Kentucky linebacker Chris Oats, who was hospitalized back in May with an undisclosed medical issue before being moved to a rehabilitation facility in June, is back home, his family has announced on social media.
Neither UK nor the Oats' family have commented publicly on the specifics of the situation but this season, a different Wildcats player will wear Oats' No. 22 in each game in a show of support.
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Fellow linebacker DeAndre Square wore it Week 1 at No. 8 Auburn, where he recorded a crucial fourth down stop, and tight end Keaton Upshaw wore it last week against Ole Miss, catching one pass for 5 yards.
"Those are the first two we have set and from there we will alternate his number to honor him and show him he’s still with us and we’re thinking about him," Stoops said in the preseason.
Linebacker Jamin Davis will wear Oats' No. 22 Saturday when the Wildcats host Mississippi State at Kroger Field.
Upshaw, Oats' roommate, also started a GoFundMe page that has raised over 25,000 of its 50,000 goal help pay for the junior linebacker’s medical bills.
As a sophomore last season, the 6-foot-3, 232-pound linebacker played in 12 of 13 games with two starts, recording 46 total tackles, good enough for fifth on the team, to go with 2.5 tackles for loss, one pass break up and one forced fumble.
Oats registered five total tackles including a career-high two for loss in the Wildcats' 37-30 win over Virginia Tech in the Belk Bowl. He also registered a team-best eight tackles and caused a fumble on a crucial fourth down stop during Kentucky's 29-7 win over Missouri.
Coming out of Winton Woods High School in Cincinnati as a member of the 2018 class, Oats was rated as a 4-star prospect and ranked as a top-20 outside linebacker and top-250 recruit nationally by 247Sports before choosing Kentucky over Ohio State among others.
The absence of Oats, who was expected to start at inside linebacker as a junior this season, has left the Wildcats a little thin at linebacker.
"We're still working depth with [Marquez] Bembry and Jared Casey moving from outside to inside. Those two guys are getting better and they're going to be good football players," Stoops said recently. "Bembry gives you great size at the mike. Casey was a talented player coming out of high school. He'll be a bigger inside linebacker as opposed to a smaller outside backer. D'Eryk Jackson was really showing some flashes and doing some good things. Torrance Davis, athletically, he's everything you're looking for. He's really raw right now so he'll have a hard time moving into the rotation. You have some walk-on guys, William Nalty has been solid but we'll get them ready to play."
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Chris Oats returns home from rehabilitation facility - 247Sports
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