Kentucky got a pair of major honors on Wednesday, with senior running back CJ Baxter and senior outside linebacker Sam Greene both landing among the 2026 Comeback Players of the Week, according to College Sports Communicators in association with the Associated Press and the Fiesta Sports Foundation.
For Baxter, the recognition comes after a big day in one of Kentucky’s biggest wins of the season. The 6-foot-1, 230-pound back from Boynton Beach, Florida, carried 19 times for 87 yards and two touchdowns in the Wildcats’ 31-21 upset at No.
9/8 Texas A&M last Saturday. He also topped 1,000 career rushing yards during the game and now sits at 1,019.
Baxter scored on two short runs in the third quarter, tying his career high for rushing touchdowns in a game, and added a 28-yard reception.
His path back has been anything but simple. The Texas transfer missed the 2024 season after tearing the ACL, LCL and PCL in his right knee during fall camp.
He returned, only to suffer a hamstring injury on the first play against UTEP in week three on Sept. 13, 2025.
That setback limited him to eight games and 196 rushing yards last season.
Greene’s day against the Aggies was just as influential, if not in a different way. The 6-foot-2, 251-pound senior from Washington, D.C., finished with an interception, six tackles, one-half tackle for loss and a fourth-down stop on turnover on downs.
His biggest plays came at key moments. On Texas A&M’s first possession, the Aggies reached the UK 11 before Greene came flying in on 4th-and-1 to stop the runner for no gain and force a turnover on downs.
On the next possession, he struck again, this time picking off a pass at the UK 27 and returning it seven yards. Later, in the third quarter on 3rd-and-2, Greene again shut down the edge run for no gain, helping set up a punt that Kentucky turned into a touchdown drive.
That performance continued what has already been a strong start to the season for Greene after he spent much of the offseason rehabbing a major knee injury. Before tearing his ACL in Kentucky’s 38-7 win over Florida on Nov. 8, 2025, he had posted 25 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks, a PBU and four quarterback hurries.
Baxter and Greene were already on the Comeback Player of the Year Watch List earlier this season, along with senior defensive back Aaron Gates. Since 2018, the award has honored college football players who have worked back from injury, illness or other circumstances. At season’s end, a panel of college football writers, editors and sports information directors votes to name three honorees at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.
Kentucky has had two previous winners: J.J. Weaver in 2021 and Kenneth Horsey in 2020.
The Wildcats, now 2-1 and 1-1 in the SEC, return home Saturday, Sept. 26, to face South Alabama at 12:45 p.m. ET on SEC Network. Tickets are available on ukathletics.com.
In Other News...
Kentucky Earned SEC Respect With A Breakdown Fans Need To See
Cole Cubelics Sunday Takeaways have become a familiar stop for SEC fans looking for a sharper read on what just happened, and Kentucky was part of the conversation after a performance that clearly earned the leagues attention. The former Auburn center, now an SEC Network analyst, has made a niche out of detailed postgame breakdowns, often drilling down by jersey number and pairing the film notes with broader strategic observations.
For Kentucky fans, the appeal is obvious: Cubelics analysis offers a more exact view of where the Wildcats stood in a game like this, beyond the final score and the usual talking points. Since taking over the Sunday Takeaways from Anthony McFarland in 2018, he has built the segment into one of the SECs more useful weekly film sessions, and his latest look at Kentucky is the kind of breakdown supporters will want to see for themselves. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Is Bringing Back A Beloved Game Day Feeling This Weekend
Kentuckys weekend at Kroger Field is shaping up to be as much about program tradition as the matchup itself. With BLUE-WHITE Day on the calendar and Hall of Fame weekend set to honor several former Wildcats, the school is leaning into the kind of game-day feel that reminds fans how much of the programs identity lives in its past as well as its present.
Wilbur Hackett and JoJo Kemp will serve as honorary captains for the South Alabama game, giving the day another familiar face from different eras of Kentucky football. Hackett, one of the first African American players in the SEC, also returned to campus to complete his degree in 2020, a fitting thread for a weekend built around recognition, continuity and the people who helped shape the program. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Just Got The National Validation Wildcats Fans Wanted
Todd McShay gave Kentucky football a dose of national attention this week, and not the routine kind that gets buried under blue-blood chatter. On a recent episode of The McShay Show, he singled out offensive coordinator Will Stein as a reason the Wildcats have a real chance to surprise people, pointing to Steins track record with quarterbacks and the growing confidence on that side of the ball.
For Kentucky fans, it is the kind of outside validation they have been waiting for, especially in a sport where the Wildcats are usually asked to prove they belong before anyone starts talking about bigger goals. McShay went so far as to suggest Kentucky could make an unexpected run toward the College Football Playoff, a level of belief that instantly raises the stakes for how this season gets judged and puts a sharper spotlight on what Stein and the offense do next. [Read more 🡒]