What is Kentucky Getting with Chip Trayanum? Playing Out the Scenarios

by:Nick Roush•about 8 hours•

RoushKSR

Kentucky RB Chip Trayanum, via Dr. Michael Huang, KSR

Chip Trayanum was a heralded recruiting win from the transfer portal. On the heels of Ray Davis‘ success, some Kentucky fans had big dreams of what the Ohio State running back could do in Lexington.

Four games into the 2024 season and we’re still forced to dream about what Trayanum can do in a No. 4 Kentucky football jersey.

First and foremost, unlike his predecessor, Trayanum has never been a featured running back. He is physically impressive, but what does that look like on a down-to-down basis? A broken hand in fall camp has kept him on the sideline, adding to the mystery.

Mark Stoops revealed during his call-in show that Trayanum has been cleared to return to practice. When I asked Stoops on Monday what his role would look like, he did not divulge any details.

“It will depend on how comfortable we are with the practice reps, so I haven’t seen that yet, you know what I mean,” said Stoops. “We’ll see how that goes.”

How will it go? It’s an open-ended question that allows us to explore multiple scenarios.

1. The Other Kentucky Running Backs Earned Their Reps

Despite Trayanum’s absence, the Kentucky rushing attack is the best part of the offense. Kentucky ranks seventh nationally in rushing success rate (52.5%). Demie Sumo-Karngbaye (4.6 yards per carry), Jamarion Wilcox (7.0), and Jason Patterson (5.2) have been efficient, even though none of them have a 100-yard game under their belt.

A wise man once said, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Using a committee approach is unusual for a Mark Stoops team, but it’s worked well so far. Giving Trayanum a majority of the carries after playing zero snaps so far doesn’t make a ton of sense. Bush Hamdan may make Trayanum earn touches and there’s a world where the other guys are just too good to take off the field.

Got thoughts? Continue the conversation on KSBoard, the KSR Message Board.

2. Trayanum is Rusty

In 2022, Chris Rodriguez made his debut in week five at Ole Miss. He had more than 100 yards from scrimmage, but only gained 72 yards on 19 carries (3.8 yards per attempt). Rodriguez was fine, but he wasn’t the dominant C-Rod we were used to seeing on Saturdays.

The biggest difference between these two scenarios is the guys who were behind Trayanum on the preseason depth chart have actually been good. The Cats couldn’t run the ball in 2022 without Rodriguez.

If he shows it in practice this week, we’ll likely see Trayanum get the ball 8-12 times, but expectations should not be high. It’s probably going to take some time for him to feel comfortable on the football field against an SEC opponent.

3. Trayanum Takes the Running Game to Another Level

Are you still ready to dream big? What if he is as good or better than advertised?

“Trayanum has rushed for 1,157 yards in his collegiate career on 5.1 yards per rush with 13 touchdowns,” Adam Luckett wrote after breaking down his Ohio State tape. “The redshirt senior has the frame of a power back, but does not necessarily play like that.”

Sounds a lot like Ray Davis, right?

The Kentucky rushing attack has been efficient but lacked explosiveness, with only five carries of 20+ yards. The Cats have scored touchdowns on seven of 13 red zone appearances, the worst red zone touchdown rate of any SEC team. Kentucky needs to find explosive plays to score touchdowns and the return of Trayanum could provide a solution to that problem.