We continue our look at the 2009 UK football squad with this look at the offensive and defensive linemen. In case you missed it, we started with THE QB’S, moved to THE RB’S, and THE WR’s.
Today brings us to the Offensive and Defensive Linemen. Face it, it’s not a sexy review to write and hard to find information on individual players, but if UK is going to have success this season and make a run for third place in the SEC East, the season rests solely on the broad shoulders of these guys.
THE OFFENSIVE LINE
There is actually a lot to like about this group. They come into this season the second most experienced line in the SEC (to Georgia) and the 26th most experienced in the nation. The starting lineup of Zipp Duncan, Justin Jeffiries, Stuart Hines, Christian Johnson, and Jorge Gonzalez share a total of 86 starts. All except Hines are seniors but the Cats have some nice depth ready to compete for starting spots next year (Billy Joe Murphy, Marcus Davis, Matt Smith, Jake Lanefski, and Dave Ulinski).
UK actually brought in a couple of homegrown Kentucky recruits this year that can push for playing time. Sam Simpson (6’4, 292) was the 3rd rated C prospect by Scout.com and he hails from Henry Clay in Lexington. Brooks calls him “the best pure center we have signed”. Larry Warford from Richmond brings SEC size (6’4, 349) and Brooks has said he looks forward to throwing him into the mix in August.
DEFENSIVE LINE
While the O Line has tons, of experience, the defensive line has tons of potential but very little experience. DT Corey Peters will be counted on to provide senior leadership and to bring this unit together. Peters had 10 tackles for a loss last season and 4 sacks and looks to improve on those numbers this year. Junior Ricky Lumpkin has shown flashes of potential the last two seasons while backing up Myron Pryor. Lumpkin should be the other starter at DT but he could be pressed by JUCO transfer Mark Crawford, who comes to UK as a sophomore. Look for Shane McCord and Antwane Glenn to provide some depth.
DE Jeremy Jarmon was a huge loss and his presence will be missed very much. His departure leaves the DE position, without a doubt as the weakest position at the time. As of now, it looks like redshirt Freshman Collins Ukwu will occupy one end position and JUCO transfer DeQuin Evans (4 star prospect) will be given every opportunity to earn the other starting job. I think Evans was a great signing and he was one of the top JUCO prospects. Evans will likely have to beat out Chandler Burden and Taylor Wyndham for that spot. Greg Meisner will back up Collins as well.
Freshman DT Myron Walker could provide some much needed depth . Coach Brooks calls him a “physically explosive” player and Super Preps rated him as the 28th best player in Louisiana. Louisville Central’s Mister Cobble led the Yellowjackets to back to back state titles and hopes to compete for some PT this year. Brooks said that he was dominant in one-on-one drills and calls him an intelligent player. Super Preps tabbed him the number 6 prospect in Kentucky.
UK is tapping the LaGrange pipeline once again with Tristian Johnson. Some reports have Johnson being part of the LB corps and some say he will be a DE, so I guess the jury is still out. LaGrange has been integral to UK’s success the past few years and it is always good to add a versatile player. Where Johnson ends up could ultimately depend on the status of Donte Rumph. Rumph was a part of the ’08 class and spent last year at prep school. Brooks is obviously excited about Donte, saying that he should be competing for playing time immediately. There is no official word yet on his status, but there are leaning indicators he will be a Wildcat.
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And I apologize that I am way overdue with this news but I have not been able to fit it in lately. Six Wildcats have been named members of the All SEC Preseason Teams. DB Trevard Lindley was a First Team All SEC DB and LB Micah Johnson made the second team at LB. Four other Cats (DL Corey Peters, QB Mike Hartline, C Jorge Gonzalez, and OL Zipp Duncan) made the third team roster. Congrats to the Cats honored and hopefully they can make the post season roster or even improve their standing.
Remember today is the last day to vote on this Wildcat rivals poll to the right. The #3 vs #14 debuts Monday morning…
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