Kentucky Wildcats Football: Ten young players that need a look

The Kentucky/Louisville game has come and gone and has, left a pretty sour taste in the mouth of the Wildcat faithful. As bad as losing to Louisville is, the silver lining is that some of Kentucky’s most promising players were very young. The next two games should give the staff a chance to get extended looks at some of the younger players against lower level competition to see who can really help this team. Here are the top ten guys that we really need to see more of this Saturday and next.

DyShawn Mobley
The true freshman saw limited action very late in the game against Louisville and has burned his redshirt season. Despite the fact that CoShik Williams and Raymond Sanders were relatively effective with limited touches, the staff needs to get Mobley some carries and see if his powerful running style can add another wrinkle to this offense.

Demarcus Sweat
We all know how much potential Sweat has, but he wasn’t really used on Sunday. His 35 yard kickoff return showed that he can make a play with the ball in his hands, so why not see what he can do on offense?

A.J. Legree
The freshman receiver burned his redshirt on Sunday without notching a single statistic. Get him the ball and see what he can do with it.

Demarco Robinson
The undisputed star of the spring game played plenty on Sunday, but the true-sophomore only had four offensive touches in the game. He may be small, but he proved he can play this spring, so it’s time to see what he can do this fall.

Jalen Whitlow
This one might surprise some people, as I’m normally a proponent for redshirting quarterbacks. In reality, I don’t think the staff brought in Whitlow to compete as a true quarterback and will use him in a Randall Cobb-type roll. If we’re going to use trick plays, they have to be executed better than the ill-advised double pass McCaskill threw and Whitlow should have a more accurate arm.

Fred Tiller
I’ve been singing Tiller’s praises since he signed with Kentucky and I’m not going to stop now. After Kentucky’s starting corners were abused by the Louisville passing attack, it wouldn’t hurt to see what some of the young guys can do. It probably couldn’t be any worse.

JD Harmon
See Fred Tiller. His redshirt is burned as well.

Khalid Henderson
The play of Kentucky’s linebackers made it painfully obvious that Danny Trevathan is gone. Tyler Brause and Malcolm McDuffen weren’t awful, but neither was impressive. Why not insert a Trevathan clone in Henderson and see what he can do? His speed alone could help the defense contain the edge running game that slashed through them against the Cardinals.

Josh Forrest
Miles Simpson could have played a worse game, but he could have played a better one too. Forrest has the type of size and athleticism to cover receivers or blitz the quarterback and getting another pass rusher on the field will open things up for Dupree as well.

Farrington Huguenin
The Kentucky defensive line did not get the production they were supposed to and allowed the Louisville defense to not only run all over them, but also sit in the pocket for eons without pressure. We’ve heard about how talented Huguenin is since the spring, so it’s time to get him some snaps and see if he can cause some disruptions for the opposing offenses.