What’s the outlook for Kentucky football in 2020? Very sunny.
Can you keep a secret?
The national media doesn’t need to know this — they’d probably ignore it anyway — but Kentucky football has a chance to be pretty good in 2020.
I’m not saying Mark Stoops will replicate his 10-3 of 2018. Josh Allen and Benny Snell don’t roll off the turnip truck every day. What I am saying is from the start we viewed 2019 as a bridge year from UK’s 2018 accomplishments to another surge in 2020. And the Cats appear right on schedule.
That 2019 bridge included some unexpected obstacles, of course. Second game, starting quarterback Terry Wilson was lost for the season. Sixth game, Lynn Bowden was moved from wide receiver to quarterback. After starting 2-3, the Cats won five of their last seven, including the 45-13 drubbing of Louisville in Saturday’s Governor’s Cup renewal at rainy Kroger Field.
Old news, right? Once the final horn sounds on one season, we obsess on the next. True, 2019 isn’t over. Kentucky will play in a yet-to-be-decided bowl game. (A sunny one, we hope.) College football’s early signing period begins Dec. 18. But how’s 2020 looking?
Let’s start by assuming a healthy Wilson will resume his duties at quarterback next season. We’ll also assume a healthy Sawyer Smith is ready as the backup. And we’ll assume that Bowden will return to wide receiver if he doesn’t opt to leave for the NFL. We’re betting on the latter.
Running AJ Rose, Chris Rodriguez and Kavosiey Smoke will return. Also back will be wide receivers Josh Ali, Allen Dailey, Clevan Thomas and Bryce Oliver, to name a few. Isaiah Epps, who missed the season with an injury, should return. Throw in tight ends Justin Rigg, Keaton Upshaw and Brendan Bates.
Four starters return on an offensive line that paved the way to the school’s single-season rushing record. Left guard Logan Stenberg graduates. But Landon Young, Drake Jackson, Luke Fortner and Darian Kinnard return. Backups Naasir Watkins, Kenneth Horsey and Quinton Wilson, plus others, will be back in John Schlarman’s O-line room.
Now let’s turn to the defense. Despite numerous high-profile personnel losses, the 2019 unit finished the regular season ranked 20th nationally in total defense, 13th in scoring defense and 13th in pass efficiency defense under first-year coordinator Brad White.
There will be holes to fill on the defensive line, where nose guard Quinton Bohanna is the only returning starter. But depth exists elsewhere, starting with outside linebackers Boogie Watson and Josh Paschal, plus backups Jordan Wright and Jared Casey. Kash Daniel graduates at inside linebacker, but DeAndre Square, Chris Oats and Jamin Davis, all three sophomores, are ready for bigger roles.
Then there’s the secondary. Remember, this was a basically an all-new unit in 2019. Then veteran safety Davonte Robinson tore his quad muscle before training camp. In 2020, he should join starting corners Cedric Dort and Brandin Echols, along with free safety Yusuf Corker and strong safety Quandre Mosely. Jamari Brown, M.J. Devonshire, Tyrell Ajian and Taj Dodson ended the year on the two-deep depth chart. All return.
And, please hold your applause, but arguably the most effective punter in America, Max Duffy, is scheduled to be a senior next season.
That’s a lot of names, which equals a lot of hope. After the win over Louisville, I wrote about how UK is beating people running the football when most said there is no way the program could do it that way. Same applies to depth. A long-held view was Kentucky football will never possess the quality depth enjoyed by its opponents. Under Stoops, that is changing, too.
None of this guarantees 2020 success, of course. The conference schedule is the conference schedule. The 2019 home game against Arkansas is a 2020 road game at Auburn. The Cats will have to visit Louisville at season’s end and apparently U of L Coach Scott Satterfield wasn’t happy about his first Governor’s Cup experience.
Still, the way things set up, you have to like Kentucky’s chances in 2020. Just don’t tell anybody.
Kentucky football 2020 schedule
- Sept. 5 vs. Eastern Michigan
- Sept. 12 at Florida
- Sept. 19 vs. Kent State
- Sept. 26 vs. South Carolina
- Oct. 3 at Auburn
- Oct. 10 vs. Eastern Illinois
- Oct. 17 vs. Vanderbilt
- Oct. 24 at Missouri
- Oct. 31 off
- Nov. 7 at Tennessee
- Nov. 14 vs. Mississippi State
- Nov. 21 vs. Georgia
- Nov. 28 at Louisville
