How Kentucky and Louisiana Monroe match up — with a game prediction
How the Kentucky Wildcats (0-0) and Louisiana Monroe Warhawks (0-0) match up at each position — with a game prediction:
Quarterbacks
▪ Will Levis is slated to make his third college start, but first at Kentucky, after transferring from Penn State. In his two-year Nittany Lions career, the 6-foot-3, 232-pound product of Madison, Conn., completed 61 of 102 passes for 644 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Used primarily as a situational runner at Penn State, Levis rushed for 476 yards and three TDs.
▪ Louisiana Monroe’s Rhett Rodriguez is the son of Warhawks offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez. A 6-foot, 196-pound junior transfer from Arizona, the younger Rodriguez is a career 51-percent passer with three touchdown passes and four interceptions. At ‘Zona, Rodriguez was not much of a rushing threat — he has minus-2 career rushing yards on 17 attempts.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Running backs
▪ In spite of missing two games last season due to COVID-19 protocols, Kentucky’s Christopher Rodriguez ran for a team-high 785 yards and 11 touchdowns. A powerful north/south rusher, the 5-11, 224-pound junior from McDonough, Ga., must adjust to UK’s switch from an inside zone rushing scheme to the outside zone under new offensive coordinator Liam Coen. If Kavosiey Smoke (229 yards rushing, one TD in seven games) can stay healthy, the explosive junior should thrive in the new offense.
▪ New ULM Coach Terry Bowden chose not to release a depth chart in advance of the season opener to preserve mystery about the Warhawks’ new look. According to news reports in Louisiana, Bowden likes ULM’s talent at running back. During last year’s 0-10 slog, second-year freshman Kayden Roach and sophomore Isaiah Phillips each ran for 112 yards.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Wide receivers
▪ Former Western Hills High School star Wan’Dale Robinson will make his UK debut Saturday after playing his first two seasons at Nebraska. Kentucky’s 2018 Mr. Football caught 51 passes for 461 yards and a TD and rushed for 240 yards and a score last year in eight games for the Cornhuskers. Robinson’s presence should help free up Kentucky’s returning top receiver, super-senior Josh Ali (54 catches, 473 yards, one TD).
▪ Louisiana Monroe’s Jeremiah “Boogie” Knight is a transfer from Akron. In 2019, the 5-11, 192-pound Knight caught 31 passes for 430 yards. Knight is still looking for his first receiving TD as a collegian. Last season, Malik Jackson caught 23 passes for 189 yards and a team-high four TDs for ULM.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Tight ends
▪ UK super senior Justin Rigg (12 catches, 145 yards, one TD) is back for a third season as a starter. Mark Stoops sang the praises of junior Brenden Bates (one catch, 14 yards in six games) on his weekly radio show Monday. Redshirt freshman Izayah Cummings, the former Male High School star, has generated a lot of buzz after switching from wide receiver.
▪ ULM’s Jacob Mathis played his first three seasons at South Florida. In 2019, Mathis caught 13 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns for USF.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Offensive linemen
▪ All-America-candidate Darian Kinnard returned to Kentucky for his senior season planning to shift from right to left tackle to enhance his NFL Draft stock. With the arrival via transfer of Dare Rosenthal, LSU’s starting left tackle in 2020, Kinnard has returned to his familiar spot at RT. Veteran guard Luke Fortner, another super senior, is shifting to center.
▪ Louisiana Monroe lost its two best blockers, guard T.J. Fiailoa and tackle Sam Williams, to transfer. But the Warhawks return three starters from last season, led by mammoth, 6-7, 315-pound left tackle Blake Lodes. Center Garrett Hirsch and right guard Evan Henry are also back.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Defensive linemen
▪ Kentucky coaches believe senior end Josh Paschal (32 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss) is primed for a big year. Senior nose guard Marquan McCall (22 tackles, a fumble recovery) has dropped some 40 pounds since last year. Whether the Detroit product can adequately replace the graduated Quinton Bohanna (now with the Dallas Cowboys) is a key to the UK season.
▪ ULM senior rush end Ty Shelby (36 tackles, 6.5 TFL in eight games) is a playmaker on the edge. Tackle Caleb Thomas transferred from Connecticut; in 2019, Thomas had 23 tackles and 2 quarterback hurries in 11 games for the Huskies.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Linebackers
▪ Kentucky hopes senior weakside linebacker DeAndre Square (60 tackles, 2.5 TFL, four QBH) elevates his play while assuming a team leadership role. Senior OLB Jordan Wright (45 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks, four pass breakups, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries) has a nose for the ball but needs to be more of a factor in the pass rush.
▪ ULM senior WLB Traveion Webster (79 tackles, eight TFL, five QBH) was the Warhawks’ leading tackler in 2020 and could be an All-Sun Belt Conference candidate. MLB Ja’Cquez Williams, a graduate transfer from Wake Forest, had 207 career stops with 17.5 TFL and 7.5 sacks in four seasons with the Demon Deacons.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Defensive backs
▪ UK senior free safety Yusuf Corker (77 tackles, 2.5 TFL, two interceptions) is the anchor of the Wildcats’ secondary. With 2020 starting cornerbacks Kelvin Joseph and Brandin Echols now in the NFL, UK will be breaking in new corners in senior Cedrick Dort (31 career games, 13 starts) and sophomore Carrington Valentine. The 6-foot, 200-pound Valentine made his first career start in UK’s 23-21 win over No. 23 North Carolina State in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl and recorded six tackles and a forced fumble.
▪ Louisiana Monroe’s secondary should get a boost from the return of field corner Kenderick Marbles (34 tackles in 2019), who sat out last season, and the addition of Akron transfer free safety Jordyn Riley (44 tackles in 11 starts last season for the Zips).
Advantage: Kentucky.
Special teams
▪ Kentucky must replace star punter Max Duffy; the Australian won the 2019 Ray Guy Award. Another Aussie, Wilson Berry, was recruited to replace Duffy, but has battled back problems. Walk-on Colin Goodfellow filled in last year when Duffy missed two games due to COVID-19 protocols and performed well (47.7 yards average on 10 kicks). Place-kicker Matt Ruffolo made 12 of 14 field goals last season, 10 of 10 from inside the 40.
▪ Louisiana Monroe hopes Oklahoma transfer Calum Sutherland will solidify the Warhawks place-kicking. At OU in 2019, Sutherland went 23-of-23 on PATs but was 2-of-4 on field goals. Punting was a problem for ULM in 2020, as the Warhawks punted 53 times but averaged only 38.6 yards a kick. Redshirt freshman Kip Warren hopes to get a chance to improve that number.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Prediction
Kentucky 45, Louisiana Monroe 13.
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
