Injury Report: Will Levis OUT Against South Carolina
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The No. 13 Kentucky Wildcats (4-1, 1-1 SEC) will look to bounce back from their first loss of the season under the lights in Lexington, welcoming the South Carolina Gamecocks (3-2, 0-2 SEC) to Kroger Field for an SEC East clash.
Unfortunately for UK, it'll be without some key players, including its starting quarterback.
OUT
Quarterback Will Levis will not play against the Gamecocks due to a bad case of turf toe. ESPN's Pete Thamel provided a report on the star QB this morning on College GameDay:
"Less optimism around Will Levis," Thamel said. "He has a serious case of turf toe. They're preparing for Kaiya Sheron to be the starter. He has not thrown a pass in his college career."
Levis was seen getting off the team bus on the way into the stadium in a boot. He was in sweats and a boot in the field for warmups. In his place will be redshirt freshman Kaiya Sheron. You can find out more about Sheron, who is making his first career start, here.
Starting right tackle Jeremy Flax is not expected to play after suffering an injury late against Ole Miss last weekend. It was reported that during practice this week, sophomore Deondre Buford was taking reps with the starting group at right tackle. Buford is listed as the backup right guard, while redshirt freshman David Wohlabaugh Jr is the backup at right tackle, but it appears as though offensive line coach Zach Yenser may roll with Buford.
Linebacker and second-leading tackler Jacquez Jones is not expected to play after leaving the Ole Miss due to injury. He went down on two occasions against the Rebels, the second of which resulted in him having to be helped off the field. On Thursday, head coach Mark Stoops said he was doubtful to play. It'll be junior D'Eryk Jackson in his place.
Free safety Jalen Geiger went down due to an illegal blindside block in the second quarter of UK's game against Florida in week two. After being carted off the field with a lower leg injury, he did not return and Stoops said that the injury "didn't look good." While he hasn't been officially ruled out for the season, it's not expected that he'll return for the remainder of the year. redshirt freshman Jordan Lovett remains the starting free safety in place of Geiger.
They join running back Ramon Jefferson and defensive back Vito Tisdale, both of whom are out for the season, as primary players who will be on the sidelines due to injury.
EXPECTED TO PLAY
After leaving the Youngstown State game in the first quarter due to a left arm injury, outside linebacker J.J. Weaver has not been listed on the last three depth charts. After being announced as "week-to-week," it appears as though the team captain is finally going to give it a go, as he is fully dressed and participating in team warmups.
Wildcats Today will have live updates from Kroger Field as Kentucky looks for win No. 5 of the season over the Gamecocks
