Earlier this week, Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops noted that every team is hurt this time of year. But rarely is a team as injured as the Wildcats are at this point in the season.
Kentucky has already ruled out 12 players for the rivalry matchup while four more players are still on the injury report listed as probable. Not all 12 players are top Kentucky players but a number of them are.
Included in that group is offensive tackle Gerald Mincey, linebacker D’Eryk Jackson, edge rusher JJ Weaver, cornerback Maxwell Hairston and tight end Jordan Dingle who are all starters. Defensive back Jantzen Dunn has played as a backup in seven games this season and Steven Soles has been effective as a third down pass rush specialist.
After talking an abundance of trash this winter after transferring from Tennessee to Kentucky, Mincey won’t play for the second straight week after suffering an injury against Auburn. Mincey has struggled when he’s been on the field this season, grading out horribly as a pass protector according to PFF.
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Weaver is one of the top players on Kentucky’s defense and leads the Wildcats with five sacks to go along with 24 tackles and a pass deflection. Hairston has been out since early October but was one of Kentucky’s starting cornerbacks and top players in the Wildcats secondary before the matchup.
There’s a number of other players that could miss the game due to injury including star defensive tackle Deone Walker and starting defensive back DJ Waller. But Kentucky listed the dup as probable on the Thursday night availability report and they are trending towards being available.
Tennessee football is relatively healthy coming off of it second open date of the 2024 season. Squirrel White remains banged up but will be available to play against the Wildcats. Besides defenders Jourdan Thomas and Keenan Pili, who are both out for the remainder of the season with knee injuries, no key Vols should miss the SEC matchup.
Kickoff between Tennessee and Kentucky is at 7:45 p.m. ET on Saturday night at Neyland Stadium. Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers and Cole Cubelic are on the call for the SEC Network.
