Ryan BlackLouisville Courier Journal
LEXINGTON — In his last three seasons as an offensive coordinator at the FBS level, Bush Hamdan has had three different players rush for 1,000 yards or more.
It started at Washington in 2018, when Myles Gaskin ran for 1,268 yards and 12 touchdowns on 259 carries. During the Huskies' 2019 campaign, Salvon Ahmed tallied 1,020 yards and 11 TDs on 188 attempts. But Hamdan's best product was his most recent: Last season at Boise State, Ashton Jeanty had 1,347 yards and 14 scores on 220 rushes en route to winning the Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year award.
What does Hamdan's past foretell about the future as he enters Year 1 as Kentucky's offensive coordinator?
The past
Start with Jeanty.
Not only did he excel in the running game but he also was a key piece of the Broncos' passing attack last season; his 43 receptions and 569 yards receiving ranked second on the team, while his five TD catches tied for the most.
That wasn't the case with Hamdan's two Washington tailbacks. Gaskin had 21 catches in 2018, while Ahmed had 16 a year later.
UK had a running back last year who was nearly identical to Jeanty statistically: Ray Davis. The one-time Vanderbilt star had a scintillating one-season stay in Lexington, rushing for 1,129 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also was a key cog in the passing game, with 33 receptions for 323 yards and a team-best seven receiving TDs.
At least on paper, no running back on the Wildcats' 2024 roster can approximate what Davis or Jeanty did last season.
Chip Trayanum, expected to enter the fall at the top of UK's depth chart, never has been the primary starter in previous college stops at Arizona State and Ohio State, respectively. The same is true of Demie Sumo-Karngbaye, who joined Kentucky as a transfer from N.C. State prior to last season. The third running back who had worked his way into the mix by the end of the spring practice, Jason Patterson, is a true freshman.
While none of the candidates vying to replace Davis have showcased his blend of talent carrying and catching the ball, each member, particularly the two upperclassmen, might be able to combine to fill the sizable void.
The 5-foot-11, 233-pound Trayanum is a bruiser, likely to provide physicality running between the tackles. Sumo-Karngbaye had 14 catches last season, regularly lining up in the slot or on the outside — functioning more as receiver than running back.
Still, whether Trayanum, Sumo-Karngbaye, Patterson or the other players in the running back room — a group that includes redshirt freshman Jamarion Wilcox and 2024 signee Tovani Mizell (who might sit out this fall as he recovers from a knee injury that cost him his senior season of high school) — are the answer is unclear.
Perhaps a sign of Hamdan and the staff's concern about the position entering preseason camp is that they were actively recruiting a pair of transfer portal running backs this spring (Damien Martinez and Peny Boone) who ultimately committed elsewhere.
The future
There's not only Hamdan's recent history of 1,000-yard rushers to consider — Kentucky has made a habit of developing such players well before his arrival.
The Wildcats have had a 1,000-yard rusher six times in the past eight seasons. And they have legitimate excuses for the two years it didn't happen.
In 2022, Chris Rodriguez sat out the first four games in what was viewed as a suspension — though coach Mark Stoops, nor anyone else in the program, ever called it such — after the running back's name surfaced in a UK self-report involving athletes being paid for hours not worked at UK HealthCare; he finished with 902 yards in eight games, as he also decided to sit out the team's Music City Bowl matchup versus Iowa. Two years earlier, Rodriguez was again Kentucky's leading rusher (785 yards) but didn't play in two games during a season in which the SEC played a league-only schedule as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
So will Hamdan, and the Wildcats, continue their (literal) run of success breaking the 1,000-yard barrier?
Another factor to keep in mind when assessing the situation: Hamdan's stated intention to make designed quarterback runs a staple of his offense.
"I really believe that quarterback has got to get you at least two first downs a game with his legs," Hamdan said during his introductory news conference in February. "I think it can be a huge, huge advantage, especially in the college game."
In the end, a running back recording a 1,000-yard season this fall — for Hamdan, and for Kentucky — could come down to a matter of touches. Each time quarterback Brock Vandagriff keeps it himself, that's one fewer carry for Patterson, Sumo-Karngbaye or Trayanum. Making the quest for 1,000 yards that much harder.
If history is any guide, however, Hamdan, and his new employer, have earned the benefit of the doubt.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
