by Kyle
With signing day in the rearview mirror, The University of Kentucky football team will shift its focus to spring practice and trying to fill out the depth chart. I’ll be breaking down each position group to see who’s in consideration for playing time and what each player brings to the table.
The Middle Linebacker in the 4-3 defense often acts as the Quarterback for his unit. Kentucky has benefited from elite play from the position over the past few years with Micah Johnson manning the middle and Braxton Kelley before him. The player who takes over for the 2010 season will have a tall task ahead of him and extremely limited experience. No linebacker on the roster has extensive playing time, but Kentucky does have options to replace him.
Junior Ronnie Sneed will bring the most experience of anyone in the young unit. Sneed has seen limited playing time on defense over the past two seasons when Johnson was sidelined by injury. He’s also logged time on special teams and drew rave reviews during last years spring practice. At 230 pounds, Sneed is considerably smaller than his predecessor and gives up nearly thirty pounds to Johnson. With his main competition either sidelined by injury or sitting in a classroom in high school, it will be extremely important for Sneed to make a big splash during spring practices to lock down the starting job before fall camp. If he hasn’t, he could very well lose out to one of the talented freshmen.
Kentucky fans are quite familiar with Lagrange high school and all the Grangers that have suited up for the Wildcats. The next possible standout could be redshirt freshman linebacker Qua Huzzie. He was the talk of the fall camp last year before being forced to sit out the season with a shoulder injury. The biggest questions mark surrounding Huzzie is actually not his injury, but what position the staff will place him at. He has the athleticism to play one of the outside linebacker positions, but the strength to man the middle as well. If he is permanently placed at middle linebacker, he will be the top competition to Ronnie Sneed for the starting role in 2010.
One player who might be in the mix at middle linebacker, but also might not be, is redshirt freshman Tristian Johnson. He shows potential at several positions and could end up lining up anywhere from defensive end to outside linebacker. He’s currently listed as a linebacker by Kentucky and there’s a good chance he’ll stay there, but he’ll face the task of converting from a high school defensive end to a college linebacker. We should know where he’ll play this fall by the end of the spring.
The depth at Middle Linebacker will receive a major boost this fall when the freshmen arrive. Avery Williamson appears to be physically ready to play right now, but how well he grasps the defense will determine how often he sees the field. Fellow freshmen Farrington Huguenin, Tim Patterson, and Jabari Johnson all have potential at the MLB position as well, but all three are also the subject of rumors regarding eligibility. If they all make it to campus and stay at Middle Linebacker, Kentucky should be set for at least four years. With all the talent coming in though, one of the upperclassmen better get a good hold on the position this spring if they hope to keep it.
Keep following www.http://wildcatbluenation.com for the best in Kentucky basketball and football news, rumors, and opinions. By Kentucky fans for Kentucky fans