While no official announcement has been made by Kentucky — it's likely to be addressed by head coach Mark Stoops at SEC Media Days — Cats Illustrated has some unfortunate news for the Big Blue Nation.
According to many program sources, tight end Keaton Upshaw has suffered an injury that will likely cost him the 2021 college football season.
The early word from sources is that Upshaw may have torn something in his pectoral region during lifting exercises. However, the exact nature of the injury is unconfirmed.
There has been a lot of talk this offseason that Upshaw could have been an early draft entry candidate after this season. Upshaw was to be a redshirt junior during this season.
Justin Rigg returns as a multi-year starter and Brenden Bates appears to be the unquestioned No. 2. Both players are capable and experienced but there's no question Upshaw brought a unique hybrid quality to the offense.
Upshaw was an in-line blocker only 47% of the time, whereas Bates was 63% and Rigg was 58%.
PFF gave Upshaw a 90.6 receiving grade (small sample) on deep throws (20+ yards) last season and also a 91.1 grade on short throws (0-9 yards) with nine catches on 12 targets for 106 yards including 81 after the catch.
Big play ability is something that has been lacking in recent years and this is a big hit to that.
Jordan Dingle will be watched closely during fall camp since he could be the No. 3 tight end following Nikolas Ognenovic's transfer to Akron this offseason.
UK has been on the fence about whether to add a second tight end to the 2022 class, alongside Josh Kattus. This could make it less likely that UK adds someone like Quinton Conley, a 6'6 hybrid, since Upshaw will be around for at least another year, one would assume.
This loss is right up there with injuries to Davonte Robinson and Landon Young, who were also lost to preseason injuries in the Stoops era. Robinson was coming off a strong and promising 2018 and was one of the few returning contributors in the secondary, but the Cats survived that and performed well in the secondary during an 8-5 campaign in 2019. Kentucky finished 10-3 in spite of losing Young before the '18 season.
According to many program sources, tight end Keaton Upshaw has suffered an injury that will likely cost him the 2021 college football season.
The early word from sources is that Upshaw may have torn something in his pectoral region during lifting exercises. However, the exact nature of the injury is unconfirmed.
There has been a lot of talk this offseason that Upshaw could have been an early draft entry candidate after this season. Upshaw was to be a redshirt junior during this season.
Justin Rigg returns as a multi-year starter and Brenden Bates appears to be the unquestioned No. 2. Both players are capable and experienced but there's no question Upshaw brought a unique hybrid quality to the offense.
Upshaw was an in-line blocker only 47% of the time, whereas Bates was 63% and Rigg was 58%.
PFF gave Upshaw a 90.6 receiving grade (small sample) on deep throws (20+ yards) last season and also a 91.1 grade on short throws (0-9 yards) with nine catches on 12 targets for 106 yards including 81 after the catch.
Big play ability is something that has been lacking in recent years and this is a big hit to that.
Jordan Dingle will be watched closely during fall camp since he could be the No. 3 tight end following Nikolas Ognenovic's transfer to Akron this offseason.
UK has been on the fence about whether to add a second tight end to the 2022 class, alongside Josh Kattus. This could make it less likely that UK adds someone like Quinton Conley, a 6'6 hybrid, since Upshaw will be around for at least another year, one would assume.
This loss is right up there with injuries to Davonte Robinson and Landon Young, who were also lost to preseason injuries in the Stoops era. Robinson was coming off a strong and promising 2018 and was one of the few returning contributors in the secondary, but the Cats survived that and performed well in the secondary during an 8-5 campaign in 2019. Kentucky finished 10-3 in spite of losing Young before the '18 season.
