The Wildcats released their injury report for Saturday night’s home opener against Vanderbilt at Ryan Field, and it was brief, indeed.
Defensive end Deonte Gibson (elbow) will not play. Otherwise, the Wildcats are healthy.True freshman Ifeadi Odenigbo is expected to make his college debut in place of Gibson. Odenigbo, a four-star recruit from Centerville, Ohio, is listed as a linebacker in the media guide but has been moved back to defensive end, where he played in high school.The all-American (Super-Prep, Under Armour) weighed just 205 pounds when he was being recruited partly because he was competing in track. He has since beefed up to 230 and said he’s not worried about matching up with 300-pound offensive tackles at the college level.“I’m not worried about the size,” he said. “The school I went to consisted of 3,000 people so kids I went against every week [weighed] between 285 and 300 [pounds]. There were a lot of Division I athletes in my area.”Coach Pat Fitzgerald is confident Odenigbo will make his presence felt, although he acknowledges that the prospect ranked 51st overall in the country by ESPN will improve as the season progresses.“I watched Matt Rice play three-technique at 235 [pounds] my freshman year,” Fitzgerald said. “He’ll be fine.”
