Ad Disclosure
Kentucky rushed for only 3.3 yards per carry in 2022 and running backs coach John Settle paid the price for that on Monday, being relieved of his duties after only 2 seasons with the Wildcats.
The Wildcats rushed for 1,443 yards this season, finishing a lowly 13th in team rushing in the 14-team SEC.
Kentucky also had only 9 rushing touchdowns this season, the only team in the conference to finish in single digits in that category. The Wildcats averaged a little over 120 yards rushing per game in 2022, despite having the program’s 2nd all-time leading rusher in Chris Rodriguez.
It was the 1st time since 2015 that Kentucky failed to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season, and it was also the Wildcats’ worst rushing season of the Mark Stoops Era.
Settle was previously the running backs coach at Wisconsin from 2015-20 before arriving in Lexington.
At Kentucky, Settle coached the running backs and held the title of Co-Special Teams Coordinator, also a much-maligned unit this season in Lexington.
According to Matt Jones of KySportsRadio, the biggest reason for Settle’s firing was his lack of production in the recruiting department, not his actual coaching of the Wildcats’ running backs.
Biggest reason for the replacement of John Settle was recruiting. I think the staff was very disappointed at his work in that area
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) November 28, 2022
Settle has been a coach at the collegiate and NFL level since 1994.
He had a 6-year NFL career with the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins from 1987-92.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
