Will Stein discusses Kentucky's injury situation at linebacker

Oct 3, 2026; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Will Stein directs his team against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Will Stein discusses Kentucky's injury situation at linebacker

Originally posted on Kentucky Wildcats on SI
By Wyatt Huff | Last updated Oct 7, 2026 11:00 AM ET

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On Kentucky's injury report last week, a number of defensive players were on it, including linebacker Alex Afari, who was recently ruled ineligible due to a court ruling, linebacker Tavion Wallace, and defensive back Grant Grayton. There were also some notable injuries during Saturday's game at South Carolina, including defensive back Jaden Smith and linebacker Antwan Smith.

As you can see, Kentucky's linebacker position has been looking thin, especially after those two injuries from Saturday. During his press conference on Tuesday, head coach Will Stein shared some news about the upcoming injury report for Kentucky's game at home against LSU this Saturday.

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“We’ve dealt with some injuries as of late that aren’t, hopefully, season-ending, but that will show up on the injury report (Wednesday) as definitely questionable for this next game, with the potential, too, to be out.”

In addition to that not-so-good news, Stein then touched on the injury situation at the linebacker position. The combination of guys being out entering Saturday's game against South Carolina and then having another added to the list coming out is a 'scary' situation for the Kentucky head coach.

"It’s thin. There’s no doubt about it," Stein said of Kentucky's linebacker room. "I mean, Grant (Godfrey) battled, Bo (Barnes) battled. Shoot, we put Devin Smith in on the last play. ...So yeah, it’s scary. There’s no doubt about it. And we’re practicing other people, you know, guys that are down the line because there’s really nobody left, and we’ve got to find a way."

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Assuming the injury report is lengthy at linebacker, like Stein seems to be hinting at, Kentucky really is going to have to dig deep into the depth chart to find some production outside of starting linebackers Sam Greene and Bo Barnes, because now, the depth quality is really starting to take a hit. We'll see if someone steps up at the position, because Kentucky is going to need it this weekend.

Can Kentucky battle through the injury bug and give LSU a good fight despite the circumstances with the injuries on defense? That will be the question entering the big game.

This article first appeared on Kentucky Wildcats on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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