Kentucky Wildcats Football: Spring concerns

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Spring practice is just around the corner and it’s time for the team to start filling the holes left by the departed seniors. There are several question marks on the depth chart at this time, but these five loom the largest.

OFFENSIVE TACKLE

Who’s gone: Chandler Burden, Billy Joe Murphy, Jake Lanefski

Who returns: Darrian Miller, Teven Eatmon-Nared, Trevino Woods

The outlook isn’t awful for Kentucky, but there are certainly concerns at Tackle. Kentucky lost both starters from the 2011 season to graduation as well as Jake Lanefski, who was a utility player that backed up several positions. Darrian Miller saw the field extensively as a true freshman and will be the favorite to take over at one of the two starting positions, but outside of him, Kentucky’s only other scholarship players are mammoth redshirt sophomore Teven Eatmon-Nared and seldom used fifth year senior Trevino Woods. Of all the positions on the team, tackle might be one of the spots most suceptible to injury and the Cats have a concerning lack of depth on the roster. Reinforcements will come in this summer when the freshmen arrive on campus and several of Kentucky’s young linemen will likely get a shot at tackle. Jordan Swindle (Jacksonville) and T.J. Jones (Myrtle Beach) look like future tackles and Jon Toth (Indianapolis) and Jordan Watson (Fayetteville, GA) could be placed outside as well. The fact that none of them will be on campus for the spring should make the next few weeks interesting though. I would expect that junior Kevin Mitchell and redshirt fredhmen Zach West and Shaq Love will all get some reps at tackle while the team attempts to straighten out the depth chart.

CORNERBACK

Who’s gone: Anthony Mosley, Randall Burden, Dale Trimble, Jerrell Priester, Daylen Hall

Who returns: Cartier Rice, Eric Simmons, Eric Dixon

There is no bigger question mark on the team than the one currently residing at the top of the depth chart at cornerback. Kentucky lost starters Anthony Mosley and Randall Burden to graduation and Jerrell Priester, Dale Trimble, and Daylen Hall were all either dismissed or left the team voluntarily over the past year. Considering the amount of time teams spend in the spread offense, Kentucky will need to have at least five corners ready to play when September roles around and that might be tough to do with only three scholarship players at the position. Look for some roster movement in the next few weeks as the coaching staff tries to find some depth at the position before the conclusion of spring practice. Senior safety Martavius Neloms could be moved back to corner after spending his first two years on the team there, and some movement from the offensive unit is possible as well. redshirt freshmen Bookie Cobbins (QB) and Marcus Caffey (RB) were both highly regarded as defensive back prospects in high school, and the staff may even look to move E.J. Fields to the defensive side of the ball if worse comes to worse. The silver lining, is that Kentucky signed nine players in the 2012 class for the defensive backfield and several of them are projected at cornerback. Incoming freshmen Shawn Blaylock (Stone Mountain, GA), Cody Quinn (Middeltown, OH), Jonathan Reed (Indianapolis), and Fred Tiller (Homerville, GA) should all get a serious shot at playing time this fall. The problem for the staff, will be making it to the fall with the current roster.

LINEBACKER

Who’s gone: Danny Trevathan, Ronnie Sneed, Winston Guy

Who returns: Ridge Wilson, Alvin Dupree, Avery Williamson, Miles Simpson, Malcolm McDuffen, Josh Forrest, Tyler Brause, Jabari Johnson, Tim Patterson, Justin Henderson, Demarius Rancifer

There is certainly plenty of depth at linebacker for Kentucky. The staff has done a good job of bringing in talented players over the past few classes and there should be a feirce competition to replace the three starting spots left vacant by the graduation of Sneed, Trevathan and Guy. But therein les the real problem. Kentucky will be forced to start three new linebackers this season and three of its top four tacklers. While there are certainly enough bodies to do the job, filling the shoes of these guys will be tough. Trevathan and Guy were both three year starters and Sneed started for two seasons as well as fillin in for the oft-injured Micah Johnson in 2009. The early leader to take over for Sneed appears to be Junior Avery Williamson and he’s seen plenty of time on the field himself. The real concerns are who will take over for Trevathan and Guy and halp replace their 263 total tackles from 2011. The favorites at this point would have to be redshirt sophomores Malcolm Mcduffen and Miles Simpson. Junior college transfer Kory Brown should make some noise during spring practice as well. Incoming freshmen Daron Blaylock (Marietta, GA), Josh Harris (Maysville, KY), Kadeem Thomas (Tallahassee), and Khalid Henderson (Austell, GA) should help pad the depth chart initially, but none of the youngsters should be expected to sit on the sidelines for long. Senior Ridge Wilson and top backup Alvin Dupree should have the linebacker/defensive end hybrid position on lock down though, so no concerns there.

WIDE RECEIVER

Who’s gone: Matt Roark

Who returns: La’Rod King, Gene McCaskill, E.J. Fields, Aaron Boyd, Brian Adams, Demarco Robinson, Darryl Collins, Rashad Cunningham

While some might find it odd that a position that lost only one player to graduation would be a concern, Kentucky fans know better. The wide receiver play was not good in 2011 and the spring should see some serious attention paid to the position in hopes of improving the unit in 2012. La’Rod King is probably a lock to start, but past him, everything gets a little cloudy. McCaskill, Fields and Boyd will all be in their fifth year in Lexington and all have struggled to stay healthy or contribute much in their time here. Collectively, the three of them have have combined for 57 catched and 569 receiving yards over the past four years. Not that impressive when you consider that they have a combined 12 years on Kentucky’s campus. That said, Aaron Boyd was a four-star player out of high school for a reason, so if a fire sparks for him, he could be a weapon. Fields and McCaskill have both been derailed by injuries in their careers too. If fields can consistently duplicate his performance against Louisville this past season and McCaskill can return to his play in 2008 and 2009 when he had 32 catches in his freshman and sophomore seasons, it would go a long way. Adams is expected to focus on baseball during the spring, so he might fall behind the others as well. The real promise lies in sophomore Demarco Robinson and redshirt freshmen Darryl Collins and Rashad Cunningham. If the three of them can step up in a big way it will probably allow incoming freshmen Demarcus Sweat (Stone Mountain) and A.J. Legree (Ft. White, FL) to redshirt their first year on campus. No matter who ends up stepping up to start, actually catching the ball will be key for the offense to work.

QUARTERBACK

Who’s gone: No one

Who returns: Morgan Newton, Maxwell Smith, Bookie Cobbins, Jacob Russell

Few Kentucky fans would say that the quarterback play in 2011 was good and I doubt that the players or coaches would say it was acceptale either. Senior Morgan Newton struggled mightily early in the year and sophomore Maxwell Smith had some rough outings as well. Going into 2012, the Wildcats will have to figure some things out at the position and hopefully a smoother start to the season will follow. Newton will not be participating in spring ball while he rehabs his injured shoulder and there are rumors that Maxwell Smith was in some type of altercation that has put his status in question. Until we get official word from Kentucky though, I’ll assume he will be a full participant in spring drills for the time being. Redshirt freshman Bookie Cobbins should be in the mix as well, but there’s a chance he could be moved to receiver or the defensive backfield to add a spark at either position. Jacob Russell should run the second team during the spring and everyone you tlak to seems to love the guy. He is probably a long-shot to win the starting job, but I wouldn’t say he’s out of the race. Things will get very interesting this summer when true freshman Patrick Towles (Ft. Thomas, KY) arrives on campus. Towles has won pretty much every award given to a high school player and he will look to make some noise right away. If Newton or Smith cannot lock down the starting job by the end of the spring, Towles might be the favorite to start come September. All that considered, I think the staff would like to redshirt Towles so he can get a full grasp on the play book before being thrown into the fire.