Kentucky Wildcats Football Pre Spring Primer: Fullbacks and Tight Ends
By Kyle
So far, we’ve covered the quarterbacks, running backs, and receivers in the “Pre-Spring Primer” series. Today, we round out the skill positions with a combination of tight ends and fullbacks.
The Roster:
#39 – D.J. Warren – JR – 6’0 / 240 – Alcoa, TN
#46 – Patrick Ligon – SR – 6’4 / 250 – Germantown, TN
#80 – Ronnie Shields – JR – 6’5 / 245 – Stone Mountain, GA
#82 – Anthony Kendrick – SR – 6’3 / 240 – Katy, TX
#86- Jordan Aumiller – SR – 6’4 / 240 – Danville, KY
#89 – Tyler Robinson – SR – 6’3 / 260 – Friendsville, TN
Walk ons:
#37 – Cody Jones – SR – 5’11 / 210 – Williamsburg, KY
#44 – Seth Bowden – RFR – 6’5 / 210 – Louisville, KY
#48 – John Ballis – RFR – 6’2 / 215 – Houston, TX
Newcomers:
Steven Borden – JR – 6’3 / 250 – Waxahachie, TX
The Breakdown:
While the wide receiver position is completely void of any seniors, the tight end/fullback spots is chocked full of them. All in all, Kentucky will have six scholarship players at the two positions on the roster and all will be juniors or seniors next season.
If you had to pick the most consistent offensive player over the past two seasons, you would be hard pressed to select anyone over D.J. Warren. He isn’t flashy, but he has opened running lanes, pass blocked, provided a dump-off option as a receiver, and even been a short yardage runner when called upon. Warren is a “throwback” type of fullback that isn’t scared to bust someone in the mouth.
Another guy that has played extensively since he first arrived on campus as a true freshman is senior Tyler Robinson. He doesn’t have ideal speed, size (only 6’3), or productivity over the past four years, but he managed to be a staple in the lineup anyway. Blocking ability and great hands are Robinson’s best attributes and he brings a toughness at tight end that is reminiscent of the Lombardi days. On running plays, Robinson is essentially a sixth offensive lineman out there on the field.
Fellow senior Jordan Aumiller has seen his share of playing time as well. Aumiller started his career at linebacker before Redshirting as a freshman, making the move to tight end during his first offseason, and eventually starting in a big chunk of games that same year. Ever since, Aumiller has struggled to climb back on top of the depth chart and has only been able to make spot contributions during his time at UK. He has been a jack-of-all-trades player that has been an adequate blocker with adequate athleticism, but he was never able to excel in any one area.
Patrick Ligon came to UK as a defensive end and played there until last season. After sitting at the bottom of the depth chart he was
Moved to tight end and was used almost exclusively for blocking assignments. He played sparingly as a junior last season.
One last senior, Anthony Kendrick, will be in the mix. He is athletic and has showed promise in the past, but he has never been able to make an impact on the field. Kendrick can run and jump, but his blocking and ability to catch the football have always been suspect. He’ll have to do both to play.
Ronnie Shields will enter his junior season and still has much to prove. Similar to Kendrick, Shields has always been viewed as a player that could potentially give Kentucky a legitimate receiving threat from the tight end position, but has failed to do so at this point. He looked like a possible break-out player in the spring game and Shields will have to recapture that to play.
Steven Borden is one big question mark. He came from nowhere to become the first signee of the Mark Stoops era and still has people scratching their heads. The one word that keeps being thrown around when talking about Borden is athleticism. That’s certainly going to help him get on the field right away.
No walk-ons are expected to contribute.
The Skinny:
The fullback position looks like it may be a thing of the past altogether. DJ Warren has been phenomenal over the past two seasons though, so he should have a future of some type on the team. It may be as an H-Back, as a short yardage runner, or he may even be moved to defense.
There’s no denying that the tight end position has been an Achilles heel for UK fans for years. That might change and it might not. On one hand, the new scheme fits out tight ends well and should highlight what they do well while making what they don’t, but on the other hand, there is a decent chance that the position is slowly fazed out to a point where the staff may only keep a handful of these guys on the roster.
The truth of the matter is though, that there are a bunch of good players at tight end, but no one good enough to separate themselves from the pack. Why else would the staff elect to bring in a JUCO player at the position despite having 4 seniors and a junior already on the roster.
My prediction:
This really might be the toughest position group to try to guess. The problem we have at this point, is that the coaching staff hasn’t really tipped their hat to how the tight end or fullback will be utilized and how extensively either is expected to be featured moving forward. Trying to predict what happens at tight end or fullback is complete conjecture at this point, but I’ll take a shot anyway.
I think Warren will be utilized in goal line sets and may se some time at running back, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the staff redshirts him and tries to develop him at another position. He could be effective at linebacker, defensive end, or even as an H-back/tight end. Warren is just to talented to give up on though, so he will be utilized in some capacity.
Anthony Kendrick looked like a probable academic casualty when he was a freshman, but has managed to keep his grades up ever since. A dual sport star in high school, Kendrick was always viewed as a potential heir to Jacob Tamme as an athletic tight end, but that has never materialized. Now, the coaching staff has been singing the praises of the oft forgotten Kendrick and he may in fact be the leading candidate to win the tight end job. If its not Kendrick, then I think Borden gets the nod. The bottom line there is that you don’t go after junior college players if you don’t need immediate help, so the staff targeted him for a reason. Robinson and Aumiller are good players, but its beginning to look like the sun has set on their chances to make an impact at UK with both heading into their final season. Ronnie Shields could be a wild card, as he could be moved around to the slot and even to the perimeter as a receiver, but he was still relatively raw last season and will have to learn a completely new offense this year. He could be a break-out player, or he could be buried on the depth chart. Patrick Ligon is likely going to be utilized in goal line and short yardage sets as an extra blocker. Look for either Kendrick or Borden to come out on top and for the staff to hit the recruiting trail hard for high school prospects moving forward.