Will Kentucky get back its starting running back at Ole Miss? Mark Stoops isn’t ready to call his shot quite yet on Chip Trayanum, but the Ohio State transfer is close.

Missing the first four games of the season with a broken hand, Trayanum has been cleared to return for the Wildcats, paving the path for his potential debut in Oxford. His official game status will be determined as the week progresses and the pads start popping at the Joe Craft Football Practice Facility.

If all goes as planned, the former Buckeye could suit up against the Rebels on Saturday.

“We’ll see. We weren’t in pads today, but he’s cleared to go,” Stoops said during his call-in radio show Monday evening. “We’ll see what type of strength he has in that hand — it was operated on, so we’ll see how he comes along and what he’s like here throughout the week. But he’s cleared.”

Trayanum comes to Kentucky after two seasons at Ohio State (2022-23) and two seasons at Arizona (2020-21). In 36 career games (23 at Ohio State, 13 at Arizona State), he has totaled 1,157 career rushing yards and 13 touchdowns to go with 15 receptions for 91 yards. The 5-11, 227-pound back was OSU’s second-leading rusher with 373 yards and three touchdowns a year ago and entered his debut season in Lexington as a candidate for the Doak Walker Award, presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding college running back.

He’s in game shape — a positive to breaking his hand if there ever was one. Now, it’s about seeing how his surgically-repaired appendage responds in full-contact practice.

“He’s been doing all the movement and everything for the last several weeks, so we’ll just see how the week goes,” Stoops said.

Demie Sumo-Karngbaye, Jamarion Wilcox and Jason Patterson have been excellent in Trayanum’s absence to open the season. Now the running back room is about to get even stronger.

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