Spring Spotlight: New faces take center stage in Kentucky's backfield

Preparations for the 2026 college football season are underway at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility. In a few short weeks, cleats will be hitting the grass practice fields and/or the turf at the Nutter Field House as Kentucky head coach Will Stein gets set to begin his first spring practice as the leader of a program. There will be a lot of new for the Wildcats in 2026. That remains true at tailback.

Kentucky will have six tailbacks in Kolby Smith‘s position room when spring practice begins. Only two were on the roster last season. One is a walk-on. For the fourth year in a row, the starting tailback will be a transfer. Once again, this program double-dipped at the position, but things could look different when it comes to usage and need with a new offensive philosophy in Lexington.

In KSR’s Spring Spotlight series, we will cover every position on Kentucky’s roster before spring practice begins. Next up is running back where UK has a couple returnees joined by a pair of SEC transfers.

Spring Spotlight: Quarterback

The Room

Jovantae Barnes (6-0, 211, Redshirt Senior)

A former top-150 national recruit from Las Vegas, Barnes signed with Oklahoma in the 2022 high school cycle and played four seasons for Brent Venables in Norman. Barnes cleared 500 rushing yards in 2022 and 2024. Those were the only years he was available for more than half of Oklahoma’s schedule. Barnes has dealt with foot, ankle, and hamstring injuries throughout his career.

The tailback took a redshirt after playing in four games in 2025 to preserve his final year of eligibility. Durability is a concern but this is an effective SEC rotation back with versatility when healthy.

CJ Baxter (6-1, 227, Redshirt Junior)

A former five-star recruit out of Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater rushed for 659 yards and chipped in 24 receptions on a Texas team that made the College Football Playoff in 2024. Baxter was on track to become the next star RB1 in Austin before a knee ligaments injury ended his sophomore season during fall camp. Baxter returned in 2025 but didn’t look himself while also battling hamstring injuries. Durability has been a major question mark since his high school career, but when he is healthy, this is a 227-pound tailback with size, speed, and two-way ability as a rusher and receiver. Baxter is an NFL running back if he can get back to 100 percent.

The redshirt junior is the early favorite to be Kentucky’s RB1.

CJ 🤘 BAXTER 🤘@TexasFootball back on top! pic.twitter.com/NtlEFXTVYi

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 21, 2023

Jason Patterson (5-10, 209, Redshirt Sophomore)

A former class of 2024 signee who flipped his commitment from Cincinnati to Kentucky, Patterson has been a rotation tailback during his first two seasons on campus. The Florida native is coming off a year where he recorded for 225 rushing yards, 85 receiving yards, and two total touchdowns over 157 snaps.

This third-year player must make some strides as a rusher but Patterson bring real passing game value to the offense and is expected to be part of the rotation.

Tovani Mizell (6-0, 217, Redshirt Sophomore)

A former Georgia commit, Mizell committed to Kentucky over North Carolina after his official visit in June. The class of 2024 product missed his senior season at Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Western due to a knee injury. The injury issues have followed him to Lexington.

Mizell will compete for a rotation spot but must stay healthy to give himself a legit chance in year three.

James Dalrymple (5-10, 190, Redshirt Freshman)

The Clarksville (Tenn.) High product was on Kentucky’s roster in 2025 but never appeared in a game as at true freshman. This running back cleared 1,000 rushing yards as a junior and senior in high school. Dalrymple will be expected to provide depth in a running backs room at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility with a lot of new faces.

Delvecchio Alston (6-0, 210, Freshman)

The Metro Birmingham native picked Kentucky over Minnesota, Memphis, and South Florida. Alston was a wrestling state champion while also being named to the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star game after rushing for 694 yards as a senior following a 670 rushing yards campaign as a junior.

Alston has good size and will compete for a spot in the rotation but a redshirt year does feel likely.

Top Storyline: How CJ Baxter looks

CJ Baxter was considered one of the best high school football players in the country coming out of the 2023 class. Every big program was interested in the five-star tailback. He did not disappoint as a true freshman at Texas. Unfortunately, we never saw that version of the tailback again over the last two years. What will he look like in the spring?

Baxter had an adventurous portal recruitment where he went from a Kentucky lean to a likely Indiana commit to a Kentucky signee. This is a tailback with terrific size who has shown burst when healthy and can be a real weapon in the passing game. A deep package is there but he must get healthy. Will he look fresh or still hobbled when practices begin?

The Texas transfer has one of the highest ceilings on this offense. For Kentucky’s tailback position to be at its best in 2026, they need a healthy Baxter.

What To Watch For: How the other SEC transfer looks coming off injury

CJ Baxter was the headliner but Kentucky double-dipped at tailback in the transfer portal for a reason. Will Stein has had a rotation at tailback throughout his coaching career and that will likely take place at Kentucky in 2026. The Cats will need Jovantae Barnes to fill a big role but he also needs to stay healthy.

The Oklahoma transfer will be expected to fill a big role on this offense one way or another. Barnes is a former blue-chip recruit who has played a lot of football in his career and has a solid level of production in two healthy seasons. In some ways he can be seen as insurance for Baxter. UK could have a nice 1-2 punch if both are healthy.

Barnes has not had the serious injuries that Baxter has had. Kentucky will be banking on this other SEC transfer to become a reliable tailback to use throughout the season who brings size, experience, and production to the table.