Big Blue rundown: 10 things to know about Kentucky as spring football begins
Remember 2020? Of course you do.
While it’s a year most would like to forget, there’s a lot for the University of Kentucky football program to look back fondly upon: the Wildcats won their third straight bowl game, toppled Tennessee in Knoxville for the first time in decades and maintained its average number of wins within the Southeastern Conference amid a worldwide pandemic.
Much has changed for the Wildcats since the calendar turned over. Don’t fret if you’ve been out of the loop; here’s the Big Blue digest.
1. New offense
Liam Coen, an assistant quarterbacks coach with the Los Angeles Rams, was hired as offensive coordinator ahead of UK’s bowl game but didn’t join the program until a couple weeks after the end of the Rams’ season. In addition to retooling the Wildcats’ offense as Eddie Gran’s successor, Coen will coach Kentucky’s quarterback position.
2. Quarterback battle
A shake-up in offensive philosophy comes as the program for the first time in three years needs to identify a new day-one starter. Terry Wilson, who gained an extra year of eligibility because of the NCAA’s COVID-19 waiver, submitted his name to the transfer portal in the offseason, affirming a widely held belief that UK was ready to hand the reins over to a new guy in 2021.
3. Impact freshmen
Among the contenders for that open quarterback job is Beau Allen, one of several freshmen who could have a sizable impact for the Wildcats this fall. Few contributed meaningfully in 2020, but with a more typical offseason regimen it’s reasonable to anticipate that more redshirt freshmen and possibly true freshmen, like local products Jager Burton (Frederick Douglass offensive lineman) and La’Vell Wright (North Hardin running back), could provide more punch off the bench.
4. Top transfers
Will Levis, a junior-to-be from Penn State who won’t enroll until the summer, figures to have a say in the quarterback battle, as will Joey Gatewood, who transferred from Auburn ahead of last season and was UK’s No. 2 through most of last fall. It’s possible that the team will start a Power Five transfer at quarterback whose No. 1 receiving threat is Wan’Dale Robinson, also a Power Five transfer (via Nebraska).
5. Saluted seniors
Several players who played significant roles in Kentucky’s rise over the last few years — among them center Drake Jackson, running back A.J. Rose and punter Max Duffy — graduated and opted against using their additional year of eligibility, but six scholarship seniors who could have moved on chose to return: wide receiver Josh Ali, guard Luke Fortner, defensive back Zach Johnson, defensive back Quandre Mosely, tight end Justin Rigg and defensive back Davonte Robinson are all back, as are walk-ons Colin Goodfellow (punter), William Nalty (inside linebacker) and Matt Ruffolo (UK’s starting kicker most of last year).
6. Offensive line
Eric Wolford has succeeded the late John Schlarman as UK’s offensive line coach. The former South Carolina assistant inherits a room that in two of the last three seasons was in the running for the Joe Moore Award (for best collegiate football offensive line unit nationally) and that brings back three starters in Fortner, Austin Dotson and Darian Kinnard, who opted against declaring for the 2021 NFL Draft and could raise his stock considerably for the 2022 edition.
7. Running backs
Kentucky for about three weeks had its new running backs coach in Lexington, but Jemal Singleton was snapped up for an associate head coaching job with the Philadelphia Eagles. A second hire has not yet been revealed officially but whoever it ends up being gets the privilege of coaching a unit stocked with proven talent (Chris Rodriguez and Kavosiey Smoke) as well as some explosive wild cards like JuTahn McClain.
8. Defensive movement
All the offseason excitement over UK’s offensive adjustment has overshadowed the fact that it will need to replace multiple starters in key roles on defense. Both starting corners — Brandin Echols and Kelvin Joseph — are vying for NFL Draft spots, as is linebacker Jamin Davis and reliable nose guard Quinton Bohanna, who anchored a defensive front that last year was unable to produce much in terms of pass-rush statistics; with J.J. Weaver recovering from a late-season knee injury, identifying high-impact edge defenders will be even more valuable to the Cats’ cause in the lead-up to 2021.
9. Other departures
In addition to Wilson, five other Wildcats have entered the transfer portal: defensive back Jamari Brown, receiver Akeem Hayes, defensive back M.J. Devonshire, defensive lineman Qua Mahone and tight end Nik Ognenovic. Quarterback Nik Scalzo, entering his sophomore season and coming off two knee surgeries, also briefly entered the transfer portal but removed his name and is with the team this spring. All of those are positions where Kentucky has depth.
10. All fans on deck?
News that there once again won’t be a Blue-White Spring Game held in front of fans was disappointing, though the reason for it inspires some confidence that Kroger Field will be more full this fall. UK’s football stadium is the largest COVID-19 vaccination site in the state, and with the entire population expected to have access to the vaccine by the summer, it stands to reason that substantially more fans — if not 100 percent capacity — will be permitted to attend games in 2021.
This story was originally published March 15, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
