Kentucky Wildcat Football: Five players most likely to contribute as freshmen

National signing day is over with and the 2011 class looks to be complete. While there were some misses in the class, Kentucky also nabbed some potential impact players as well. Here are the five players I think are most likely to have an impact in their true freshman year.

1. Glenn Faulkner – S – 6’2 / 194 – East St. Louis, IL

Picking Faulkner is pretty easy. Despite Kentucky returning both of their starting safeties from the 2010 season, Faulkner is just too talented to keep off of the field. He was able to dominate his competition in high school and was picked as an Army All-American following his senior season. Faulkner will have the opportunity to compete with Winston Guy and Mychal Bailey for one of the two starting jobs, but should contribute in the nickel package at the very least.

2. Maxwell Smith – QB – 6’4 / 220 – Granada Hills, CA

With Mike Hartline’s time with Kentucky running up and Ryan Mossakowski’s decision to transfer, Smith went from a guy that was likely to redshirt to a guy that will almost certainly play in 2011. He threw for 2,500 yards and 24 touchdowns as a senior while only throwing 2 picks, and was able to enroll in school in January. He’s likely to leave spring practice as the number two quarterback, and some think he could push Morgan Newton for the starting job.

3. Daryl Collins – WR – 5’11 / 203 – Gadsden, AL

Kentucky will be looking to replace a lot of production not that top receivers Chris Matthews and Randall Cobb have moved on. The Wildcats will return plenty of guys with talent and playing experience, but it’s unknown who will be ready to step up and contribute at a high level now. Daryl Collins has the talent to have received offers from a ton of quality BCS schools and surprised many (but not WBN readers) when he switched his commitment from Alabama to Kentucky on national signing day. There will be plenty of opportunity for him to make a splash and he should make the rotation of receivers if he performs well in Kentucky’s summer camp.

4. Josh Clemons – RB – 5’10 / 205 – Fayetteville, GA

Derrick Locke has moved on to the NFL and Kentucky will take the field without him this fall for the first time in a long time. The Wildcat’s second leading rusher, sophomore Donald Russell, has decided to transfer and all of the sudden the running back depth chart was looking pretty thin. While Kentucky will return Raymond Sanders, Brandon Gainer, and Jonathan George, adding Josh Clemons to the mix will give the Cats some depth in the backfield should any of their young players get injured.

5. Demarco Robinson – WR – 5’10 / 160 – Ellenwood, GA

In a similar situation to Daryl Collins, Robinson should have every opportunity to play this fall due to the loss of production Kentucky suffered at receiver. Outside of junior-to –be LaRod King, no one else on the roster has made a significant impact for Kentucky thus far in their careers. He has put up some monstrous numbers against the best competition in Georgia, catching 63 passes for 1,655 yards as a senior, and will look to help give the Wildcats a consistent threat out wide if he can make the receiver rotation as a freshman.

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