Kentucky DB Taj Dodson Retiring from Football

Taj Dodson is hanging up his pads and starting the next chapter of his life. The defensive back was absent from the Wildcats’ updated 2023 roster. A UK spokesperson confirmed the defensive back is retiring from football following a string of injuries throughout his Kentucky career.

The redshirt junior participated in Senior Day festivities ahead of the Louisville game and is already a UK graduate. Dodson appeared in 19 games over four years at the University of Kentucky, totaling nine tackles and a pass deflection as a Wildcat.

Taj Dodson played high school football at Creekside in Fairburn, GA where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 50 safety prospect in the 2019 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

The safety made an immediate impact as a true freshman. In the highly-anticipated game vs. Florida at Kroger Field, he recovered a fumble to help the Wildcats take an early 14-7 lead. They ultimately fell 29-21 in Kyle Trask‘s coming out party. Dodson tallied three tackles in three games as a true freshman before he was shelved to preserve his redshirt.

A career with so much promise was ultimately derailed by injuries. He was sidelined him for six games in 2020. Dodson was able to play in 11 games last fall, tallying a pass break-up and a couple of tackles in the Louisville game, but nagging injuries returned to limit him for much of the offseason. That carried over into the fall of 2022, playing in just about half of the Wildcats’ games.

With Dodson out of the picture, Kentucky has 84 of its 85 scholarships accounted for, giving Mark Stoops a little wiggle room during the May transfer portal window if he feels the need to call in reinforcements.