#19 – E.J. Fields – WR – 6’1 / 196 – Frankfort, KY
Technically speaking, Fields will be a senior next season. That said, he missed all of his redshirt AND freshman seasons to injury and has only really participated for the last two years…so he may end up being granted a sixth season of eligibility by the NCAA if he applies for it. In his time at Kentucky, Fields has really only had an impact in one game. He was promising early this past season, but flamed out and rarely saw the field by the time Kentucky took on Vanderbilt, Georgia, and Tennessee. The receivers were extremely disappointing last year, and if Fields is ever going to make a move, the time is now.
#27 – Aaron Boyd – WR – 6’4 / 217 – Lexington, KY
There really are no words to describe the case of Aaron Boyd. He is a big physical receiver that can overpower defenders and, even though he’s a step slower than you really want a receiver to be, he should have made a bigger impact on the field than he has. Going into his senior season, Boyd will have some stiff competition at playing time and breaking into the rotation is going to be tough for him. Still though, the receivers were down this past season and the time is ripe for him to make a move up the depth chart if it’s ever going to happen. He was considered a four-star prospect coming out of high school, so if he doesn’t make a big splash as a senior, many fans will consider him as one of the bigger disappointments in recent Kentucky football history.
#35 – Cartier Rice – CB – 5’10 / 184 – Duncan, SC
Rice actually saw the field quite a bit this season and played in all 12 games. Despite being on the field a lot, it was typically just on special teams and in the dime package on defense. Now that Anthony Mosley and Randall Burden have exhausted their eligibility and Dale Trimble and Jerrell Priester have left the team, Rice has moved up to the top of the depth chart at cornerback by default. Most fans won’t remember he’s even on the team, but he could have one of the best chances to have a breakout senior season of anyone on the roster.
#74 – Trevino Woods – OT – 6’5 / 281 – Athens, GA
Graduating seniors Chandler Burden and Billy Joe Murphy joint departure will leave Kentucky looking to fill both starting tackle positions on the offensive line. Woods will join sophomores Darrian Miller and Teven Eatmon-Nared as the only three scholarship tackles on the Kentucky roster during spring practices. The opportunity will be there for Woods to grab one of the vacant spots, but he’ll have to overtake two bigger and stronger players to do so. Even at that though, Woods is lighter and more athletic than most of Kentucky’s offensive linemen and his speed could be an asset on the edge.
#94 – Taylor Wyndham – DE – 6’4 / 246 – Swansea, SC
Wyndham has actually played sporadically throughout his career due to a lack of depth at defensive end. He was supplanted as a starter when Rick Minter brought his new defense to town and the recently added depth along the line has pushed his playing time back. Despite being undersized for a defensive end in this defense, Wyndham can make a name for himself as a pass-rush specialist similar to the way Johnny Williams did and use his abilities to get to the quarterback on third down.
Whether any or all of these guys are able to have breakout senior seasons won’t be known for about a year, but all of them should have the talent and opportunity to make a big impact on the 2012 season.