Will Trayanum play this season? A recent setback has put that in jeopardy.
The Kentucky Wildcats got Chip Trayanum back at practice recently, signaling that a return to game action was very close.
However, Trayanum was later ruled out for the Week 5 contest vs. Ole Miss, a curious decision since he was cleared to play after recovering from a broken hand suffered on August 13th.
Then, during a recent edition of KSR, Matt Jones reported that Trayanum could undergo surgery that would end his 2024 season for good.
If that’s the case, then Kentucky would be down to Demie Sumo-Karngbaye, Jason Patterson, and Jamarion Wilcox for the remaining eight regular-season games. While those three have performed well so far, Trayanum was the kind of big power back that would likely help this offense improve on short-yardage and red-zone opportunities, two areas they’ve struggled at this year.
While Trayanum’s status is up in the air, recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow hasn’t given up hope.
During an appearance on WLAP’s Sunday Morning Sports Talk show prior to Kentucky’s bye week, Marrow said he believes Trayanum will play at some point this season.
“I would think Chip…we got this bye week, so that’s another week letting it heal. I’m pretty sure we’re going to see him (this season),” Marrow said.
Then, during Monday’s press conference to preview Vanderbilt, Mark Stoops confirmed Trayanum had a setback in practice but wouldn’t give any further details.
“Without getting into the weeds on it, we had a setback in what he had originally, so we will see where that goes,” Stoops stated.
Some good news for Trayanum is he still has a redshirt year available since he was a 2020 signee when players got an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19. That means he could return for the 2025 season, even if he plays in four games this season.
With five games in the books, you have to wonder if Kentucky will let Trayanum play in some but not all of the remaining games. But as of now, it’s unclear if that scenario is even a possibility, depending on how bad Trayanum’s setback was.