Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones, Drew Franklin and Tyler Thompson]
[Moderated by Matt Jones, Drew Franklin and Tyler Thompson]
Here is a breakdown of UK’s offensive unit this season, and why you should expect it to be much improved from last season:
Quarterbacks: Max Smith showed promise towards the end of last season as a true freshman. In his first start against Mississippi State, Smith completed 26-of-33 passes. The following week, Smith threw for 283 yards for 2 touchdowns and 0 INT’s in a 30-13 win over Ole Miss. For a true freshman to come in mid-season and be as successful as Smith was without even having the benefit of a few non-conference tune-up’s was very impressive. Smith will likely earn the start in this year’s opener against Louisville, but if he should struggle, the Patrick Towles era could begin earlier than some may expect. Towles, a 4-star, 9th ranked QB in the country (according to Rivals) threw for 3,820 yards for 42 touchdowns and only 1 interception in his senior season at Highlands. If Smith ends up winning the job and keeping it, expect the Cats to redshirt Towles, but with Joker in a contact year, he won’t take long to turn to Towles if he needs to early in the season. Morgan Newton appears to be moving back into a backup role and Bookie Cobbins could be under center in certain “Wildcat” formations if he is able to stay academically eligible. All around, there’s no reason to not expect much better quarterback play in 2012.
Receivers: Kentucky returns its only consistently reliable WR from last season in La’Rod King (40 catches, 598 yds, 7 TD’s). To be blunt, the rest of the wide receiver corps cannot be any worse than they were a year ago. Part of the problem last season were injuries to EJ Fields, who caught 7 receptions against Louisville, and Gene McCaskill, who had 32 career receptions before last season. Rising sophomore DeMarco Robinson was the star of this year’s spring game, catching 9 passes for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns. The wide receivers as a group can only improve from a year ago, and with better quarterback play, the margin of improvement could be huge. The passing game in general will also be aided by a deep and talented group of returning TE’s, including Tyler Robinson, Jordan Aumiller, and Ronnie Shields.
Running Backs: True freshman Josh Clemons was one of the few bright spots for the Cats early last season, scoring 2 touchdowns in his first 2 college games, only to be injured halfway through the season. CoShik Williams will probably get the majority of the carries in 2012, owner of two 100+ yard performances in 2011 including 111 yards and 2 touchdowns in a win over Ole Miss. Williams also scored the only touchdown for the Cats in the historic 10-7 win over Tennessee. Assuming that everyone can stay healthy, Raymond Sanders will round out a trio of reliable options in the backfield.
Offensive Line: The only significant losses on the offensive side of the ball are Chandler Burden, Billy Jo Murphy, and Stuart Hines from the offensive line, but the OL will be returning 2-year starter Matt Smith at center, senior and 2-time All-SEC second team selection Larry Warford at right guard, and the talented Darrian Miller, who started 2 games as a freshman, will step up as the full-time left tackle this season. The only major question mark on the offensive line will be whoever will step up at right tackle. That position is up for grabs between Trevino Woods and Kevin Mitchell, who moved from playing left guard last season, or perhaps one of the incoming freshman.
On the defensive side of the ball, it will of course be difficult to replace Danny Trevethan and Winston Guy, but expect the offense to be much more exciting and fun to watch in 2012. I would also expect the play calling to be much more diverse and risky with a head coach and staff that are dependent on having a big year to keep their jobs. A lot of new faces stepped into new roles last season on offense, but this year should be a more experienced group with no huge voids to fill, as was the case last season after the departures of Randall Cobb and Mike Hartline.
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June 25th, 2012 at 11:35 am
the season hasn’t started it’s 0 – 0 we haven’t even seen them play against an opponent.
June 25th, 2012 at 11:37 am
i don’t think the offense can get any worse, so we have improvement or worst in the country again.
June 25th, 2012 at 11:41 am
I agree with the overall assessment – offensive production was so terrible last season, particularly from the QB/WR positions, that there really is no place to go but up.
I can say this without any reservations, however: If I see Morgan Newton on the field I won’t watch another second of UK football for the rest of the season.
June 25th, 2012 at 12:01 pm
Great points. Looking forward to football!
June 25th, 2012 at 12:13 pm
3 — I’m on board with your statement about Newton. I’ve never seen such a terrible Kentucky quarterback in my entire life.
June 25th, 2012 at 12:14 pm
Im ready for basketball.
June 25th, 2012 at 12:19 pm
I think the Cats are going to beat Loserville and have good season. UK football will never be as good as UK Basketball. That’s just the way it is. Get used to it. If you are a Kentucky fan, cheer on your team. They need support, not hate. Go Cats!
June 25th, 2012 at 12:38 pm
Joker has publically stated that he is concerned with the lack of depth on the O-line. If starters go down and they don’t have the guys fill in and do the job well enough, this offense will not score points. With an offense that struggled so much last season, this is scary. Hopefully these young guys step up on both sides of the ball and can win six. If not, I think Joker is done.
June 25th, 2012 at 12:41 pm
Are we going to let a kid with the talent of Patrick Towles just sit on the bench holding a clip board?
June 25th, 2012 at 12:45 pm
5 – Without a doubt. Only QB I can remember that grew considerably worse from season to season. How can you devolve like that? He actually showed promise his first season playing for the injured Hartline – he earned a spot on the SEC All-Freshmen team. He had a couple of flashes playing for Hartline in the BBVA compass bowl in 2010, then just completely sucked ass in 2011. Again, HOW does that happen?
June 25th, 2012 at 1:05 pm
also we have collins at wr who was suppost to start last year and got hurt right before the season started
June 25th, 2012 at 1:08 pm
As much as I love college football, not looking forward to UKs at all. All we heard last year was what a strength the offensive line was going to be, and how much Morgan Newton had improved. Until I see it on the field it’s falling on deaf ears.
June 25th, 2012 at 1:24 pm
Thank you for a football update, ready for the 1st game. We will win! Louisville does not know what they will see and by the time they find out game over. Let UL believe they are going to win by 30 all summer.
June 25th, 2012 at 1:25 pm
I was lost on Newton when he couldnt get the first down on the quarterback sneak he tried during the last bowl game…he loked like he was afraid to get hit. Smith is our QB, period, Towles is a freshman and wont have the experience…if they start anybody other than Smith, I’ll turn off the game too!
June 25th, 2012 at 2:05 pm
12 I agree with you I do not think they have a clue if they are going to be good or not
June 25th, 2012 at 2:14 pm
You know, I wouldn’t care if I never read another UK football article on this site. They will be dreadful.
June 25th, 2012 at 2:25 pm
Can’t wait for football season. I agree with everything about this post. I think the keys on offense are the O-line and how Smith handles QB. I’m not worried about our RB’s WR’s and TE’s this season, I trust that they will do well. Defensively, our D-line should be solid (Ukwu, Cobble, Rumph, and Wyndam sound scary…) along with the safeties (Neloms and Benton). I think LB’s will be good with Avery Williamson and young Bud Dupree. Only concern on defense is DB’s because they are YOUNG and inexperienced.
June 25th, 2012 at 3:48 pm
To say it will be better isn’t really saying much— how could it be worse than last year? I went to Nashville for the WKU game which was probably the worst college football game I’ve seen in many years. It never got much better except I agree that Smith showed some promise. The tight end production has been MIA for several years. Whaley and Tamme were great 3rd down and goal line targets. I am interested to see what Towles will bring to the table. Also, can we stay healthy?
June 25th, 2012 at 4:01 pm
Who really wrote this? IMG? Kentucky Forward?
June 25th, 2012 at 4:21 pm
a) much improved over terrible is still terrible.
b) the d is going to be terrible.
June 25th, 2012 at 6:56 pm
4-8, primarily because of what 20 said – can honestly say I have never been more pessimistic!!
June 25th, 2012 at 9:22 pm
This Kentucky team should be much improved over last year. For 1, The QB should be more consistent. Whether it be Towles or Smith, look for better play at the QB position. The RB’s are extremely deep. The WR play will be much better with the return of Daryl Collins and EJ Fields. Add Larod King and the much improved Demarco Robinson. There is some solid returnees on the line mixed with a some young talent which will be the biggest question mark of the offense. A few injuries could ruin the season because there is not much depth. Tight End looks like it will be a committee, but that shouldn’t be a glaring weakness.
As far as the defense goes, they will be in the second year of Rick Minter who completely changed the defensive philosophy. The 3-3-5 defense was a major change last year. However I believe Minter will use more 4 down lineman looks because that will be the major strength of the defense. The corners need to step up and defend the deep ball much better than last year and should. Coming back to the, “They couldn’t be worse than last year philosophy,” the corners should be improved. Add in a few freshman that could make some noise, and that position should be serviceable, unlike last year. Also, Mike Cassity will be an improvement in coaching that position. The safety position should be just fine with Neloms and Benton as well as some more young guys that will be solid backups. Linebacker is a young position that I am excited about. There are some big bodies that can run. Last year the defense really wasn’t that bad. The offense didn’t do anything which left the defense on the field with bad field position pretty much the entire year.
Strengths:
Running Back
Defensive Line
Weakness:
Offensive Line depth
Corners