Mark Stoops provides injury update on Kentucky DB Jalen Geiger: 'Out for a few weeks'
The injury bug is back for Jalen Geiger. On Monday, Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops provided an update on his senior safety.
“It’s one that looks like he’ll be out for a few weeks, for sure. After that, we’ll see where it goes,” Stoops told the press.
Geiger’s reportedly suffered an elbow injury in Kentucky’s 51-13 loss to Georgia. In six appearances this season, Geiger has seven tackles. The 6-foot-1 DB failed to record a tackle against the Bulldogs.
This isn’t the first time injuries have plagued Geiger. He missed the majority of Kentucky’s 2022 campaign after suffering a season-ending knee injury against Florida. Although he was sidelined, he didn’t allow himself to wallow in self-pity.
Earlier this year, Geiger reflected on how his injury boosted his abilities.
“This was the first big injury I’ve ever had in my career,” Geiger told KSR’s Adam Luckett in August. “It was definitely something different for me, but I knew that I had to be a leader and be there for my guys. So, I attacked the rehab as hard as I ever did anything in my life. I was in there for two a days, working my butt off to be back to where I am now.
“There’s nothing holding me back,” Geiger said of his recovery. “I put in a lot of work in rehab with cutting and squating and planting off my knees. There’s no hesitation, nothing. It was full-go; I trusted it and I’m back out here making plays again.”
Hopefully, Geiger can maintain the same positivity this time around. After all, before Georgia exploded 435 passing yards against Kentucky, the most against a UK team led by Stoops, Kentucky’s secondary looked formidable.
Mark Stoops pushes his team past the loss
Now, the Wildcats must put their egos to the side and erase the Georgia game from their memory. Stoops still believes in his team.
“We’re not going to tolerate being mopey, you know, being down,” Stoops said. “We’re going to address it, we’re going to own it, we’re gonna look at our mistakes, we’re all going to take our part and then we’ll move on.”
“You’re gonna face adversity in this league. The teams we play, you’re gonna hit some tough patches. It’s how you respond and how you react to it and how you move forward.”
Kentucky will have its chance to move past the loss this weekend. On Saturday, the ‘Cats will square off against Missouri at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.