Kentucky’s 2020 season is done. What could 2021 have in store for the Wildcats?

A 2020 season to remember — for reasons good, bad and in between — is officially in the books. Which means one thing: It’s time to start thinking about 2021.

Let’s take a look at some of the things we’ll be talking about as the Cats begin preparing for another campaign.

Offensive holes

The biggest question following UK’s bowl win was how many, if any, seniors would return for the additional season of eligibility granted to them by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Particularly on the offensive side, where starts aplenty were set to depart.

Josh Ali, seemingly minutes after UK defeated North Carolina State in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, kicked off a chorus of Cats announcing their comebacks. Leading up to the game he was non-committal about his plans, but Ali tipped his hat when asked about incoming offensive coordinator Liam Coen.

“It’s always good to have a new start, a fresh start,” Ali said last week. “He’s coming in from the NFL, so that’s really exciting. I’m just excited about the things he’s bringing to this offense and I’m excited to learn some new things.”

Justin Rigg also over the weekend announced his return, giving Kentucky both of its starting tight ends from this season back in 2021 (Keaton Upshaw, who finished as UK’s second-best threat in the receiving game, will be a junior). Rigg did not yield much in the receiving game but that could change under the guidance of Coen, who has a background coaching his position. Development at the receiver position is a must for UK to stay on track, but having Ali back along with two big targets elsewhere on the field should make that easier.

It’s less likely that Terry Wilson would sign up for another season at Kentucky, though the option is there. Based on the direction the program is trying to go, however, one of the two younger quarterbacks who saw the field this year, Joey Gatewood or Beau Allen, should get the reins and be a fresh face at the head of a new-look Kentucky attack.

Whoever gets the nod will have familiar faces lining up to protect him, at least. Landon Young officially declared for the NFL Draft on Monday, and Drake Jackson is expected to follow him to the league as well. The Cats got a huge boost earlier Monday, though, when Darian Kinnard, a true junior projected to go in the middle of the draft, announced both he and senior Luke Fortner are returning.

Belfry High School product Austin Dotson got several starts in 2020, as did Kenneth Horsey, and both guards should be leaders for that unit next year. Quintin Wilson played in UK’s last four games and is in line to succeed Jackson at center. Naasir Watkins, a significant part of UK’s o-line rotation in 2019 who missed all of last season due to injury, will provide experienced depth as well.

Senior running back A.J. Rose likely will move forward in life, but current sophomores Chris Rodriguez, who led the Cats in rushing, and Kavosiey Smoke, who battled injuries in 2020 but has shown flashes of brilliance in blue, both should be back along with reserves Jutahn McClain and Travis Tisdale. Barring unforeseen developments.

So, Kentucky going into 2021 has a new offensive coordinator tasked with figuring out which of the two relatively inexperienced quarterbacks he’ll start at quarterback — not an enviable task, for sure — but he’ll have a lot of familiar chess pieces with which to play, otherwise.

Defensive adjustments

Josh Paschal over the weekend announced he’s returning for a senior season, but Kentucky is projected to lose two starters from its defensive line in Quinton Bohanna and Phil Hoskins. The latter has suggested he won’t be back for a seventh season of college football in 2021, and the former has a tough call to make after injuries limited him down the stretch this year. Bohanna, a senior who could take advantage of the extra eligibility year, could have been a possible late-round NFL pick last year. He spurned that opportunity once to improve his stock and it might not have led to the desired result. If he’s willing to roll the die again it’d be a massive boost up front, though there are enough talented underclassmen (North Hardin product Octavious Oxendine and five-star recruit Justin Rogers, for example) that could help mitigate the loss.

Jamin Davis is awaiting NFL feedback, and losing the junior early would be a blow for an already beleaguered linebacking unit. Outside backer Jamar “Boogie” Watson would make for an intriguing returnee, should the senior opt to do so, but regardless of his call, UK needs to take as many steps as possible to improve its pass rush. That starts by developing guys down the depth chart and having them ready whether experienced players come back or not.

“I think Tre’Vonn Rybka’s got a chance to be a solid interior pass rusher for us,” defensive coordinator Brad White said last week. “I think Sam (Anaele) in the long run, as he continues to sort of grow into his body and understand all the paths, I think he’s got a chance to be a really good rusher. ... When you talk about elite rushers, those guys tend to have high-level twitch and you need to find that.”

The secondary, despite Kelvin Joseph’s early exit, the transfer of reserve M.J. Devonshire, and the expected departure of Brandin Echols, ought to be in good shape. Davonte Robinson has indicated that he’ll return for an additional year of eligibility and multi-year starter Cedrick Dort will be a senior. Several young players who did a lot with a lot of snaps this season, Vito Tisdale most notably, will see their importance heighten. Quandre Mosely, a senior reserve who showed versatility in the defensive backfield when called upon down the stretch, also announced he’ll be returning for another season.

Who’s on the schedule?

The prevailing assumption is that the SEC will return to its normal eight-game league schedule, which means UK would play its six East Division opponents, permanent West Division rival Mississippi State and an additional team from the west. If the cross-division schedule established in 2014 remains intact, Kentucky would host LSU at Kroger Field in the fall.

Kentucky has three non-conference games scheduled at home. It’ll kick off 2021 against Louisiana Monroe, which this season finished 0-10 and lost all but one game by double digits. The Warhawks hired Terry Bowden, the son of Bobby Bowden and who was the head coach at Auburn from 1993-1998, as their new head coach in December.

Home games against Chattanooga and New Mexico State are also on deck. UK will renew its rivalry with Louisville on Nov. 27, and will travel there as part of an amendment to the contract between the state’s two largest universities. Kentucky originally was supposed to host U of L in 2021.

The Cats’ SEC home schedule should include Florida, Missouri and Tennessee in addition to LSU. They’ll travel to Georgia, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.

This story was originally published January 2, 2021 at 4:32 PM.

Josh Moore

Lexington Herald-Leader

Josh Moore covers the University of Kentucky football team for the Lexington Herald-Leader, where he’s been employed since 2009. Moore, a Martin County native, graduated from UK with a B.A. in Integrated Strategic Communication and English in 2013. He’s a fan of the NBA, Power Rangers and Pokémon. Support my work with a digital subscription