Kenneth Horsey 'getting better,' status vs. Florida remains uncertain

Mark Stoops was unable to provide an update on injured offensive lineman Kenneth Horsey during his weekly press conference Monday afternoon.

“We’ll see,” he said. “I have no updates on him at this point.”

That tone changed ever-so-slightly during his call-in radio show Monday evening, digging a bit deeper on the starting left guard and team captain, who went down with a lower leg injury in Kentucky’s victory over Ball State in week one. Despite being left off the week five depth chart, Stoops didn’t completely rule out Horsey against the Florida Gators.

The 6-foot-3, 311-pound guard wants to play, especially as a native of Sanford, FL. It’s his final season of college football and he’d like one last shot at the Gators. It’ll depend on how he progresses throughout the week.

“Kenneth is getting better,” Stoops said. “I don’t know if he’s going to be ready to play this week or not, but he wants to be out there with his teammates, especially being from Florida and being a senior. Believe me, he wants to be out there. And we’ll see where he is.”

West Virginia transfer Dylan Ray, originally a tackle, has filled Horsey’s spot at guard since the week-one injury. Originally a walk-on with the Mountaineers, the Noblesville, IN native has had his moments, but it’s been a clear adjustment changing positions.

“He is playing okay,” Stoops said of Ray. “He’s used to playing tackle. He’s filling in and doing a good job, but we can improve our guard play.”

The other side of the line has also seen some changes since the start of the season. After some early snapping issues, Stoops decided to shift sophomore lineman Jager Burton from center to right guard, senior Eli Cox switching with him as the primary snapper in the road win at Vanderbilt.

Burton was back to center with Cox at right guard in Monday’s updated depth chart, but it doesn’t sound like Stoops is totally set on that decision. Horsey returning could obviously shake things back up, but he’ll be watching those interior linemen closely this week in practice to determine his next move against the Florida Gators.

“We liked it (Cox at center),” Stoops said. “We felt like it was a little bit smoother operation, decisive in our decision-making. Eli was just about perfect on snaps. He had one missed assignment. Jager at guard, we need some more work there, but he’d been playing center. I think for him, mentally, it’s about unloading some pressure. That’s not an easy position to play either, especially in the SEC.

“We’ll be playing some big boys here up front this week. So we’ve got to clean up some technique things and get a little more physical.”

Time to get Kenneth Horsey back on the field.