ICYMI: Effects of Mike Edwards injury for Kentucky Football

This week we learned that Mike Edwards would not be joining the Kentucky football team this Fall.
Mike  Edwards, a four-star defensive back from Cincinnati, was expected to come in and compete for playing time at an area of weakness for UK. It’s a disappointing turn of event for the team as well as the player but Edwards has made it clear that he plans to enroll for the Spring semester at Kentucky, essentially taking a “grey shirt”.

So what happens now? It’s unclear at this point if the coaches were planning to use Edwards as a safety or cornerback. He was versatile enough to be ranked as both by recruiting services. He also offers some help in the return game. So it’s definitely a blow, but the days when a four star recruit not making it to campus year one was a catastrophe are over. If Edwards was expected to play cornerback, Kentucky has four star Kendall Randolph and three star Jared Tucker on campus this Summer. If the coaches liked him at safety, then Kentucky has a bounty of talent at that spot. Four star frosh Darius West may be the best of the bunch and JUCO AJ Stamps impressed in the Spring. Not to mention returning talent at each spot. People forget that JD Harmon led the team in interceptions as a freshman before being declared academically ineligible. If not for a very late start to camp, four star safety Marcus McWilson may have seen the bulk of the snaps at nickel over surprise standout Blake McClain. Sophomore Jaleel Hytchye was supposed to redshirt and put some weight on his thin frame but was forced into action at the end of the year.