Kentucky Loses Long Snapper Ronald Gaines for the Year

A freak injury is shaking up the Kentucky special teams unit. Mark Stoops revealed at Monday’s press conference that Ronald Gaines is expected to miss the rest of the 2023 football season.

Gaines, a 6-foot-5 senior from Chicago, transferred from Temple this offseason. A year after miscues in the snapping department nearly cost Kentucky a couple of wins, Gaines was performing well when an accident happened before a practice last week.

Mark Stoops described it as a “crazy, non-contact pre-practice injury, very fluke-ish.”

He continued, “The nice thing is we have a lot of depth there. We brought in Walker (Himebauch) who has been doing the short snaps. He did a good job with the long snaps (vs. Vanderbilt). He’s very good. And the we have Clay (Perry) back as well to back him up.”

Himebauch was one of the first additions first-year coach Jay Boulware made from the high school ranks. The special teams coach recruited the Colorado Springs native to deliver the snap on field goals. Now he will also add punt team to his daily duties.

A graduate transfer, Gaines could use his COVID-19 waiver to receive an extra year of eligibility. Still, the freak injury must be demoralizing for Gaines. Fortunately, Kentucky appears to be prepared. The offseason additions to the special teams room seemed a bit odd at the time. Now Wildcat fans are grateful that reinforcements are ready to roll, ensuring there will not be a significant drop off in Gaines’ absence.

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More Kentucky Injury Updates

Mark Stoops did not have an update to provide on Kenneth Horsey. The team captain suffered an injury in week one. Matt Jones and Ryan Lemond shared some optimism this morning that the left guard could soon return to the lineup.

Tight end Josh Kattus got banged up at the end of the Akron game. He traveled to Nashville but did not play against Vanderbilt. Mark Stoops is “hopeful” Kattus will be available Saturday at Florida.

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