Brad White addresses coaching against Chip Trayanum at Toledo: 'He's bigger, stronger and faster'

Former four-star running back recruit Chip Trayanum made waves last offseason when he, alongside former five-star quarterback Brock Vandagriff, announced that they would be headed to Kentucky for the 2024 season. Big things were expected from both players, but things didn’t quite pan out.

After breaking his hand in August, Trayanum did not see the field for Kentucky until its Oct. 19 game at Florida. He would then go on to miss three of the next four games, marking just three total games played last season for the ‘Cats. Chip recorded just 101 yards on 19 carries, cementing an underwhelming season in Lexington.

Trayanum however announced that his career would continue this offseason, as he transferred to Toledo in December. He became the second former Kentucky running back to transfer to Toledo in recent seasons (Bryant Koback), marking his fourth program in six seasons.

White compliments Trayanum ahead of Saturday’s clash

Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White discussed the aspect of coaching against Trayanum not just on the practice field, but in actual game action this weekend. Along with Trayanum, he complimented former three-star running back North Carolina A&T transfer Kenji Christian.

“You know about him but obviously he goes up there and it’s another year under his belt,” White said. “He’s bigger, stronger and faster. Chip was a good player when he was here. He had a really good camp before the injury happened so we know what to expect in terms of we’re gonna get a big, tough runner that if he gets the ball in the open can go the distance.”

“Same thing with (Kenji) Christian, their transfer from (North Carolina) A&T. Same deal. He’s got enough there on tape to show that he can make you miss in space, spin and go to the house on big plays. Big challenge. They’ve got wide outs, a quarterback, a running back, an experience O-Line and tight ends are back. It’s a good offense.”

‘They’ve got votes in the AP Poll and we don’t,’ White said last week

Following Kentucky‘s clash with the Rockets (which many have predicted the Wildcats to struggle in), it will host No. 21 Ole Miss in a rematch of last season’s upset victory in Oxford. White however emphasized how important of a game this is for the program last week.

“I believe they’ve got votes in the AP Poll and we don’t,” he said. “To say that you’re gonna overlook a team that is thought of maybe more highly than you, and deservedly so. What they do against, especially their P-4 opponents when they get to play them, it’s impressive.”

“Specifically impressively, even looking at them historically with how well they’ve played under Coach (Jason) Candle, they move the ball and give people a bunch of fits. We know and we’ve seen them in 2019 and how well they played in that game. A turnover to start the second half really changed the game but no we understand what’s coming in here and we’re gonna have to be prepared and dialed in.”

Kick-off for Saturday’s game between the ‘Cats and Rockets is scheduled for 12:45 PM on SEC Network.