Kentucky Football Countdown: 67 Days till Kickoff

We are inching ever so closer to the start of the 2022 Kentucky football season. With only 67 days remaining, let’s take a look back at the significance of the number to the Commonwealth’s football program.

1967: Nate Northington Breaks the Color Barrier

Nate Northington opened the floodgates for people of color in the Southeastern Conference. On Sept. 30, 1967, he stepped onto the field against Ole Miss, becoming the first African-American to play in an SEC football game. He dislocated his shoulder after only a few minutes, and the Wildcats lost 26-13 at Stoll Field.

Northington played with a heavy heart. The night before he was supposed to make history alongside Greg Page, his teammate and close friend died from complications following an injury he suffered at practice. Their heroic efforts have been immortalized alongside two other pioneers, Wilbur Hackett and Houston Hogg, outside of Kroger Field.

No. 67 in 2022: Paul Rodriguez

Paul Rodriguez is entering his second season on Kentucky’s campus after redshirting in 2021. A three-star recruit from Mason, Oh., the offensive tackle clocks in at 6-foot-5, 330 pounds with an 81-inch wingspan. Rodriguez chose Kentucky over offers from Duke, Iowa State, Purdue and Maryland. Still in the developmental stage, it’s unlikely that he will crack the offensive tackle rotation this fall.

Landon Young

The five-star high school All-American from Lafayette High School played for his hometown team, receiving significant snaps in all four seasons of football and starting in 24 straight games at left tackle. Despite missing the 2018 season with a left knee injury, Landon Young returned with a bang. In 2019 he was named to the Allstate Good Works Team, followed by a First Team All-SEC senior season in 2020. A staple on the edge of the Big Blue Wall, he was taken by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Young earned a start as a rookie, but only got a half of action before he suffered a season-ending injury.

Larry Warford

Warford is a streak snapper. After earning All-SEC honors in four straight seasons (2009-12), the offensive guard was taken by the Detroit Lions with the third pick of the third round in the 2013 NFL Draft. His selection ended a two decade drought for Kentucky offensive linemen in the NFL Draft. UK has corrected course with five members of the Big Blue Wall drafted over the last four seasons.

In the NFL ranks Warford was selected to three Pro Bowls as a member of the New Orleans Saints. Last fall he was inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame.

Significant 67 Stats

Dicky Lyons Sr.: A member of the Ring of Honor, in 1967 he set an SEC record with 235 return yards against LSU. That season he averaged 7.51 yards per play, the fourth-highest mark in school history, trailing only Lynn Bowden and Randall Cobb. Throughout his illustrious career he became the first SEC player with 1,000 yards in rushing, punt returns and kickoff returns.

67: Tim Couch holds the record for most passes attempted in a game, completing 47 of those attempts in a 27-20 loss to Arkansas at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, the first ever meeting between the two teams. He also holds the career completion percentage record (.671).

.672: Terry Wilson‘s completion percentage in 2018 is the third-best season in school history, trailing Maxwell Smith in 2012 (.687) and Tim Couch (.723) in 1998.

Austin MacGinnis: Made 67 consecutive PATs, the second-longest streak in school history, trailing Taylor Begley from 2002-05.