Kentucky OT Nik Hall likely out for the 2023 season

Kentucky football kicked off preseason practice this week. Unfortunately, the Wildcats will not be at full strength for fall camp.

Mark Stoops took the podium at Kentucky football media day Friday morning and revealed the Wildcats will begin the 2023 season without a promising young prospect. Offensive tackle Nik Hall is likely out for the year.

“Nik had an injury and I think he is going to have to take a medical redshirt,” Stoops said. “There’s another tackle there that had some promise but had an injury and is going to have a hard time coming back.”

Hall was initially injured and sidelined for the duration of spring practice. It’s unclear if he re-aggravated that existing injury, or suffered another setback.

When asked for clarity, the Kentucky head coach said Hall is still being evaluated. Even if he is able to recover, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where the high school All-American is an impactful piece of the rotation in 2023.

The 6-foot-6, 315-pound second-year offensive tackle is the son of former UK great, Antonio Hall. The younger Hall played high school football in Austin, Texas where he drew recruiting attention on a national scale. Nik Hall was the 15th-ranked offensive tackle and the No. 193 overall player in the class of 2022, according to On3.

Offensive tackle play was a clear weakness on the 2022 Kentucky football team. The Wildcats brought in multiple transfers to remedy the situation — namely Marques Cox and Courtland Ford — but the depth concerns remain, especially with Nik Hall on the sidelines.

Status Unclear for Two Other Kentucky Wildcats

There was one omission from the first Kentucky football roster. Freshman Austin Ramsey appears to have not made it to campus for fall camp. He was a three-star interior offensive lineman in the 2023 recruiting class.

Disregard. Austin Ramsey is at Kroger Field. Carry on.

Third-year wide receiver Dekel Crowdus was arrested this offseason for DUI. It’s unclear if he will be sidelined for any games this fall. The situation is being handled internally.

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