The first true freshman in Cats Illustrated's Roster Rundown series is a player with a unique number. Not often do you find a defensive tackle who wears the No. 8 jersey.

But that's what you'll find North Hardin product Octavious Oxendine wearing starting this fall.

Background: Early in his time as a prospect there was never a sense that Oxendine was a lock to end up at Kentucky. In fact, there was a widespread sentiment in recruiting circles that Tennessee might be difficult to beat.

As the months passed Vince Marrow's efforts paid off, such that by the time of Oxendine's announcement the consensus was that UK was the favorite, even if there was some uncertainty lingering.

Purdue, Texas, and North Carolina were among the other schools that had been mentioned as possible destinations at various points in his recruitment.

Oxendine was a four-star recruit, regarded as one of the Commonwealth's best prospects, and he's a part of the best signing class of defensive linemen in the modern history of the UK program.

2020 Outlook: Kentucky returns a very solid core of rotation players on the defensive line. The fact that Oxendine is penciled in at defensive tackle rather than nose increases the likelihood that he could work his way onto the field. It's tough to see anyone unseating Quinton Bohanna and Marquan McCall for meaningful snaps at nose. At tackle he will be behind Phil Hoskins but there's more of a wide open situation beyond that.

Cats Illustrated sources have been raving about Oxendine ever since he arrived on campus for spring football. That spring work was cut short but he impressed not only with his physical attributes but his commitment to taking care of business in the classroom, with his work ethic, and his drive.

We can't overlook the fact that Oxendine is a physically mature, very strong player, assets that will serve him well in the fight for early playing time.

Remember, this is a program that redshirted every one of its true freshmen last year so it's much harder for a young player to stay on the field for Kentucky now than it was a long time ago. But with the four-game redshirt rule it would not at all be a surprise to see Kentucky's coaches give Oxendine a test drive early in the season and offer that opportunity to prove he's too good to keep on the bench.