Five Questions for Kentucky Football

As we try and refocus on football due to all of the excitement surrounding the UK Legends game, let’s look at five key questions that need to be answered this season.

1. Who step up to replace Randall Cobb, Derrick Locke, Mike Hartline and Chris Matthews?

The answer to this question is not so easy. All four of these players were the stats leaders on offense and leave HUGE shoes to fill. Morgan Newton, with the help of a gang of coaches (Tee Martin, Raymond Sanders and Andre Woodson), will fill the QB shoes. Raymond Sanders looked good in some games as a fill in for Locke last year and impressed coaches in the spring. LaRod King and Matt Roark are both good enough and have the potential to take Matthews’ spot.

There is no replacement for Cobb, that’s what makes this the hardest question to address. He was Mr. Everything. He played every position on offense (besides the O-Line, tight-end and full-back) as well the #1 returner. Cobb cannot be replaced. The Cats will just have to learn to work around his absence.

2. Can the defense improve from last season’s abysmal effort?

Saying the Cats’ defense was porous may have been the understatement of the season. Steve Brown heard the constant boos and criticisms from fans and the media alike. Joker Phillips answered this by demoting Brown to “Co-Defensive Coordinator” and defensive backs coach. He brought in Rick Minter, a coach that has seen success at Cincinnati and Notre Dame.

Minter still has Danny Trevathan to work with. He also moved the defense around in order to make it faster. I think that the D will be greatly improved with Minter at the helm and Brown in the shadows.

3. Will the Cats finish above any team besides Vandy in the East?

If there was any year to accomplish this, it’s this year. Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee are teams with big questions of their own this season. The Gators are breaking in a brand new head coach with the second departure of Urban Meyer, Tennessee is embroiled in scandal and possible sanctions as well as having Derrick Freakin’ Dooley as head coach, and Mark Richt has a ton of pressure to produce this year or he is out in Athens.

The only team in the East that looks primed to contend with anybody in the West for an SEC title is South Carolina. Every other team, including our Boys in Blue, are surrounded in mystery.

Sorry Vandy, but you are still the redheaded step child that everybody else will beat on. My apologies if I offended any redheads.

4. How bad will Kentucky beat Louisville this season?

I am extremely confident that the Cats will beat Louisville for a fifth straight season, the question is by how much. I will go further in depth about this in a later post, just be comforted that it will happen and it will be by a large margin.

5. How will the relationship between Joker and the fans be by the end of the season?

Joker, in my opinion, hasn’t had a fair shot yet. Fans were hyper critical of Joker from the moment he became the head coach. Fans were hearing rumors of Steve Spurier, Bill Parcells and other coaches, got caught up in that and were disheartened when Brooks placed Joker at the head.

Some people are already saying this is a make or break year for him. I’m not one of those, but it’s true. If Joker finishes above .500 and gets into a decent bowl game, then he will be fine. But only for another year. Fans are ready for UK football to take it to the next level. If Joker finishes sub .500 then all hell will break loose and year 3 will be the real make or break year.

There will be more analysis to come, especially on the Governor’s Cup. I can’t wait to share my thoughts on that game with all of you. Stay Classy and Happy Saturday.

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