Kentucky football: Mark Stoops' team encouraged after showing fight

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Gavin Wimsatt messed up. He readily admits it. On the field for his first drive of the game Saturday night against Tennessee — on a night he didn't even expect to play until he was called upon to take over for Brock Vandagriff, Kentucky's injured starting quarterback — Wimsatt took the snap on third and 2 at the hosts' 27-yard line.

It was a run-pass option play; he should have kept it. (UK coach Mark Stoops concurred.) Instead, Wimsatt took to the air.

Bad idea.

Tennessee safety Will Brooks stepped in front of Wimsatt's intended receiver, tight end Josh Kattus, and pilfered the pass.

"I saw the Mike (linebacker) blitz, and we still have a blocker for that guy and I have to know that," Wimsatt said. "Just a mistake by me that can't happen."

But the play was far from over. Wimsatt refused to let Brooks turn the pick into a pick six, chasing down the UT senior after a 66-yard return.

"It's just mindset, really," Wimsatt said of not giving up on the play. "Obviously tight game. Can't let him score. And just don't make a bad play worse at that point. Just try to get him down as much as I can to help the defense, ‘cause they’re already in a tough situation I put us in."

Consider Stoops impressed. Somewhat.

"Yeah, he should have (chased down Brooks)," Stoops said. "I say that tongue in cheek. ... I appreciate his effort. I love the young man. And he went out there and played some good football. It’s not gonna be perfect. And he did some good things in some tough situations as well. We have confidence in him."

Wimsatt's relentlessness on the play was a microcosm of the Wildcats' performance in Saturday's 28-18 loss to the No. 7 Vols: The short-handed visitors tried their best. But their best wasn't good enough against a Tennessee team that might be a College Football Playoff participant this fall.

Here are three takeaways from the Wildcats' 10-point road defeat to the Volunteers:

With Chip Trayanum out again and Demie Sumo-Karngbaye working his way back, redshirt freshman Jamarion Wilcox was given the keys to the running back position Saturday.

He responded swimmingly. And immediately: His first touch from scrimmage was a 50-yard run. He finished with 102 yards on 17 carries.

"He deserves it," UK offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan said. "He's just one of those physical ball carriers, and it's probably taken us a week or two too long to really force those carries. We try to keep him in as many situations for a young guy to not have to ‘have the whole thing,’ if you will, from a protection standpoint, from a pass game standpoint. ... Proud of how he played, for sure."

After adding Ja'Mori Maclin from the transfer portal, big things were expected from the former North Texas star. The initial returns were good: He hauled in a 46-yard pass in the opener versus Southern Miss, ending with two catches for 66 yards. But since then, he's done little; in the next seven games, Maclin totaled four receptions for 23 yards.

That changed Saturday: He had a 32-yard touchdown catch, and the ensuing two-point conversion, to draw UK within three points (21-18) in the early part of the final period.

"Of course, this season hasn't been as good as I wanted it to be," he said. "But, at the end of the day, I continue to work hard at practice, and my teammates trust in me. And when the time comes, I’ve just got to make those plays like I did today, hopefully. It wasn't enough to get the dub, but just keep working and try to get better — find ways to get better every week."

After being a backbone of the team in the first half of the season, Kentucky's defense scuffled along its past two outings. Florida scored five TDs on the ground and gained 476 yards in a 48-20 victory last month. The following week, Auburn had 498 yards in a 24-10 win in Lexington as UK's defense was unable to hold onto a 10-0 first-quarter lead.

Prior to Saturday's kickoff, three of the Wildcats' starting defenders were ruled out: linebackers J.J. Weaver and D'Eryk Jackson along with cornerback Maxwell Hairston, who hasn't played in more than a month.

Tennessee's offense had its share of success Saturday, sure.

But Kentucky's defense, despite allowing 477 yards and four scores, still made its coordinator proud.

"I thought the last couple of weeks was not up to our standard," Brad White said. "I thought the last couple of weeks, we didn't swing and fight and compete to our standard. I thought the guys on that field tonight, no matter what the situation, they freaking scrapped and fought and fought."

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.