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247Sports · ColeParke

Sep 18
Grant Grayton ruled OUT for Kentucky at Texas A&M
Summary
Injury: Kentucky football corner Grant Grayton has been ruled out for the Cats' SEC road opener at No.
Kentucky football corner Grant Grayton has been ruled out for the Cats' SEC road opener at No. 9 Texas A&M on Saturday. Grayton had initially been listed as 'QUESTIONABLE' on the first availability report released on Wednesday, but was downgraded to 'OUT' on Thursday. He is one of four Cats to be ruled out, alongside Andre Clarke Jr., Lincoln Watkins and Jay Clark. Both Clark and Clarke were also 'OUT' for week two against Alabama. Jamarrion Harkless rounded out the availability report, remaining 'QUESTIONABLE.' Grayton is a sophomore corner returner who featured as a true freshman in Brad White's defense. So far this season, he's also been an impact player, logging 47 snaps against Youngstown State (second to only Isaiah McMillian) and 21 against Alabama. His numbers decreased against the Crimson Tide after the return of Hasaan Sykes from injury. Aaron Gates also featured more heavily against the Tide, logging the second most snaps behind Sykes and ahead of McMillian. Grayton was fourth. He was a pivotal player for Kentucky early on as both Sykes and starting corner Terhyon Nichols missed week one, with Nichols going on to miss game two as well after what Will Stein described as a "game-time-decision." "He was available all week. He practiced all week," Stein said Tuesday. "Then really late in the process, Friday night, Saturday morning, it was a little bit like, 'He can go, but…' So, we felt like it was best to not put him out there in those situations. "We made more or less a game-time-decision," Stein added on his radio show, "which was unfortunate for him because I was really looking forward to seeing him out there." Luckily for Kentucky, despite losing Grayton for A&M, there is much more optimism in a proper return for Nichols going into the third game of the season. "He went every single rep today," Stein said Tuesday. "I know that, (I) watched it with my own eyes. (He) was running around fast and had a hop in his step, so my expectation is that he's going to play this Saturday." A day later, Stein continued to emphasize that Nichols practiced every rep for the Cats during the week and that his expectation continues to be for the highly-praised corner to make his season debut in College Station. Of course, there is always the possibility that Nichols is a game-time scratch again, but his lack of inclusion on the availability report is a positive sign. As for Grayton, he spoke with the media on Wednesday but did not give any indication that he wouldn't play or be featured on the availability report that night. In fact, he seemed eager to play at A&M, calling it something that he's always dreamt of. "I love going on the road," Grayton said. "Seeing the new environments and getting to play in front of a crowd of 100,000 maybe, that's crazy. That's something I always dreamed of. I love playing in front of huge crowds." In the end, Grayton is a scratch for the game and hope remains that Nichols can make his return against A&M, which could have one of the best wide receiver corps in the SEC. Kentucky football will kick off against No. 9 A&M on Saturday, Sept. 19, at Kyle Field. The contest is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN. Texas A&M is currently favored by 16.5 points.

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Teams: Kentucky

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