Kentucky Wildcats Football: A Full Recap of the Blue/White game
By Kyle
Running backs:
Note: Josh Clemons did not participate
Raymond Sanders and CoShik Williams both had pretty good games and had very similar numbers. Williams averaged 4.8 yards per carry and Sanders averaged 4 yards per carry. My only concern is that neither was able to break away from the second string defense despite playing behind the first team offensive line. Williams racked up 19 of his 38 yards on a single run. I know that the staff loves the little scat-backs in this offense, but having someone to thump between the tackles really gives the offense a different look. That’s where Jonathan George came in. I know it’s only the spring game and Josh Clemons didn’t even dress, but George looked like the best back on the roster during this game. Outside of a fumble, he was the best looking runner. That being said, he’ll have to really step it up as a receiver if Kentucky is going to throw to the backs as much as the first team did.
Derek Bishop and Chad Merida both looked like promising young players for walk-ons. I doubt either will see much playing time until their junior or senior year, but both can fill a roll in the offense.
Overall, the running back stable looked as good as advertised and that’s without Clemons or either of the incoming freshmen.
Starter: CoShik Williams/Raymond Sanders
Second Team: Jonathan George/Derek Bishop
Wide receiver:
Note: LaRod King, Gene McCaskill, Brian Adams & Bookie Cobbins did not participate.
My first thought on the wide receivers is that there are still WAY too many dropped passes from this group. Senior E.J. Fields allowed a couple to bounce off of him and redshirt freshman Rashad Cunningham was repeatedly targeted but still finished with only one catch (more on him later). As a whole, this group still has work to do.
Demarco Robinson was clearly the best receiver that participated in the spring game. He was able to break away from what was actually pretty good coverage multiple times and he made a spectacular adjustment in the endzone for his second touchdown catch. He was definitely in a class by himself on the field Saturday. Teammate Daryl Collins looked very good before suffering a minor injury early in the game. He made a catch across the middle that showed his ability is there and he will be a major player this fall.
Seniors E.J. Fields and Aaron Boyd showed a couple of glimpses of what they can do, but I don’t think that there’s any doubt that both have been passed on the depth chart by Collins and Robinson.
The conundrum of the game was Rashad Cunningham. Technically, he looked really bad and had a poor performance (including several drops). The funny thing is that Russell repeatedly targeted him and I get the feeling that he is going to be something special down the road. The guy has NFL size and speed, but he looks like he’s still learning how to play football. Cunningham is as raw as they come, but man, if he can put it all together, he can be a force.
Starters: Demarco Robinson/Daryl Collins/E.J. Fields
Second Team: Aaron Boyd/Rashad Cunningham/William Tanner