Report: Kentucky’s Chris Oats hospitalized with ‘very serious’ medical issue not related to COVID-19

There’s a scary situation playing out involving a member of the Kentucky football team.

The Louisville Courier-Journal reported Friday that Kentucky football player Chris Oats has been hospitalized with an undisclosed medical issue. KentuckySportsRadio.com is reporting that the unspecified issue is “very serious.”

That latter website wrote that “I would just ask that all UK fans please keep Chris and his family in their prayers in the coming days, weeks and months ahead.” Oats has been hospitalized at a medical facility in Cincinnati for an unspecified amount of time.

In a statement, the Kentucky football program would only acknowledge that the issue isn’t related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Chris Oats is in the hospital due to a medical issue. The family has asked us to confirm that the issue is not related to COVID-19. Chris expected to move to a physical rehabilitation center in the near future. The family requests that their privacy be respected during this time.

Oats was a four-star member of the Class of 2018 for the Wildcats. The Cincinnati native was rated as the No. 22 outside linebacker in the country. He was also the No. 12 player regardless of position in the Buckeye State.

Now at inside linebacker, Oats has played in 25 games the past two seasons. A dozen of those appearances came this past season. He started a pair of those contests in 2019.

In 2019, his 46 tackles were fifth on the team. In two years, he has totaled 73 tackles, 5½ tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one pass broken up.