Kentucky receivers taking things into their own hands after coach’s resignation
Kentucky wants, as it hoped last season before injuries to two different starting quarterbacks forced a re-tooling of the offense, to throw the ball around more in 2020. Moving forward, it will do so with a new coach leading the guys catching those passes.
UK receivers coach Michael Smith resigned from the Kentucky football staff within the last week, head coach Mark Stoops told reporters Tuesday. Smith’s departure from the staff was reported over the weekend by multiple outlets but was not confirmed by the university before Stoops’ comments.
Stoops said there would be an announcement “in the near future” regarding Smith’s successor on the staff. That individual, the fourth different receivers coach on staff since Stoops took over the program in 2013, was later announced to be Oregon wide receivers coach Jovon Bouknight.
Smith had helped UK establish itself as a recruiting factor in Louisiana, a hotbed for talent from which two of the Wildcats’ most highly touted players — defensive backs Kelvin Joseph and Joel Williams — originate, along with quarterback Amani Gilmore. Smith was hired in 2018 and his contract was set to expire on June 31, 2021.
“There’s been some instability in that room since I’ve been here so I’m just looking for somebody that I can bring in that can do a great job at developing these players and, obviously, recruiting’s always extremely important to us,” Stoops said before Bouknight’s hiring was announced. “The person I have in mind, I’ve known for a few years. (He) actually visited once before about an opportunity here, has some very good experience and should be a great addition.”
Bouknight was Oregon’s wide receivers coach last season after a three-month stint at Texas Tech. Before spending time with the Red Raiders he coached for 10 years at Utah State, where he was co-offensive coordinator in 2016. He played college football at Wyoming, where he finished his career ranked No. 20 all-time in NCAA career receiving yards (3,626) and receptions (250).
“I have tremendous respect for this program and what Coach Stoops has done over the past seven years,” Bouknight said in a news release. “I’ve watched as Kentucky has gone to four straight bowl games, finished in the top 25 nationally and how they’ve excelled in recruiting. I met Coach Eddie Gran on the road, we built a relationship and I’m excited to be a part of this coaching staff. I really love the direction of the program and where it’s headed.”
UK also has another vacancy on its staff, the one left open by special teams coordinator Dean Hood when he took the head coaching job at Murray State University. In the interim, Frank Buffano, UK’s director of operations, has been assisting defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale with the special teams unit. Stoops expects the staff to be fully in place by the time Kentucky returns from spring break, which begins Saturday and lasts through next weekend.
As for the receivers, they’ve taken it upon themselves to stay in line during the transition. Co-offensive coordinator Eddie Gran likened it to when offensive line coach John Schlarman isn’t able to be at practice due to his ongoing cancer treatments.
“It’s just like when John’s gone, the o-line takes care of their business and it’s all hands on deck,” Gran said. “That’s what it’s been, and it’s been really good that way.”
Josh Ali, Allen Dailey Jr. and Clevan Thomas were guys Gran specifically mentioned as stepping up as leaders at a time when it could be easy to get distracted. Spring break is less than a week away, after all.
Thomas, other than Ali the only returning receiver who caught a touchdown pass last season, has an infectious personality that lends itself well to being a balanced voice in the locker room; he knows how to keep things fun but focused.
“You cannot be too strict, ‘cause when you’re too strict, the guys aren’t gonna like you,” Thomas said. “You gotta have fun. When we’re doing right, we can have fun all day. We can joke as long as we get the information in. That’s what I tell the guys, when we come in the meeting room and they’re haha-, keke-ing, I’m just like, ‘You can’t do that.’
“I know we want to have fun. But let’s get the stuff, let’s learn it, then we can haha, keke. When we’re beating the DBs up, we can laugh all day on the field. That’s how I split it up. When we’re down bad and we have some drops and stuff, that’s when the serious me comes out.”
Important upcoming dates
March 27: UK Pro Day
April 11: Blue-White Spring Game
This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 3:15 PM.
