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 Safety position had its ups and downs during the 2009 season. With teams relying on the spread offense more, the need for additional defensive backs grows. Kentucky had two seniors that played heavily last year, but with both gone, there’s a glaring hole at the Strong Safety position. With the influx of talent over the past three recruiting classes, there will be several options for the Cats.
Returning starter Winston Guy will head into spring as the incumbent Free Safety. Guy’s career at UK started with him as a reserve Cornerback, but his combination of size, speed, and strength made moving him to Free Safety a no-brainer and he found himself in a starting role as a sophomore. To have a more productive junior year, it’s important that guy refines his pass coverage skills to help offset the loss of All-American Trevard Lindley. He’ll also need to do a better job of wrapping up and taking down the ball carrier when he’s stepping up to support the run. There’s really no reason Guy should head into, and exit from spring practice with the starting Free Safety job locked down.
Junior Taiedo Smith saw a drastic increase in playing time last season and should garner some consideration for the open starting spot at Strong Safety. Smith is a little smaller than most would like for the Strong-side position, but is one of the most athletic players on the roster and would bring some additional coverage skills that some of his teammates do not. Because of he’s only 185 pounds, it is more likely that Smith ends up as a backup Free Safety, and continues to contribute heavily in the nickel package as the fifth defensive back. With the frequent three and four receiver sets being used, the Nickelback is basically a starter anyway.
When JUCO standout Josh Gibbs elected to enroll at UK in January, it started a domino effect at the Safety position, and allowed Matt Lentz to move to Linebacker. Gibbs is a very good all-around player and provides effective pass coverage skills as well as run support. Being able to go through spring practice should put him in the driver’s seat for the Strong Safety position heading into the fall camp, but he’ll need to do some work in the strength and conditioning program to get his weight above his current 190 pounds. Look for Gibbs to be in the mix for the Strong Safety position, and possibly the starter, by the end of spring practice.
One of the most intriguing members of the 2009 recruiting class is redshirt freshman Jarvis Walker. The 6-1 205 pound athlete is considered a “tweener” that shows potential at Strong Safety and Outside Linebacker. Kentucky’s depth at the Linebacker position should allow him to take a shot at Safety first this spring and a lot of Cat fans are excited about the potential he brings to the position. He should have an easier time of stepping up to stop the run than some of the smaller safeties, but he’ll have to prove he can drop back into coverage as well. Walker is a long shot to earn a starting job because of his lack of experience, but don’t count him out of the competition at Strong Safety because he’s started the same amount of games as every other Strong Safety on the roster, and that’s zero.
Greg Wilson has seen extended time on special teams and has proved to be a standout. With the graduation of Ashton Cobb and Calvin Harrison and with Matt Lentz being moved to Linebacker, the 6-1 209 pound junior will have his best (and possibly last) opportunity to try to claim a starting job. His knack for delivering the big hit and his natural size would make him a natural fit at Strong Safety, but his pass coverage needs to be top notch for him to have a real shot at starting. The talent pool may be a little too deep for Wilson to claim the starting role, but his athletic ability, counting him out is a bad idea.
During his signing day press conference, Joker Phillips mentioned that Dakotah Tyler had approached the staff about a position change to Safety. This was probably a great career move for the 5-11 205 pound athlete from Indianapolis. Most scouting services considered Tyler a better fit at Defensive back than Running back, but Kentucky gave him a shot on offense first. His move to the defensive side of the ball should allow him to compete for playing time much sooner, and his effort during spring practice should go a long way in determining his spot on the depth chart. Tyler also has experience playing defense in high school, so the transition should be a little bit smoother. Expect him to stick at Free Safety where his speed could make him an instant impact player in Nickel and Dime packages, but he probably wont contend for a starting role until Guy graduates or moves to the NFL.
Kentucky will bring in Miles Simpson and Eric Simmons this fall, and both have potential at Safety. Simpson is a bigger prospect and fits somewhere between Linebacker and Strong Safety, but will start out on offense for his first year at the least. Simmons is a Cornerback prospect that has some potential at Free Safety if he can add a little more bulk to his frame, but has such a high ceiling at Cornerback that he will likely remain there. The only immediate impact player entering the mix will be Mychal Bailey, who comes to UK after two years of Junior College competition. If no one on the current roster can wrap up the starting job this spring, Bailey might be a favorite to win the job during the fall camp. This should be one of the closest position battles to watch as the offseason unfolds.
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