Good morning, friends. Another weekend has come and gone in the Bluegrass, and we’re now under three weeks away from Kentucky Football‘s season opener against the Toledo Rockets. Talking season is winding down. Real football is right around the corner.
On campus, the Wildcats wrapped up another busy weekend with a Saturday scrimmage inside Kroger Field, plus interviews and reactions that followed. On the basketball side, the Craft Center is quiet for now, with summer ball in the books.
It’s the start of another big week in Big Blue Nation, with lots of exciting things ahead on the docket. Let’s get to the headlines you need to know to start your Monday.
Training camp continues in Lexington
The Wildcats scrimmaged behind closed doors on Saturday, part of the second weekend of fall training camp. However, KSR had spies in the stands to relay an unofficial breakdown of the action in Kroger Field. They revealed that the running back room had a load management day with the top two backs, Dante Dowdell and Seth McGowan, sitting out to stay healthy. Jason Patterson took on most of the running load in their place and performed well against the defense’s front line. Kentucky played all of its quarterbacks in the scrimmage.
Additionally, Mark Stoops spoke for 10 minutes after the practice, saying it was good to get a lot of situational work done, even without all of the team’s projected starters. Stoops also shared that Kentucky is still healthy at this stage in camp as Week 3 of the preseason begins today at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility.
[What We Learned from the First Kentucky Football Scrimmage of Fall Camp]
Hardley Gilmore turned heads with a one-handed catch
Hardley Gilmore has all of the potential in the world as a young wide receiver with a lot to learn. On Saturday, he showed why Stoops welcomed him back to Lexington after a brief transfer to Nebraska in the spring. Gilmore, who is only 18 years old as a sophomore, made a flashy catch at the pylon in the private scrimmage, seen at the end of the short highlight reel that was shared on social media.
Anwar Stewart’s message to the pessimists
Kentucky defensive line coach Anwar Stewart had a spicy interview on WLAP’s Sunday Morning Sports Talk. Stewart told the show that the team blocks out any of the outside noise from fans and media who don’t believe in the Wildcats in 2025, saying, “It’s all about us in that building… We don’t listen to the outside voices, man. It ain’t about what they think. It’s about what we go out and do. We’ve got a very competitive team.”
He added, “If they want to be Debbie Downers and tell us we’re gonna be 4-8, their ass can wait. They can wait till the first game and see what we have.”
Stewart’s defensive line projects to be one of the best position groups on the team, with star potential in a couple of the transfer portal additions, key returners, and quality depth at each spot. Let’s hope he’s right about the overall product.
We’ll hear from the coordinators again this week
It’s unlikely that we will hear from Mark Stoops again before his next Saturday Q&A, so coordinators Brad White and Bush Hamdan will speak for the team throughout the week. Hamdan and players from the offensive side of the ball are expected after tomorrow’s practice, followed by Brad White and the defense on Thursday.
Zach Calzada and JQ Hardaway spoke on behalf of the players over the weekend.
Change the game with Rhoback, a proud partner of KSR. Get the best fit and the best feel with their incredibly comfortable activewear. From polos and q-zips to shorts and delta performance pants, you will look good and feel good with Rhoback. Use promo code KSR for 20% off your first purchase at Rhoback.com.
Week 1 of the NFL Preseason is complete
The NFL wrapped up its first preseason week on Sunday with a 24-24 tie between the Dolphins and Bears, and a Chargers win over the Saints. Here at KSR, we care about what all of the former Wildcats did in Week 1 of the preseason:
- Buffalo’s unlikely second-string kicker, former UK running back Ray Davis, kicked a PAT for the Bills in a loss, along with four rushes for seven yards and one catch for another seven. Rookie Maxwell Hairston did not play for the Bills’ defense (knee), but rookie Deone Walker did. Walker played 15 snaps with three QB pressures and a batted-down pass. In that same game, Wan’Dale Robinson caught an 11-yard pass and Dru Phillips recorded a tackle for the Giants in New York’s 34-25 win.
- Another defensive rookie from Kentucky, Zion Childress, has been taking first-string reps in Dallas as an undrafted defensive back. He had six tackles with one TFL in the Cowboys’ loss to the Rams.
- Former Kentucky tight end Brenden Bates caught two passes for 30 yards for the Browns. Shedeur Sanders targeted Bates three times in Sanders’ exciting debut in Cleveland. Trevin Wallace and JJ Weaver were each in on a tackle for Carolina in the loss.
- Playing in his second preseason with Baltimore, Devin Leary had a 2025 preseason debut that he’d love to forget. The former UK QB went 3-for-12 for 43 yards with a bad interception in the red zone on his first drive. Leary was also picked off on his first pass of the game, but it was called back due to a penalty.
- Chris Rodriguez got the rock six times for 22 rushing yards in Washington’s 30-point loss on Tom Brady Statue Night in New England.
- Mike Edwards is back with the Chiefs after two years away. Now a vet in the safety room, he made a tackle in the loss at Arizona.
- Seattle’s defense includes a couple of former Wildcats. Quinton Bohanna was in on a tackle from the middle of the line, while rookie linebacker D’Eryk Jackson had five tackles in his NFL preseason debut in the Seahawks’ 23-23 tie with the Raiders. Las Vegas is without Lonnie Johnson Jr., who broke his leg in camp.
- Eli Cox had a rough debut on Houston’s offensive line. The rookie OL from Kentucky graded a 3.1 pass block on 16 passing snaps for the Texans in a loss at Minnesota. Cox was better against the run, recording a 57.5 on seven runs.
- Marques Cox had a better debut in Denver, with a 47.1 pass block and a 67.0 grade on runs in a win over the 49ers. Keidron Smith had four tackles for the Broncos.
- Darian Kinnard was in on 37 snaps for the defending champs, with a 48.5 RBLK grade and a 55.2 PBLK.
- Rookie Jamon Johnson is Carrington Valentine‘s new teammate in Green Bay. Johnson had five tackles in his first preseason game.
- Brandin Echols deflected a pass for the Steelers in a win over Liam Coen’s Jaguars. Luke Fortner got 35 snaps at center. Josh Hines-Allen was in for one drive.
It’s “Madden 26” week
Speaking of Wildcats in the NFL, the new “Madden NFL 26” video game releases this week, with Josh Hines-Allen as Kentucky’s top-rated player on the game. Jacksonville’s star pass rusher is a 90 overall. Only one more former Wildcat is rated higher than 80. Za’Darius Smith is an 82 in the game, which releases on Thursday. It’s already available to pre-orderers of the deluxe edition.
Madden 26 ratings for former Kentucky players in the NFL
Happy Hour presented by Country Boy Brewing
Kick off your Monday afternoon right — the all-new KSR Happy Hour is live every weekday at 4 p.m. on YouTube, powered by Country Boy Brewing. Cold beers, hot takes, and plenty of laughs. Grab your favorite brew and join the party! Subscribe now so you don’t miss it.
KSR is without Ryan Lemond this week
If you’re tuning in to hear Ryan Lemond this week, you’ll have to wait. He’s traded mornings with KSR for the sandy beaches of Hilton Head, vacationing with Yoga Girl while the rest of us hold down the iHeart fort. Still, tune in from 10 a.m. to noon for two hours with Matt Jones, Drew Franklin, and Shannon The Dude.
