Kentucky Wildcat Football: 8/12 Practice Report

Today I had the opportunity to take in a Kentucky football practice

which was open to the general public as well. It was my first chance to see the 2014 live in person and they didn’t disappoint. I live-tweeted the action earlier but there was plenty going on that I couldn’t get into 140 characters. So here are some other observations from this afternoon.

• Neal Brown fully intends to pick up the pace this season after not meeting his Nascar standard last season. Tempo was a huge emphasis during practice. The coaches were on the quarterbacks all day long trying to get the next play off.
• DJ Warren looked surprisingly nimble running the football during team drills.
• Kentucky will run the football, despite the “Air Raid” tag, they are just too talented in the back field not to. Josh Clemons didn’t practice but all of the other backs were impressive. Walk-on Will Mahone even had his moments.
• If you need proof, look no further than the “heavy” set they practiced today. The formation features an unbalanced line with redshirt freshman Cole Mosier coming in to line up at tight end. Fittingly Mikel Horton lined up in the backfield during this time.
• I know that the Cats at deep at running back but it’s hard to imagine either Horton or Stanley “Boom” Williams redshirting this season. Both were extremely impressive during practice, with Horton showing a knack for finding lanes and his signature power while Williams wowed with his speed. Several times the defense looked to have the angle on Williams only to see him scoot around the corner.
• The quarterback battle has to be driving the coaches mad. You can see what they keep saying that no one has stepped up and taken the job. Patrick Towles took the majority of reps because it was his turn and he turned in a good performance. Drew Barker had some ups and down. You can see the star shining through but he has to get up to speed. Reese Phillips still appears like a game manager to me, but you can win with that in this offense. Maxwell Smith didn’t get many reps with his injury.
• The receivers had a tough day. There were a few drops, especially among the young guys. At one point prompting Jordan Swindle to ask if the unit was going to come to practice today. At the same time the group had some nice plays. Ryan Timmons and Blake Bone each had nice touchdown catches.
• As I noted on Twitter earlier, Adrian Middleton looks the part already. He was getting reps behind Za’darius Smith.
• Outside of the red zone period, the secondary had a pretty good day. They made it tough on the quarterbacks and receivers. Blake McClain stepped in front of one that he probably should have taken to the house. Ashely Lowery looks smoother in coverage than last year.
• It looks like the third tackle spot still has a ways to go. During team period Bud Dupree abused anyone not named Darrian Miller or Jordan Swindle. Granted, Dupree is a future NFL draft pick and he will abuse a few other tackles this season.
• Nico Firios was impressive during 11 on 11, he is a smooth and instinctive athlete at linebacker.
• Fans really turned up. There were enough to line the sidelines of the practice fields and many were very supportive and knowledgeable.