Aaron Gates
Kentucky Wildcats
79
Solid

Aaron Gates

Kentucky WildcatsElite
NBDefenseSolidTRANSFER · Florida
Projected Starter

Is Aaron Gates starting?

Aaron Gates is the projected starter at NB for Kentucky Wildcats.

Redshirt junior · #3 · 6'0", 199 lbs

See full Kentucky Wildcats depth chart ›
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Depth at NB · Kentucky Wildcats

  1. 1379Aaron GatesStarter
  2. 22472Jaden Smith
  3. 31961Kevis Thomas

Kentucky Starting Lineup

Full Kentucky depth chart ›

Top defensive backs in the SEC

Ty BenefieldLSU · NBBray HubbardAlabama · FSKJ BoldenGeorgia · SS

Up next for Kentucky

Kentucky plays Tennessee away on Sat, Nov 7. The listed kickoff time is 06:15 PM ET.

The Story

Making His Case

A 4-star recruit out of Trinity Christian School, ranked #337 nationally coming out of high school. This season: 7 tackles, 0 INT, 0 PBU. That's 1% of the team's production at his spot — good for a 79 overall (Solid tier).

Recruit4★ · #337 NatlTeam Share1%
Newnan, GA
Jersey
#3
Class
RS JR/TR
Height
6'0"
Weight
199 lbs
Transfer
Florida

Stats

SeasonTklINTPD
—700

Regular-season totals from public sources. Derived splits (completion %, yards per carry, catch rate) aren't available in our current dataset.

Recruiting Profile

Stars
★★★★☆4-star
Composite
0.8994
National Rank
#337
High School
Trinity Christian School
Hometown
Sharpsburg, GA

Why this rating?

On a 86-rated defense; 31th-percentile production at transfer origin (×0.97 for competition level) put them -7 vs unit starters → 79.

Team defense (SP+)
86
Rating basis
On-field stats
Production (prior school)
Outperforms 31% of peers
Recruiting pedigree
Top 16% recruit
Strength of schedule
Faces easier competition — rating adjusted down (×0.97)
Depth-chart adjustment
-7 for role

2026 projection — based on SP+ (a respected team-efficiency metric; 2026 not published yet, using 2025), 2025 production, recruiting, and the 2026 transfer portal; capped to depth-chart order.

2026 Game Log

Oct 24WVANTKL 3
TKL
3
SOLO
2
SACK
0.5
INT
0
PD
1

Final W 34-17

Oct 17WOUTKL 2
TKL
2
SOLO
1
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
3

Final W 21-13

Oct 10WLSUTKL 5
TKL
5
SOLO
5
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
0

Final W 35-34 OT

Sep 26WUSATKL 1
TKL
1
SOLO
1
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
3

Final W 45-21

Sep 19WTA&MTKL 1
TKL
1
SOLO
1
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
0

Final W 31-21

Sep 12LALATKL 5
TKL
5
SOLO
2
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
0

Final L 45-17

Aaron Gates's 2026 game-by-game stat log.

The People's Ratings

Is our 79 OVR fair?
79
Solid
Vote to see what thousands of fans think

Team Role

7 tkl · 0 PD · 0 INT
Usage / Involvement11%
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Overall ratings blend team strength (SP+), on-field production, and recruiting. Higher = more impactful.