UK football notebook: Top running back spot is Boom Williams' to lose

Kentucky's coaches would like to find one guy to become the guy out of the running back group.

Last season, four different rushers carried the ball at least 59 times. Three of those players carried it at least 70 times.

And while sharing is nice in a kindergarten classroom, it doesn't build much continuity within an offense and it's not necessarily what will happen this season.

"I want the one that's hot to stay in there," new offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson told the Herald-Leader this spring. "I'm typically like that with every skill set. ...

"You have a starter for a reason and he needs to get the majority of the plays. If you're a backup and you want to be a starter, then you need to do better."

That's been the message in the running back room this season.

And even though there's an "OR" between the names of junior Jojo Kemp and sophomores Stanley "Boom" Williams and Mikel Horton on the post-spring depth chart in the media guide, there's still one guy to beat.

"Going into camp, Boom is the No. 1 guy and he solidified that coming out of the spring," running backs coach Chad Scott clarified on Saturday after Fan Day and Kentucky's first open practice of fall camp.

Williams shared the load last year, rushing 74 times for 486 yards and five touchdowns with Braylon Heard (73 attempts for 368 yards and four touchdowns), Kemp (70 carries, 323 yards and four TDs) and Horton (59 carries for 306 yards and two scores).

It's unlikely those carries will be as uniform this season under Dawson, who said "if a guy is really, really playing good, then the other two guys or however many guys aren't going to get as many reps and that's just the way it is."

Scott is eager to see one player seize the spot this season as well.

"Playing this position, guys have got to establish a rhythm," he said. "You can't just be going in and out. We aren't practicing for everybody to play; we're practicing to separate yourself. ... It's competition. Right now, (Williams) is the guy. It's his job to lose, but they gotta beat him out."

That doesn't mean that Williams isn't getting pushed in the position room and on the practice field. Both Horton and Kemp have changed their bodies dramatically this offseason and have expressed a public desire to be the starter.

"The running back room is very competitive," Williams said. "Having competitions with the coach even helps us a lot, too."

Those competitions aren't always about carrying the football either.

"Coach Scott makes sure we give 100 percent on everything, whether it's writing a play on the board or outside on the field physically, he makes sure we compete in everything," Horton said this spring.

"If we beat him to the film room, he's got to do 20 pushups. If he beats us, we have to do 20 pushups. He makes everything a competition. That influences us to compete with each other."

All of that competition has created a brotherhood among the guys in that room, too. That's what Scott is trying to do because he knows the Southeastern Conference doesn't always allow one guy to be the guy.

"They've got to take care of each other," Scott said. "All of them are going to play. They're going to have to play. They're going to have to care of each other right now at camp."

Fastest guy in town

In the two days of open practices and media events, the question has come up several times: Who would be a part of a footrace for fastest player on the team?

It's apparently come up a few times between two of the most likely candidates in running back Boom Williams and wide receiver Jeff Badet.

"I think I could get him in a race," Williams declared on Saturday. "We've been negotiating that all summer long, think we're finally going to come to a deal and get it done."

Head coach Mark Stoops was afraid to name names.

"Then what's going to happen is the locker room's going to get talking and then they're going to get their egos up, then they're going to try run 40-yard dashes when they're not supposed to and pull a hamstring," he said.

"Badet, Boom, probably others. I wouldn't be surprised if Chris Westry was in there somewhere. So, I don't know. I'll get Erik (Korem) in here and get the GPS and see who's on."

Quarterback Patrick Towles chimed in, too.

"(Badet) would have a solid run at it him and probably Boom," Towles added. "There's a lot of defensive guys. They're full of speed over there. I don't really mess with them too much, though. I try to keep my distance."

'I held a lot of babies'

At Kentucky's annual Fan Day, the massive line wrapped all the way around the Nutter Training Center. Then later there were hundreds of people at the practice fields to take a glimpse at the 2015 team.

"It was fun to get out there and spend some time with the fans," Stoops said. "It was a great turnout. I think our players really appreciated that. I know I did. It was good to spend some time with the fans and open up the practice again. A lot of people at practice, which was good."

Stoops signed a little girl's blue cast, bourbon bottles, season ticket distribution boxes among other things.

"I held a lot of babies, I know that," Stoops said of his morning. "Kissed some babies, held some. But it was really good, just to spend some time with (the fans). It was good to see people so optimistic and excited about the season."

Towles letting it flow

Last season at this time, Towles had a closely cropped, nearly shaved head and fellow quarterback Reese Phillips told him he didn't look like a true quarterback.

"Here's the deal: You've gotta get the flow. The flow. Let it grow," Phillips joked last year on Media Day. "They all shave it off and they think it looks so cool, but it's not. Think about some of the best quarterbacks ever and they've got the flow. Nowadays everyone's shaving it off. You've gotta keep the quarterback look."

Well, Towles has the quarterback look this season. The junior from Highlands has flowing locks he's been growing out all summer.

So is that just for camp or a permanent thing?

"I don't know. I'm trying to feel it out," Towles said. "I have to put on a helmet today, so I don't know how that's going to go."

Phillips definitely noticed the difference.

"He's been giving me good props, so I appreciate that," Phillips said. "He's trying to make it a thing, but that's what I've always had. I just embrace it. He's giving me props. He's not trying to steal it, I don't think."

When Towles was told his hair was starting to look a little bit like Missouri quarterback Maty Mauk, UK's quarterback grimaced slightly. "I ain't trying to look like that."

Bowl or bust? Barnhart says no

For fans and pundits, Year Three of the Mark Stoops era is bowl or bust, but it's not that simple to UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart.

While a bowl game for the first time in five seasons would be nice, and getting to post-season play is the goal for every team at Kentucky, it's not necessarily his measuring stick for progress.

Is a bowl imperative? No, Barnhart said on Friday.

"We build programs and building is a process," he said. "It's a step-by-step deal. We are going to do that."

How he measures success doesn't necessarily come in wins and losses.

"Everybody looks for a number, and I don't think that's fair to ask," Barnhart said. "But if we don't get five and a half wins (laughter) — seeing if you are paying attention. You just want to make progress. We have seen this group of players to get better with the staff and the growth of individuals or by position or off the field in recruiting.

"We just need to see improvement and that's what I like most. That is how I measure most of our people in our department and staff with progress. I believe these guys are making progress in a fairly rapid rate."

This story was originally published August 8, 2015 at 6:05 PM with the headline "UK football notebook: Top running back spot is Boom Williams' to lose."