Spring Spotlight: New faces take center stage in Kentucky's backfield

Preparations for the 2026 college football season are underway at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility. In a few short weeks, cleats will be hitting the grass practice fields and/or the turf at the Nutter Field House as Kentucky head coach Will Stein gets set to begin his first spring practice as the leader of a program. There will be a lot of new for the Wildcats in 2026. That remains true at tailback.

Kentucky will have six tailbacks in Kolby Smith‘s position room when spring practice begins. Only two were on the roster last season. One is a walk-on. For the fourth year in a row, the starting tailback will be a transfer. Once again, this program double-dipped at the position, but…