Stop me if you’ve heard this before- it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dawg. This Kentucky football team has some DAWGS, not just dogs. And they were groomed by the main dawg in the locker room, Mark Stoops.
Since taking over the head coaching position in November of 2012, Stoops has made a lot of changes within the program. And it begins with attitude. He has formed a group of young men that resemble himself and they have bought in to what he’s selling. He doesn’t take disrespect lightly and neither does anyone else.
Mark Stoops is the epitome of how you rebuild a program. In 2013, Kentucky finished 7th in the SEC standings. In 2014, they finished 6th. It was 5th in 2015, 4th in 2016, 3rd in 2017, and 2nd last season in 2018. I’m no genius, but it looks to me as if he has improved his ranking every single year. And their records prove that to be true as well, not just their ranking in the East. I’m not saying Kentucky is going to finish first in the east. But I’m not going to say they won’t either. They will obviously be the David of the SEC East. Georgia is Goliath, as they have been the past 2 years under Kirby Smart.
If the Wildcats want to keep climbing that mountain to greatness, they are going to need more FROM EVERYONE. Literally. But it starts with these 5 guys. These are the 5 key players for Kentucky to have a successful season:
1. QB Terry Wilson
Terry Wilson ranked 14th in the SEC last season with 145 passing yards per game. For Kentucky to reach new heights that will need to get to 200+, which he is totally capable of doing.
Assistant head coach Eddie Gran had another offseason and spring to work with Wilson. That will go a long way with helping him learn the offense. That is going to instill more confidence in the junior quarterback from Oklahoma City. Last season he had the all-time leading rusher in the history of the program, Benny Snell, on the team and he handled the rock quite a bit. With Benny’s successor, A.J, Rose, in the backfield it will give Terry a prominent pass catching running back and he’ll have a pretty good receiver to sling the ball to as well- an improving Lynn Bowden Jr.
For what its worth, I never questioned what Terry is capable of. He has dynamic playmaking ability (he was 2nd in rushing for UK last season with 547 yards and 4 TD) and also made arguably one of the best throws of anyone in the SEC last year:
Terry Wilson goes deep to Lynn Bowden for the 54-yard touchdown. (2018) pic.twitter.com/A3fSRgd1xD
— KY Clips (@KY_Clips) September 9, 2018
What. A. Throw.
I don’t think we’ve scratched the surface on what Terry’s potential may be, but if I were a betting man he’s going to show us this season.
2. WR Lynn Bowden Jr
Undoubtedly the Cat’s most dynamic player, Lynn Bowden, comes into his junior year only to have played wide receiver two years of his life. In high school, he was a quarterback, but made the transition to WR when he got to college. Bowden has improved leaps and bounds since his freshman year and is one of the best students of the game.
Last season he ranked 5th in the SEC in all-purpose yards per game (111.9) and is primed to take an even greater leap this season. Eddie Gran is going to put the ball in his hands A LOT! Do not be surprised to see him finish 1st in all-purpose yards this season in the SEC. He will be a holy migraine to opposing defenses. If Kentucky is going to make this leap, Bowden is going to need to be an All-SEC type of player, and he has all the tools to make this come to fruition.
Bowden was unbelievable against Missouri, and was the whole reason UK won that game last year (not because of that pass interference call). He posted 166 receiving yards and returned a punt for 67 yards to spark the Wildcats in what was a really flat game that was tough to watch.
Lynn is not done growing… as a person
The most remarkable thing about Lynn is his willingness to grow not only as a player, but as a person. At media day you could tell how much he had matured. He had this to say: “I really don’t like to meet new people or talk to new people,” Bowden added. “I’m coming out of my shell.” He wants to be more interactive with the fans as well stating,“I feel like I did a poor job of interacting with them,” Bowden said. “Even at the Cat Walk, I need to interact more with fans, get with them and take more pictures with them.”
This sounds like music to the fans in Lexington’s ears, and they’ll be ready to surround him with a parade come Week 1 against Toledo on August 31st.
Kroger field is going to me dancing to Grove St Party a lot this season. And Bowden will be the ring leader.
3. K Chance Poore
It is widely known that Kentucky struggled at field goal kicking last season…and they still won 10 games. If that doesn’t tell you how good last years team was, I don’t know what to tell you. SEEK HELP!! (just kidding, but really…)
There will likely be a handful of tight games and will be detrimental for the Cats to leave points out on the field. They’ll need every point that they can get, and it starts with Chance Poore.
Chance red-shirted last season after competing with Miles Butler for the starting job as a true freshman. Butler didn’t have the strongest leg in the world, but he could knock in a chip shot and hit extra points was ease. Mark Stoops often elected to go for it on fourth down because outside of 40 yards Miles was not the most reliable. This season, however, the keys to the job have been placed in the hands of Poore.
During the spring game, Poore got called into the game to knock down a 52 yard field goal and hit it with ease. After the game he said that it would have likely gone in from 62 yards. While there’s a difference in kicking with and without pressure coming at you from the opposing side, it was comforting for Kentucky fans to see him kick it that well. Stoops is confident with Poore from 50 yards and in. But if there’s a situation to where they need one from 52-53 yards, he can do that as well.
The most important thing is consistency! If Kentucky is going to get to that next level they need to be able to rely on Poore when he is put in those kind of pressure situations.
4. LB Jamar “Boogie” Watson
Josh Allen is not going to be around to save Kentucky in the fourth quarter this go-round. There were numerous times this past season Allen would come up with a clutch sack or forced fumble to seal the game for the Cats. Let’s just be real… There is no one in college football that will fill the void of Josh Allen, let alone in Lexington. But they do have the talent to prevent them from a road crash.
The Wildcats have numerous players on the edge that have all kinds of potential like JJ Weaver, Jared Casey, Jordan Wright, Marquez Bembry among others. But the guy that likely is in the best position to wreck havoc for Kentucky THIS SEASON is Boogie Watson.
Last season Boogie had 5 sacks, 24 tackles, 5 TKL, 1 forced fumble, and 3 pass breakups for the men in blue as a sophomore. This year Boogie will be poised to make even more of an impact.
As I stated, no one is going to fill the void from losing Josh Allen. But don’t think Kentucky is going to struggle putting pressure on the QB this season.
5. DB Jordan Griffin
Earlier it was announced that Kentucky had lost their most experienced defensive back in the secondary, Davonte Robinson, for the entire season. So there is no question that the secondary is likely going to be the Wildcats’ weakness coming into this year.
Kentucky lost both starters at the safety position in Darius West and Mike Edwards. Not only did they lose both safeties, but they lost 3 cornerbacks in Derrick Baity, Chris Westry, and Lonnie Johnson. So it’s no secret that the Wildcats will be young and lack experienced depth everywhere in the secondary. But there is a ton of potential!
Griffin was used in nickel packages last season, so he’ll fill in quite well at one safety position. He is familiar with what Defensive Coordinator Brad White wants. Griffin will need to be the vocal leader and help guys with what to expect from the offense. Leadership is the main thing this group is going to need and hopefully Griffin will step up and take that role.
