Kentucky Wildcats Football: Spring means time to step up
By Kyle
via Neal Brown’s twitter; @UKCoachBrown
We’re a little over a month from the Blue/White game and the team is prepping to begin their spring practice sessions. The Wildcats return much of their talents from last season after only six starting positions were vacated by graduations. This spring will provide several young players and new faces an opportunity to step in and prove their worth and it will also allow some veterans to stake their claim at emerging as starters. Here are some of the top players Kentucky needs to step up this spring…
Corey Johnson – JR – DT
The Wildcats graduated their top three defensive tackles from last year’s roster and Johnson was brought in as a JUCO transfer to help solidify the position. A talented but extremely young group of redshirt and true freshmen will be available at defensive tackle, but the team really needs a veteran presence in the heart of the defense.
Dorian Hendrix – FR – LB
It’s tough to ask too much from a true freshman, but UK is going to expect a lot from Hendrix. Avery Williamson’s graduation has left a void at linebacker and Hendrix could very well be the guy to fill it. Enrolling early and participating in spring practice will be huge for this freshman who just might find himself starting come September.
Blake McClain – SO – DB
It’s tough to say exactly what McClain is. He played so many roles for the team as a true freshman last season that it’s impossible to gauge exactly how the staff plans to utilize him moving forward. Regardless, McClain will be counted on as one of the team’ stop returning defensive playmakers despite his age and his presence in the defensive backfield will be needed.
Ramsey Meyers – RFR – OG
After sitting out his freshman season with a redshirt, Meyers has received rave reviews from the coaching staff for his toughness and tenacity. The right guard position has been vacated by Kevin Mitchell’s graduation and that could be a landing spot for Meyer’s despite his youth. With some question marks at the left guard and center positions, having the starter at right guard figured out early could help this line to solidify sooner.
Steven Borden – SR – TE
Affectionately known as “son of Sting” by many fans, Borden needs to make a name for himself on the football field, and he needs to do it now. Kentucky graduated four tight ends this year and Borden will be the only scholarship tight end on the roster this spring that actually played that position this past season. With Ronnie Shields moving back over from receiver and Darryl along arriving this summer, it’s now or never for the junior college transfer that showed glimpses of his talents last year.
Patrick Towles – SO – QB
Sure, Maxwell Smith and Jalen Whitlow have more experience, but both struggled mightily last season and don’t appear to be long-term solutions at quarterback. While everyone is drooling over Reese Phillips and Drew Barker, Towles has the opportunity to step in and live up to the hype he had coming out of high school as a top ten quarterback. He has all the physical tools a coach could want in a quarterback but he has struggled to put it all together after being misused by the previous staff. If things do “click” for Towles this spring it could set up an ideal situation where the team can bring the two freshmen along slowly (allowing Barker to redshirt) and the staff can go with a bigger, stronger player for the foreseeable future. Honestly, Towles’ blend of passing and running abilities is an ideal fit for the Air Raid offense and his inability to contest for the starting job last year was one of the team’s biggest conundrums. A solid spring could turn his career around. A poor showing, and he may never take a meaningful snap in a UK uniform again.