Josh Ali

#6 · WR · Sr. · Kentucky6′0″ · 193 lb · Hollywood, FL · Chaminade-Madonna

Josh Ali: WR · Kentucky · #6.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Jeremiah HarrisonJames Madison · 2026 · 91% season match
Dante CephasKent State · 2022 · 87% season match
J.C. SantanaTulsa · 2021 · 83% season match
Josh KellyFresno State · 2021 · 80% season match
Trevon BradfordOregon State · 2021 · 79% season match

Josh Ali

WR · Kentucky · Sr · #6

Moves the chains on third down. Fifth year in the same receiving corps at Kentucky. One game to point at: 164 receiving yards and 7 receptions against New Mexico State — Week 12, 2021.

Style of play

Play style

Reliable target who converts on critical downs. Not flashy; consistently productive.

Fans

No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.

Kentucky in the news

Court denies NCAA's request to block Afari Jr.Oct 30
QB target flips to UCLAYahoo Sports Oct 24
CFP approves 24-team playoff format for 2027Oct 16

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2021	Kentucky	41	601	14.7	3	62
2020	Kentucky	52	477	9.2	1	33
2019	Kentucky	23	233	10.1	3	25
2018	Kentucky	10	115	11.5	1	32
2017	Kentucky	3	25	8.3	0	14
Career		129	1,451	11.2	8	62

Season	Team
2021	Kentucky	3	13	133	1
2020	Kentucky	3	11	62	--
2019	Kentucky	2	6	88	--
2018	Kentucky	--	--	--	--
2017	Kentucky	--	--	--	--
Career		8	30	283	1

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2021 season · 10 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 45-10vs UL Monroe	5	136	27.2	1	58	136-yard receiving day
Wk 2	W 35-28vs Missouri	2	30	15.0	0	19
Wk 3	W 28-23vs Chattanooga	5	53	10.6	0	18
Wk 4	W 16-10@ South Carolina	4	14	3.5	0	4
Wk 5	W 20-13vs No. 10 Florida	1	15	15.0	0	15
Wk 9	L 17-31@ Mississippi State	2	9	4.5	0	5
Wk 10	L 42-45vs Tennessee	7	74	10.6	0	13
Wk 11	W 34-17@ Vanderbilt	4	58	14.5	0	24
Wk 12	W 56-16vs New Mexico State	7	164	23.4	2	62	Season-high 164 yds
Wk 13	W 52-21@ Louisville	4	48	12.0	0	16
Total		41	601	14.7	3	62

Signature game

Week 12 · 2021

W 56-16

vs New Mexico State

7 rec · 164 yds · 2 TD

Dominant 40-point win at home against New Mexico State.

With W. Levis — 419 yds · 4 TD · 1 INT · QBR 90.9 · 11 rush yds (4 car) · W. Robinson — 8 rec · 181 yds

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 12 · New Mexico State · 3rd and 4 · Q3 · EPA +6.22Will Levis pass complete to Josh Ali for 62 yds for a TD, (Matt Ruffolo KICK)
Week 1 · UL Monroe · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +4.56Will Levis pass complete to Josh Ali for 58 yds for a TD, (Matt Ruffolo KICK)
Week 1 · UL Monroe · 3rd and 8 · Q3 · EPA +2.93Will Levis pass complete to Josh Ali for 24 yds to the Kent 46 for a
Week 4 · South Carolina · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA −2.90Josh Ali run for a loss of 7 yards to the Kent 40 Josh Ali fumbled, forced by David Spaulding, recovered by SCaro Brad Johnson
Week 12 · New Mexico State · 3rd and 8 · Q3 · EPA +2.73Will Levis pass complete to Josh Ali for 13 yds to the Kent 48 for a
Week 10 · Tennessee · 3rd and 6 · Q3 · EPA +2.69Will Levis pass complete to Josh Ali for 13 yds to the Tenn 47 for a

4 more plays

Week 3 · Chattanooga · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +2.52Josh Ali run for 11 yds for a TD (Matt Ruffolo KICK)
Week 12 · New Mexico State · 1st and 9 · Q2 · EPA +2.42Will Levis pass complete to Josh Ali for 9 yds for a TD, (Matt Ruffolo KICK)
Week 3 · Chattanooga · 3rd and 5 · Q1 · EPA +2.32Will Levis pass complete to Josh Ali for 10 yds to the Kent 48 for a
Week 1 · UL Monroe · 3rd and 6 · Q2 · EPA +2.13Will Levis pass complete to Josh Ali for 23 yds to the LaMon 19 for a

Teams and coaches

5 seasons under Mark Stoops — 40-23 over that span.

2017Kentucky7-6HC: Mark Stoops · Run-leaning

2018Kentucky10-3HC: Mark Stoops · Run-heavy

2019Kentucky8-5HC: Mark Stoops · Run-heavy

2020Kentucky5-6HC: Mark Stoops · Run-heavy

2021Kentucky10-3HC: Mark Stoops · Run-leaning

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 53 (#160 of 468). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2021 season

53Rotational starter #160 of 468 · 2021?

13 metrics · season cumulative

2021 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: rush tds (88th percentile). Concern: fumbles lost (7th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Yards / catch#167 / 655 · 75th pct

14.7

EPA / target#212 / 655 · 68th pct

0.79

Explosive rate#282 / 655 · 56th pct

14.3%

TD rate#351 / 655 · 46th pct

5.4%

Catch rate#386 / 655 · 41st pct

73.2%

Box-score rates (8)

Rush TDs#10 / 273 · 88th pct

Rec yards#145 / 557 · 74th pct

601

Long catch#145 / 557 · 73rd pct

Receptions#163 / 557 · 70th pct

Yards / catch#177 / 557 · 68th pct

14.7

Rec TDs#196 / 557 · 58th pct

Rush yards#133 / 273 · 50th pct

Fumbles lost#198 / 223 · 7th pct

Season trend

EPA / target— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Explosive rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Catch rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

TD rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Yards / catch— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2021. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2021 season · 10 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home6g	4.5	78.7	17.0	0.5
Road4g	3.5	32.2	8.6	0.0

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-75g	3.4	49.6	14.3	0.2
Weeks 8+5g	4.8	70.6	13.0	0.4

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2021 season

Head Coach

Mark Stoops

Pass share

43.3%

366 pass / 480 run

Plays / game

70.5

12 games

Team sack rate

6.1%

396 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-leaning.

Awards

Player standing · 2021

41 catches and 3 carries in 10 games

About as many catches a game as a typical FBS receiver who plays every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

53 · #160 of 468 WRs · 2021

Three-star recruit. Now #160 at the position.

Josh Ali

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

Kentucky in the news

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

41 catches and 3 carries in 10 games

Five seasons at Kentucky

2017 3 games