Five questions heading into Kentucky’s first spring football game in three years
Kentucky’s “spring game” is scheduled for Saturday, but it’s fair to be skeptical as to whether what occurs at Kroger Field will end up looking like a football game. The weather sure won’t be seasonal.
Regardless, it will be as close to legitimate college football that we’re going to get in Lexington until Sept. 3, so why not break out your winter coats for one last tailgate before then? The Wildcats could be in the thick of the Southeastern Conference East Division title picture once again but have plenty of questions to address. There will be no final answers on Saturday, but we’ll get a glimpse into how they plan to attack them come fall. Here are a few we’re curious about heading into the first Blue-White game since 2019.
How far along are the receivers?
Virginia Tech transfer Tayvion Robinson projects as the figure most likely to emerge as quarterback Will Levis’ “favored” receiver, but offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello and his staff hope to spread the wealth more this season than UK was able to do last year, when Wan’Dale Robinson accounted for about 43 percent of the Wildcats’ receptions (for comparison, John Metchie II and Brock Bowers accounted for 25 and 21 percent of their teams’ receptions to lead Alabama and Georgia, respectively). Kentucky showed that it can effectively operate a pro-style offense with just a handful of legitimate receiving threats on the field. The next step is to demonstrate an ability to get more guys involved. A bunch of youngsters — Dane Key, Chauncey Magwood, Chris Lewis, Dekel Crowdus — have received quality snaps throughout the spring. If even two of them can break out, it would go a long way toward legitimizing UK as a threat to reach Atlanta.
In what shape is the secondary?
It’ll be tough to gauge the make-up of this group in any sort of public scrimmage setting, because the offense will be vanilla and getting out of the game healthy is more important, for all parties, than going all out to make a play as one might in Gainesville, Fla., come September. But one thing we’ll be able to watch is the rotation, or lack thereof. Pencil in Ty Ajian, a super senior, and junior Carrington Valentine as starters once more, but the other jobs could be competitive into the fall — and perhaps could be won by someone not yet on the Cats’ roster, depending on what the transfer portal looks like once spring camps have closed across the country. UK through the spring has been without Taj Dodson, who played 11 games at safety last year, due to an injury, and won’t have Vito Tisdale at all this fall. Andru Phillips (corner), Jalen Geiger (safety) and Jordan Lovett (safety) have gotten the most buzz among the less-experienced guys, and the unit’s depth as a whole seems sound — it’s just mostly green.
What newcomers might stand out?
If you’re eager to see how 6-foot-8 behemoth Kiyaunta Goodwin looks in a blue-and-white uniform, you’re not alone. The most-coveted signee of Kentucky’s 2022 class has worked mostly with the No. 2 unit in spring camp and could be a part of the offensive line rotation this fall; by all accounts internally, he’s checking the right boxes to make that the case. But there’s another big man — former Auburn guard Tashawn Manning — who’s made a nice impression on the staff and teammates. “He’s a bull, man,” offensive line coach Zach Yenser said this week. “That dude can move people off the spot. … He has a chance to be really, really good in this style of offense.” Another transfer, Ohio State defensive lineman Darrion Henry-Young, hasn’t been as hyped but is a new name to watch for on Saturday. As for Goodwin, he’s one of several freshmen making their debuts in front of fans who could contribute right away this fall. Key, mentioned above, very well might be good enough to start for the Wildcats in their opener against Miami (Ohio); it’ll be good to see where he and Levis are, chemistry-wise.
How about those backup quarterbacks?
Little had been uttered about the fellows behind Will Levis until the last week. Head coach Mark Stoops said Beau Allen, entering his third season on campus, looked good in UK’s first (and only) scrimmage. Scangarello was more broad in his assessment on Tuesday. “It’s a different guy every day that’s kind of been stepping up or probably has had a better day,” he said. “It’s a constant evaluation. It’s a competition.” Allen was the backup to Levis last season and is the most seasoned guy on the roster, but every year is a blank slate, especially when there’s a new captain running the ship. Anticipate Allen getting “second team” reps on Saturday but don’t read into that as a definitive statement on the pecking order.
Why should I care?
Is “because it’s football” not enough of a reason? Spring football is, ultimately, a tease. To call it a taste of what’s to come would be underselling the product you’ll watch come fall; the final meal, even if it fails to meet expectations, is going to be way more fun to consume than this weekend’s morsel. And while the weather isn’t likely to be appropriate for the occasion, why not embrace this as the period of rebirth that it typically is for mother nature? March was particularly brutal for the Big Blue Nation, but come September on the gridiron, there will be a good mix of returning talent, veteran coaching and promising youth that should put Kentucky in the path of another double-digit win season. This is your first chance to see it perform as a collective in some form.
Afford Stoops and his players a couple hours to remind you that ours is a state where football matters. This men’s team has delivered on its promise more than the roundball version, lately, and its hopes of doing so again in 2022 begins here. It’s free to get in, so fill up your flask and trot over to Kroger Field before the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. Plus, if it snows on Saturday, wouldn’t you like to say you were there when it happened?
Blue-White Spring Game
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Where: Kroger Field
TV: SEC Network Plus (online only)
2022 UK schedule
Home games in all capital letters
Sept. 3: MIAMI (OHIO)
Sept. 10: At Florida
Sept. 17: YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Sept. 24: NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Oct. 1: At Mississippi
Oct. 8: SOUTH CAROLINA
Oct. 15: MISSISSIPPI STATE
Oct. 29: At Tennessee
Nov. 5: At Missouri
Nov. 12: VANDERBILT
Nov. 19: GEORGIA
Nov. 26: LOUISVILLE
