‘You need to have the depth.’ A day into fall camp, three Cats banged up.
The University of Kentucky opened its second practice of fall training camp to the general public and media on Saturday following its Fan Day meet-and-greet. Here are some observations and news out of the session:
▪ There was next-to-no-doubt about it heading into camp, but Sawyer Smith is the clear No. 2 at quarterback and will push Terry Wilson leading up to the season opener.
Let’s stress that, outside of injury, Wilson would have to take some significant steps back to lose his spot. But if that were to occur, UK is in a better position to absorb that blow than if it had not sought out a graduate transfer like Smith. He’s not only picking up the offense fast and accepting his role in it, but he has a cannon that’ll make impatient fans clamor for him to see the field if things turn sour on the Cats early this season.
“He’s got a lot of ground to make up as far as the mental part of it, but he’s definitely a really good player,” head coach Mark Stoops said. “I’m quite confident after 20-some odd practices, he’ll be ready to go.”
▪ Cedrick Dort Jr. made a number of impressive plays during passing scrimmages Saturday. The former three-star prospect out of Florida played in nine games his freshman year but sat out all of last season with an ankle injury. He, like so many members of the secondary, has a lot of work to put in — B.J. Alexander, a redshirt freshman, burned him pretty well on a curl route — but his potential as a playmaker was on display and will keep him in the conversation for a starting job at corner as fall progresses.
▪ If an alien dropped into the Joe Craft Football Training Facility from outer space, its eyes would have immediately been drawn to the group of tight ends. C.J. Conrad’s experience and leadership won’t be replicated immediately, but UK has big bodies that all belong in the Southeastern Conference. Even true freshman Nik Ognenovic looks the part.
Of note among the returnees, Keaton Upshaw — a redshirt freshman who sat out last season with a knee injury — went through practice but was dealing with a hamstring issue.
▪ Junior college transfers Quandre Mosely and Brandin Echols weren’t mixed in with the top groups of defensive backs during Saturday’s scrimmages. Echols practiced but with a minor, undisclosed leg injury that reduced his reps. Coming out of spring camp Echols was poised for a starting job at corner, and that could still be the case when he’s at full strength. Redshirt freshman Jamari Brown got time with the top group on Saturday; he didn’t play in any games last year and was injury-plagued as a high school senior but his offer list included Auburn, Mississippi State and Oregon.
▪ Finding starters in the secondary isn’t as top-of-mind for the coaching staff as much as developing a solid rotation of guys upon whom they can rely come game time. Same goes for the receiving corps, which after Lynn Bowden boasts little in proven production.
“Both of those positions you need to play a lot of guys, so you need to have the depth,” Stoops said. “They should be interchangeable. … We rotated three corners constantly (last year). We looked at basically having three starters there. We’d like to have more. This year we’ll have to continue to rotate those guys and see where we’re at, and same with receivers.”
▪ Isaiah Epps, who with eight receptions qualifies as UK’s third-leading receiver returning from last year, injured his foot in UK’s first practice Friday and sat out Saturday; the severity of that injury was not revealed. Bryce Oliver, a redshirt freshman who recorded 105 yards and two touchdowns on five catches in the spring game, stepped in after Epps got hurt.
“He stood out to me a little bit yesterday when Isaiah went down, so we’ll continue to push him,” Stoops said.
Season opener
Toledo at Kentucky
Noon Saturday, Aug. 31 (SEC)
