Could lower body boost mean a monster season for Kentucky linebacker?

At just 220 pounds when he arrived on campus in 2015, Kentucky coaches talked about Josh Allen having the frame to put on the weight needed to become a Southeastern Conference linebacker.

Some 32 pounds and three seasons later, it’s hard to miss Allen on the UK practice field.

He looks thicker, bigger, more defined.

It’s an amazing transformation even from a season ago, UK outside linebackers coach Brad White said this week.

“He looks completely different when you see him in full pads and when you watched him on film from last year,” White said. “He’s really developed in his lower half and that’s where his strength is coming. It’s going to pay dividends.”

Allen knew he needed to get bigger and more powerful to fulfill his NFL playing dreams, but also to make the plays he imagines making this upcoming season.

The senior, who tested the NFL waters after the season but opted instead to return to UK, was on pace to have a monster junior season with 9.5 tackles for a loss and seven sacks in just the first eight games.

But more attention and double teams meant he didn’t record any of the above in the final five games of 2017.

The second-team All-SEC linebacker hopes the added size and power, as well as some new moves courtesy of a new position coach, will keep him from hitting that plateau again this season.

“I feel more comfortable. I feel like I can play at my weight now,” Allen said. “I got bigger, got stronger, got faster. … I can set harder edges and be able to pass rush a little bit more.”

It meant eating more — “eating everything that’s on my plate” — and being more aggressive in the weight room.

White, a former NFL outside linebackers coach, thinks the added bulk, especially to Allen’s lower half, will be the difference.

“A lot of guys put on weight in their upper body, then their lower body can’t handle it,” White said of Allen, who had 65 tackles and team highs in tackles for a loss (9.5), sacks (seven), QB hurries (four), along with three pass breakups and a pick last season. “They’re just trying to get big. He put it in the right places.

“He actually put it in his lower half, so when he walks out there, he looks the part. It’s like, ‘OK, that guy can be stepping off the bus and everybody will be taking notice.’”

‘We destroyed them’

The offense took a little offense with some defensive gloating after a Kentucky scrimmage the week before.

They saw the video and read the quotes from defensive lineman Adrian Middleton, who said in his most undiplomatic way that UK’s defensive line “kicked their a--. Straight up. We kicked their a--.”

Well, the offense did a little kicking of its own in Friday’s scrimmage at Kroger Field.

“They did horrible,” running back Benny Snell said of the defense afterward. “We destroyed them. I hope they never play like that again because we scored on almost every drive.”

It sets up for an interesting Blue-White Spring Game in a week when it looks like the first-team offense will be facing the first-team defense in the grudge match.

After the scrimmage on Friday, even with camera lights in his eyes, right tackle George Asafo-Adjei noticed Middleton leaving the facility quietly with his dinner.

“Hey, Adrian?” Asafo-Adjei called to him knowingly. “Yeaaaah. Yeaaaah.”

Ultimately it was a good day for all of them, Asafo-Adjei confessed later.

“It’s talk,” he smiled. “It’s good for them. It’s good for us. They got better. We got better.”

Kentucky’s offense opened the closed scrimmage with Snell at running back. That helped set the tone, Coach Mark Stoops said.

“He wasn’t going to be held out today,” Stoops said of Snell. “He wanted to play.”

They all did, including quarterback Gunnar Hoak, whom Stoops said had a good day along with Terry Wilson. The two appear to be in the lead for the starter job. No official stats were provided by UK.

The offense got together on Monday morning upset with how they’d played the week before. It showed in strong play all week.

“We wanted to show defense what we can do and I think we did,” the soft-spoken sophomore said. “They’re out there talking trash and then we have a good day. That’s what spring ball’s for to go back and forth like that and for our team to get better in general.”

It was a wake-up call for the defense, safety Mike Edwards said.

“They came out with some fire,” he said of the offense. “We didn’t tackle enough, didn’t execute as much as we should.”

When asked if he thought they were motivated by their play the week before, Edwards laughed. “I would be if I was them.”

For a defensive-minded head coach, it was a bit of a bittersweet day.

“The minute we think we’ve got it all figured out, we don’t,” Stoops said. “That mentality has to change defensively. We’ve got to be more consistent. Was not good enough today.”

It’s all part of being a head coach in the spring.

“You’re pleased with one (side) and pissed off at the other,” he said. “Pleased with the offense today. They were physical, made competitive plays, just had an attitude about them.”

Other scrimmage notes

Official stats from closed scrimmages are not shared with the media, but there were a few tidbits that came out, including the solid play of four-star freshman linebacker DeAndre Square, who is starting in place of Jordan Jones for now.

Square, who should still be a senior at Detroit’s Cass Tech, arrived on campus in January and already is getting unprompted compliments from his coaches.

While the 6-foot-1, 205-pound inside linebacker needs to add pounds and still makes mistakes, Stoops is high on him.

“He is a tough son of a gun,” he said of Square. “He’s out there getting a bunch of reps against a pretty good offensive line and he is a tough, tough guy. I really respect the way he’s doing things.”

▪  One offensive player that caught Stoops’ eye during the scrimmage was slot receiver Lynn Bowden, who made one of many competitive catches this spring on a key third-and-goal on Friday.

“Had tight coverage, guys were draped all over him and he came down with a big catch,” Stoops said. “He made some people miss in the open field off a screen, which we know he can do.”

This story was originally published April 7, 2018 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Could lower body boost mean a monster season for Kentucky linebacker?."