Kentucky football WR Jordan Anthony sets freshman track & field record

Kentucky’s track & field program rosters one of the fastest runners in the country. He’s also going to catch footballs from Devin Leary this fall.

Jordan Anthony, a redshirt freshman wide receiver for the Kentucky football program, broke a rookie record in the 100-meter dash on Saturday at the Tom Jones Memorial hosted by the University of Florida. In what was his debut in the event, the 5-foot-9 speedster posted a ridiculous time of 10.16 seconds, setting the record — which held up since 1967 — by just eight milliseconds.

“I think records are meant to be broken,” Anthony said, per UK Athletics. “At any point in time, they’re going to be broken. My thought was to come in here and just do what I’ve been doing since high school. Nothing has changed, just a different uniform.” 

Blink and you would have missed him…👀

Jordan Anthony records a new freshman record and the second-fastest time in school history at 10.16 (1.0) in his 100 meter dash debut! #UKTF pic.twitter.com/Wt9bUHf9wk

— UK Track & Field (@KentuckyTrack) April 15, 2023

Anthony was recruited to UK as a four-star wide receiver out of Tylertown, MS. He was considered the No. 345 prospect in the country and No. 55 overall wide receiver by the On3 Consensus. Kentucky football recruited him with the intention that he would also split time with the track & field team. So far, that transition has been seamless and successful.

Last month, Anthony and Kentucky women’s track & field star Masai Russell both brought home a silver medal with the men’s and women’s teams recording top-20 finishes. Anthony ran the 60-meter dash in just 6.55 seconds to finish second. A couple of months before that in January, Anthony set a new freshman record and the second-fastest time ever by a Wildcat in the same event with a time of 6.57 seconds.

On the gridiron, there’s been a bit of a learning curve for Anthony, who was a national champion sprinter during high school. He played in just two games for the football ‘Cats in 2022 against Youngstown State and Louisville, ultimately taking a redshirt season. Anthony recently switched jersey numbers from No. 13 to No. 0. He’ll look for a larger role in the offense in 2023.

Kentucky track & field will now turn its focus to the Michael Johnson Invite hosted by Baylor University on April 21-22.