Kentucky Football: Defensive end, Alvonte Bell dismissed from team
Mark Stoops announced that Senior defensive end, Alvonte Bell was dismissed from the Kentucky Football program.
Defensive end Alvonte Bell is no longer a player on the Kentucky Football team. Mark Stoops made the announcement during a press conference interview at the Governor’s Cup Luncheon.
Alvonte Bell has been dismissed from Kentucky for a violation of team rules.
— Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) June 6, 2017
Alvonte Bell, a senior, was considered a favorite to earn a starting spot on Kentucky’s matured defense. Without Bell, Sophomore TJ Carter and Junior Kengera Daniel look to possibly step into that role.
Kentucky Football has recruited plenty of possible replacements. Most notably, Joshua Paschal will see himself inserted into the fold. Also, Abule Abadi-Fitzgerald is a dark horse recruit who could make an immediate impact.
A Significant Loss?
Obviously, losing a potential starter is a concern. When losing a potential starter on the defensive line, that makes the situation even bigger. Mark Stoops has done a great job protecting the integrity of the program. Not a lot of programs enforce strict team rules consequences. There are all sorts of controversy surrounding college football programs. It’s nice to see Mark Stoops standing his ground to change the face of the team.
Unfortunately, the Kentucky football defensive line depth is already thin. Also, this Kentucky defensive line has not shown much production. In a maturing defensive unit, the D-Line is definitely the weakness. In addition to rushing the passer, stopping the run is crucial in the SEC. If your defense can’t do those two things from the trenches, you won’t win many games. Losing a guy like Bell hurts this Kentucky defense.
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Although, many have commented on the job that Derrick Leblanc has done so far with his unit. Kentucky football fans should be confident in his ability to put together a strong defensive line. Improving on the defensive side of the ball will be significant and will impact Kentucky’s ability to reach another bowl game.