Kentucky Football Countdown: 72 days till Kickoff

The Kentucky football countdown is down to No. 72, a significant statistic throughout the history of the program. Before we get to the numbers, a few notable Kentucky football No. 72s.

This Year’s No. 72, Josh Jones

This year you will see Josh Jones rocking No. 72 at offensive tackle for the Wildcats. A redshirt sophomore from Columbus, Ga., he attended high school just across the state line at Alabama powerhouse Central-Phenix City. A four-year starter and two-time All-State selection, he went 1-1 in two 7A State Championship Games. The former three-star recruit has yet to crack the rotation but could get in the mix as Zach Yenser searches for a pair of new starting offensive tackles.

An All-Time Great 72

When Jon Toth‘s career concluded in 2016, he was Freddie Maggard’s all-time favorite Kentucky Wildcat. An unheralded two-star recruit from Indiana, Toth brought his lunchpail to work everyday. He earned a starting role in the second game of his redshirt freshman season and never relinquished it. Toth became a staple in the middle of the offensive line, starting in 48 consecutive games. His consistency established a culture in John Schlarman’s meeting room, serving as the progenitor of the Big Blue Wall as we know it today. The only player that did not rotate on the offensive line in 2016, he paved the way for a pair of 1,000-yard rushers and UK’s first bowl appearance under Mark Stoops.

Exceptional 72 Stats

72: Career made field goals by Austin MacGinnis, the most in school history. Kentucky’s all-time leading scorer has a pair of game-winners in the final minute of regulation, taking down Mississippi State and Lamar Jackson’s Louisville Cardinals.

72: Receptions by Stevie Johnson in his two-year career at Kentucky. Like MacGinnis, two of those were game-winners, No. 1 LSU and No. 9 Louisville.

.723: Tim Couch’s completion percentage in 1998 is the best in Kentucky football history. He’s the only Wildcat to ever complete better than 70% of his passes in a single season. What’s even more impressive: He did it while setting a school record for passing attempts (553) in a season, a record broken by Jared Lorenzen two years later (559 attempts).

272: Rushing yards on 40 attempts by Moe Williams against Cincinnati in November of 1995, the third-best single-game rushing performance ever by a Kentucky Wildcat. In his record-breaking ’95 season, Williams recorded three of the top four rushing games in school history. The one exception? Lynn Bowden‘s 284-yard thrashing of Louisville at Kroger Field in 2019.

372: All-purpose yards by Rafael Little in a 48-43 victory over Vanderbilt in 2005. Only Moe Williams has picked up more yards in a single game in UK history (429 vs. South Carolina in 1995).