Saturday’s trip to Columbia carries a little extra weight for Mikkel Skinner. The Kentucky sophomore, who grew up in Greer, S.C., even modeled the Wildcats’ South Carolina uniform combination on social media - chrome helmets, white tops and blue pants - and that was no accident. Kentucky chose Skinner over South Carolina, Ohio State and Georgia, and now he gets a homecoming of sorts against the Gamecocks.
Skinner has given Kentucky plenty to brag about this season. Through the early stretch, he has seven catches for 91 yards and a touchdown, plus three carries for 17 yards.
After redshirting as a freshman, he wasted no time making an impact this fall. In the opener against Youngstown State, he led the team with four receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown.
Then in Kentucky’s win at No. 9 Texas A&M, he added two rushes for 14 yards and one catch for seven yards.
He is one of three Kentucky players on the roster from South Carolina. Offensive lineman Jordan Knox, from Rock Hill, transferred in after graduating from Northwest Mississippi Junior College and has appeared in all four games, including a start in the opener against Youngstown State when Malachi Woods was out. Running back Ahmir Smith, who is from Santee, also played in that game and finished with two carries for 13 yards.
There’s also some overlap on the other sideline. Defensive back Quay’sheed Scott spent two seasons at Kentucky before transferring to South Carolina during the offseason.
He played in 23 games for the Wildcats, starting 12, and finished with 45 tackles, 4 pass breakups, 1.5 tackles for loss and an interception. South Carolina had tried to pull him away during his recruitment, but he stayed with Kentucky.
After Mark Stoops was fired, Scott decided to head home. He has five tackles so far this season.
Another former Wildcat is also part of South Carolina’s defense. Tomiwa Durojaiye redshirted in 2022 during his lone season in Lexington, then continued a winding college path that included stops at West Virginia, Florida State and Illinois before arriving in Columbia. Now at his fifth school in five years, he has become one of the Gamecocks’ better defensive linemen, sitting fourth on the team with 13 tackles, 2.0 sacks and 3.0 tackles for loss.
There is some staff familiarity in this matchup, too. On Tuesday, it was noted that Will Stein and Shane Beamer know each other well from Stein’s time coaching at Lake Travis High School, when Beamer was recruiting the area for Oklahoma. Stein also has a strong connection to another South Carolina staffer: before becoming offensive coordinator at Lake Travis, he worked as an offensive analyst at Texas with Stan Drayton, now the Gamecocks’ associate head coach and running backs coach.
Skinner’s hometown is a little under two hours from Columbia, and Saturday should bring a crowd of friends and family to Williams-Bruce Stadium. Based on what he has done so far this season, he looks like a good bet to make the most of the moment.
In Other News...
Trent Noah Faces A Make Or Break Stretch At Kentucky
Trent Noahs freshman year in Lexington offered a glimpse of what Kentucky hoped it was getting, especially with that memorable showing against Arkansas, but the rest of the season made clear how quickly the margins tighten for a perimeter player. His shot from deep never really settled in after that, and the offseason brought another obstacle in the form of hamstring injuries, even as he continued to show the kind of eagerness to improve that keeps him in the conversation heading into the new season.
Now Noah enters a stretch that could say a lot about where he fits in Kentuckys rotation. The Wildcats roster additions should create better spacing and cleaner looks, which matters for a shooter trying to rediscover his rhythm, and Noahs own push to contribute more gives this fall a little extra weight. If he can take advantage of the room around him, he has a real chance to turn last years promise into something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]
Big Blue Madness Gives Kentucky A Huge Chance With Elite Visitor
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CJ Rosser, one of the top names in the 2027 cycle, made the trip to Lexington for the festivities, giving Mark Pope and Kenny Brooks a chance to showcase Kentucky in front of a prospect who has already seen several other major programs. He has been around the recruiting block with visits to Arkansas, Miami, NC State and North Carolina, which makes this stop in Lexington especially important for a staff looking to make an early impression in a cycle that already has plenty of momentum. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Fans May Not All Agree With Will Stein On This
Will Stein used his weekly radio show to make a familiar argument in modern college football circles: the game is drifting closer to the NFL, so the rules should probably follow suit. The Kentucky offensive coordinator pointed out that college football already operates as a developmental pipeline for the league, and he suggested the sport should align more closely with the pro game when it comes to how teams play and how the field is set up.
Stein also focused on kickoffs, a spot where the college game has changed dramatically in recent years. He said he would like to see more returns, but added that the current version of the play has become less exciting and remains too dangerous, a view that is sure to draw agreement from some fans and pushback from others who prefer college football to keep its own identity. [Read more 🡒]