Chip Trayanum will not be first Toledo tailback returning to play Kentucky

Sep 21, 2019; Fort Collins, CO, USA; Toledo Rockets running back Bryant Koback (22) carries the ball against the Colorado State Rams in the first quarter at Sonny Lubrick Field at Canvas Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Former Kentucky running back Chip Trayanum will return to Kroger Field on Saturday but he will not be wearing a blue jersey. The sixth-year player will be on the Toledo sideline in Week 1. The path from this SEC school to that MAC program has been done before.

Chip Trayanum is following the Bryant Koback route.

Bryant Koback was a three-star recruit in the 2017 high school cycle who picked UK shortly after the Cats were the first school to issue a scholarship offer. Koback rushed for over 2,000 yards as a junior before a big senior season (1,096 rushing yards in four games) was cut short at Holland (Ohio) Springfield due to a leg injury. However, the tailback would spend just one season at Kentucky before deciding to return home.

Bryant Koback left the Wildcats and joined Toledo’s roster for the 2018 season. Before the transfer portal, players had to get a waiver approved to not sit out a year. That happened for Koback and he was allowed to play for head coach Jason Candle immediately. As a redshirt freshman in 2018, Koback led Toledo with 917 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns on a team that finished the year 7-6. The very next season, Toledo would open against Kentucky.

Against his former team, Koback rushed for 73 yards and one touchdown. The former UK transfer finished his redshirt sophomore season with 1,187 rushing yards and earned second-team All-MAC honors. Koback would then rush for 1,400 yards and 15 touchdowns as a redshirt senior in 2021 while earning first-team All-MAC honors. The tailback then went undrafted but hung around the NFL for two seasons.

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Chip Trayanum will attempt to do something similar with the Rockets this season.

Toledo’s rushing attack fell off a cliff last season (No. 127 in rushing success rate) as a program that has produced multiple all-conference tailbacks and 1,000-yard rushers under Candle became one-dimensional and could not run the football. The Rockets are hopeful that the addition of Trayanum along with some returning starters on the offensive line can fix that weakness in 2025.

Trayanum will be looking to become a feature player for Toledo. That’s exactly what Bryant Koback did after he left the Wildcats for this MAC program. His first big year started with a road trip to play his former school. Now Trayanum is attempting to accomplish the exact same thing.