Kentucky Football: Wildcats land on Athlon Sports’ preseason All-SEC teams
Kentucky Football looks to be much improved in 2017. After coming off of a somewhat successful season after a birth in the TaxSlayer Bowl, and a surprise win over Louisville, Mark Stoops will have the best roster in his tenure.
Mark Stoops and staff have been diligently working toward building an SEC competitive roster. Now that they have a few seasons of development, the current Kentucky Football roster is already getting some preseason awards. Seven Wildcats land on Athlon Sports’ preseason All-SEC teams.
First Team Honors
Jordan Jones is the workhorse on the defensive side of the football. Jones led the SEC in his sophomore season in solo tackles with 74 stops. A Youngstown, Ohio native, Jones is a one-man tackling machine. At 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, the Kentucky Football linebacker will be one of the headline names if he chooses to enter the 2018 NFL Draft after his Junior campaign. He has made a name for himself in the SEC as one of it’s best tacklers.
Jones has the ability to tackle anything coming his way in the open field. His game transitions very well to the NFL as he is athletic enough to be used in coverage situations as well.
Second Team Honors
Kentucky Football had three players land on the second team. Athlon Sports named Guard Nick Haynes to their second team All-SEC team. The Senior guard has been a constant on the Kentucky offensive line under coach John Schlarman. This offensive line, fresh off of paving the way for one of the best rushing attacks in the country. Haynes as well as others led Boom Williams and Benny Snell to surpass 1,000 rushing yards respectively.
Also, defense end Denzil Ware was also named to the second team All-SEC. At 6-foot-2, 250 pounds, Ware is set out to be a quarterback’s nightmare in 2017. Coming off of a 70 tackle, Sophomore season. Additionally, Ware racked up 5.5 sacks to go along with 12 tackles for loss. Defensively, the Kentucky Wildcats need to be much improved in their pass rush attempts and run defense. With a strong secondary, teams will look to run the ball. Denzil Ware will look to have a great season.
Safety Mike Edwards was also named to the All-SEC team by Athlon Sports. Edwards has been a consistent player on Mark Stoops’ defensive secondary since the day he walked on campus. SEC defenses get after the ball. Mike Edwards is the type of player that always seems to be around the ball. With three interceptions las season, Edwards finished fourth in the SEC. He also finished his Sophomore season tallying 100 total tackles from the safety spot.
Third Team Honors
Benny Snell was the highlight of the season in 2016. The true freshman took the SEC by storm by literally running over people on his way to 1,091 yards and 13 touchdowns. Snell looks to capitalize on an increased workload as Kentucky Football’s featured back in 2017. Much of the offense must run through Snell to open up passing lanes on the tough SEC defenses. Snell looks poised to have another solid season.
Fourth Team Honors
Offensive tackle, Cole Mosier comes in on the fourth team offensive line. Mosier, a former walk-on, sees a lot of time in a rotation of lineman by John Schlarman. Kentucky’s offensive line was one of the top units in the SEC last season and looks to keep up the momentum in 2017.
Next: Ranking the Top 10 Kentucky players in the NFL
Kicker Austin MacGinnis was also named as the fourth team kicker representative. Special teams has been much of a weakness for the Kentucky Football program. Having a kicker who is dependable throughout the game is important in late situations. MacGinnis will be entering his Senior season at Kentucky. Hopefully, the Cats will not need his late game heroics, but if so, the BBN is confident in his abilities.
Let’s get ready for Football in the Bluegrass state.