Roster Rundown: No. 30 Taj Dodson

Cats Illustrated's Roster Rundown series moves on to No. 30, safety Taj Dodson.

Following a redshirt season that still afforded Dodson the opportunity to gain some experience, he's part of a secondary that goes three-deep.

Background: Dodson was an accomplished recruiting prospect coming out of Fairburn (Ga.) Creekside as a member of Kentucky's 2019 recruiting class. He finished the cycle ranked a three-star (5.7 RR) prospect, the No. 70 player in Georgia, and the No. 50 safety nationally from his class.

Baylor, Boston College, Iowa, Iowa State, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Missouri, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, UCF, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia were some of the other schools that had offered.

Kentucky's coaches gave Dodson a fair amount of playing time early in 2019, in his true freshman season, and before injury issues sidelined him he was perhaps on track to be the only player in the '19 class who could have burned a redshirt.

Earlier this offseason defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale told Cats Illustrated, "He's a big kid who can run, he's physical, and he pays attention to the things you have to do to be good. He plays with passion. That's the biggest thing for him and for the whole group is they play with passion and dedication. That becomes a competition itself. I challenge him every day about trying to develop himself. It's not just what I do. You've got to develop your habits."

Frank Buffano, UK's new safeties coach, told Cats Illustrated that it shouldn't have been a surprise that Dodson got on the field.

2020 Outlook: One of the reasons Dodson was able to get on the field early last season was the depth chart at safety was fairly inviting. Almost no one proven was there, and the so-so competition in the first two weeks gave the coaches the luxury of trying him out.

With so many more proven parts at safety going into 2020 the path to playing time will have a lot more competition. But it would be wise to remember that everyone had slept on Dodson once, and he seemed to exceed expectations in the coaches' minds. It would be wise not to underestimate him again.