady performance in summer practice.

“I think he’s in that same mold of Fred Farrier. He’s one of those guys that’s been quiet, continually working,” New offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan said about Patterson last week. “I think I remember in July, he used to be in my office, he would have his pads on, just getting catches on these Jugs Machines here at 6 o’clock at night.

“That’s a guy, he doesn’t say a whole lot. Again, I’ve said this, we always know what those upperclassmen guys are, the guys that we do a lot of media coverage with. But it’s those younger guys who can step in and know what they’re doing with a little bit less experience that are gonna be game-changers for us.”

We have no idea just how much (if at all) Patterson will be used during his rookie campaign. What we do know is that he’ll certainly be ready once the time comes. The question will always remain until we see it on the field though: can he produce? The speed of the game going from high school to college has taken some getting used to, but he’s come along quite nicely since enrolling early back in the winter.

“It’s been different, but I love different,” Patterson said at Media Day about the transition to college. “I love seeing different stuff. Coming in, it was harder at first in the spring. It’s getting easier though since the summer, now we’re going into fall camp. Everything is starting to click.”

Patterson is a self-described home-run hitter — someone who wants to explode for 60- or 70-yard touchdowns. Kentucky would love to see that translate to the field right away. An opportunity to showcase his value could arrive soon too when Southern Miss comes to Kroger Field on August 31 for the season-opener. There will be snaps available for everyone.

“I think the running back room right now is wide open,” he added. “But like I said, I just gotta stay focused and continue to grind.”