Kentucky Wildcats Football Spring Primer: Cornerbacks
By Kyle
Sept 8, 2012; Lexington, KY, USA; Kent State Golden Flashes running back Dri Archer (1) runs for a touchdown against Kentucky Wildcats cornerback JD Harmon (15) at Commonwealth Stadium. Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
The offense is complete, the defensive line and linebackers have been taken care of, and now we turn to the cornerbacks. The perpetual Achilles heel for Kentucky football might have some of the most promising players in the entire roster just waiting to break out.
The Roster:
#3 – Fred Tiller – SO – 6’0 / 170 – Homerville, GA
#16 – Cody Quinn – SO – 5’10 / 170 – Middletown, OH
#27 – Shawn Blaylock – RFR – 5’10 / 170 – Lithonia, GA
#38 – Eric Simmons – JR – 6’0 / 200 – Atlanta, GA
Walk ons:
#15 – J.D. Harmon – SO – 6’2 / 190 – Paducah, KY
#21 – Rodney Cox – SO – 6’0 / 180 – Louisville, KY
#24 – R.J. Williams – JR – 6’0 / 190 – Albany, NY
#29 – Cody Lewis – RFR – 6’0 / 180 – Alcoa, TN
#36 – Jerry Williams – SO – 6’0 / 170 – Lexington, KY
Newcomers:
Jaleel Hychtye – FR – 5’10 / 175 – Cincinnati, OH
Blake McClain – FR – 5’11 / 190 – Winter Park, FL
Nate Willis – JR – 6’0 / 180 – Pahokee, FL
The Breakdown:
The cornerback position is desperately shallow once again, for the third consecutive year. Spring practices include only four total scholarship players at the position, or exactly enough to run the “Dime” defensive personnel package. Several walk-ons are getting significant reps and many will be relied upon this fall as well. There are no seniors on the roster at cornerback and Eric Simmons is the only scholarship junior at the position. Simmons was always seen as a sort of a project player but he has yet to breakout to this point. He has good size and speed, but wasn’t able to register a single defensive statistic last season despite dire depth concerns. He will have an uphill battle to beat out the freshmen that surpassed him on the depth chart last season.
Speaking of those freshmen, Fred Tiller and Cody Quinn will be back for their sophomore seasons and both should be right back in the thick of things this year. Tiller is a little bigger and showed a willingness to make the big hits last season while Quinn is a little smaller but brings blistering speed to the position. Shawn Blaylock signed along with Tiller and Quinn in 2012 but missed his freshman year after injuring his knee prior to the start of the season. He will be expected to contribute as well.
Walk-ons will be counted on at corner, possibly more so than at any other position. To the surprise of many, J.D. Harmon played extensively as a walk-on true freshman. The team’s lack of depth at the position again this year should give him the opportunity to play again and he could be a difference maker for the Wildcats. Jerry Williams has garnered praise from the previous coaching staff for his play and be might actually get an opportunity to show off his skills this season. Cody Lewis is a corner with good size that hails from the same Alcoa program that has given Kentucky Randall Cobb, Tyler Robinson, and D.J. Warren.
Concerns about the lack of depth should be alleviated this summer when JUCO transfer Nate Willis and the freshman duo of Blake McClain and Jaleel Hytchye arrive on campus. Willis was one of the country’s top rated junior college corners and should challenge for a starting position from day one. McClain has ideal size and speed for the position and should play as a true freshman. Hytchye is a record breaker in track and field and might be the team’s fastest player upon his arrival. If his jets on the track translate to the football field, there might not be a receiver in the country he can’t keep up with.