Kentucky Wildcats Football: Analyzing attrition
By Kyle
After compiling all the previous data, the thing that I found most interesting is that the 2010 signing class has drawn so much ire from fans. While most of the marquee signees have departed, many of the lower rated players have panned out better and have worked their way up the depth chart. Malcolm McDuffen, Miles Simpson, Avery Williamson, Ronnie Shields, and Mike Douglas are all poised to have very good seasons this year and all are expected to start or play significant minutes. Of the players that left, only Nermin Delic ever even played a meaningful snap, and that was as a backup defensive end when he was a true freshman. Consider this…
-Four-star prospect Alex Smith was beaten out by two-star classmate Tyler Robinson as a true freshman. Despite Robinson being projected as a center or guard by most of the other schools recruiting him, Smith could not capitalize on a severe lack of depth at tight end and fell behind Robinson, redshirt freshman Jordan Aumiller (also a two-star prospect out of high school), Anthony Kendrick (three-star converted basketball player) and Nick Melillo (walk-on converted receiver).
– Jerrell Priester left the program despite being a second string corner and BOTH starters being seniors. He also hadn’t given the staff enough confidence to feel comfortable redshirting a single defensive back from the 2011 class. He is currently in JUCO.
– Nermin Delic quit football after his freshman year and decided to come back this season. Knowing his leash was short, he was dismissed for violating team rules anyway.
– Josh Gibbs was buried in the depth chart as a senior.
– Justin Henderson was beaten out by players younger than him despite enrolling a semester early when he was a freshman. The defensive scheme change did not suit his talents well and he never could really find a position.
– Brandon Gainer was buried on the running back depth chart at fifth BEFORE the arrival of the two stud freshmen in the 2012 class. He never could overtake lower-rated classmate Raymond Sanders at running back and was surpassed by freshman Josh Clemons and walk-on CoShik Williams this past season.
– Laughlin, Patterson, and Trimble left the team before ever really contributing in any way. Laughlin and Patterson never even played a down of college football and Trimble only participated in two games this past season.
– Matt Roark, E.J. Fields, LaRod King, Brian Adams, Billy Joe Murphy, and Larry Warford are all offensive players that had combined for 17 tackles this past season. That is 17 more than every defensive player that left the team from this class.
– Of all the players that left from the 2010 class, I would only consider Trimble and Priester as big losses. Every other player would probably have been behind a younger player on the current depth chart.
Where my real concern lies is with the 2009 recruiting class. What was once the highest rated class in the school’s history has since turned into a total flop. Only Cobble and Warford have really been standouts at this point. Neloms has been good and Newton has had his moments, but I believe that the 2009 class was the catalyst for Kentucky’s struggles now. The biggest contributors were junior college players and way too many of the members of that class have failed to pan out.
One last note that I thought warranted mentioning: Kentucky has had VERY poor luck with players from Louisiana, Florida, and Texas. Taking the current roster, adding the incoming freshmen, and assuming Mikie Benton and CoShik Williams have earned scholarships gives you a better look at the scholarship breakdown by state. Based on my numbers (which are probably off by at least a little), over half of Kentucky’s roster is from either Kentucky or Georgia, one out of four signees from Texas are still on the team, one of four from Louisiana and six out of eleven from Florida made it to campus but defected before completing their eligibility.