Three questions facing UK in 2016
With Kentucky opening up fall camp in a little over a week, Cats Illustrated takes a look at questions the Wildcats must answer if they hope to make a bowl game in Mark Stoops’ fourth year at the helm.
This year will be the first where Stoops doesn’t take a quarterback controversy into the fall. Former four-star quarterback Drew Barker secured the job in the spring and will lead the offense this season. Barker started two games last season and threw for 364 yards on 35 of 70 passing.
Even though Barker has the job, we still begin with the quarterback position.
1. Can Barker deliver? Most of the offense around Barker seems to be set. Boom Williams was voted as a third team preseason All-SEC running back and senior Jojo Kemp, junior Mikel Horton and sophomore Sihiem King all return after playing roles last season. The wide receivers and tight ends are as deep and talented since the 2007 season and the offensive line returns four of five starters.
While left tackle will be something to watch as fall camp goes on (more on that later), the success of the offense will likely come down to QB play. Though not always an indicator of things to come, Barker had a solid spring game showing against the second team defense. He completed 12 of 18 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
With so much of the offense already intact, Barker has a chance to put the group on a new level with solid play. Avoiding turnovers is always a key for a quarterback, but offensive coordinator Eddie Gran will expect the sophomore to produce at a high rate this fall.
2. Who will win the job at left tackle? Junior Cole Mosier was listed as the starter at left tackle in the depth chart that Kentucky released prior to SEC Media Days. Four-star junior college transfer Tate Leavitt was listed as the second string and five-star freshman Landon Young came in at No. 3. Leavitt didn’t progress enough to make a serious run at the left tackle position in the spring, so it’ll be interesting to see how much he improves over the course of fall camp.
Young -- a native of Lexington -- has high expectations going into his freshman season. He was Kentucky’s first ever five-star commitment on Rivals.com and plays a position in need of an upgrade in talent. Expecting Young to be fantastic as a freshman is unrealistic, but it’s not unreasonable to think he could take over the position before the season comes to a close. A lot of that will depend on how well Mosier -- a former walk-on who has played significant snaps the past two seasons -- is able to hold down the blind side.
3. Question marks along the front seven. It seems that, for the most part, Kentucky has its players in place in the front seven of the defense. Josh Forrest, Ryan Flannigan and Khalid Henderson all graduated at linebacker, but Josh Allen, Jordan Jones, Courtney Love and De’Niro Laster look to be the replacements. The only problem with that is none of those players are really proven.
Love had just 12 tackles as a redshirt freshman at Nebraska and he’s expected to be the leader of the defense. He’s drawn plenty of rave reviews the past two seasons and seems ready to be the face of the defense, but only time will tell. Allen played in every game last season as a true freshman but his lack of size limited his playing time. Laster can play all three linebacker spots and is someone the coaches are excited about.
Matt Elam’s ability to play a lot of snaps is a big question along the defensive line. Elam is down to 330 pounds according to the depth chart and appears to be in the best shape since he’s been at Kentucky.
Jack linebacker Denzil Ware had a dominant spring game and looks to have as good of a shot as anyone on Kentucky’s defense to have a breakout season. Courtney Miggins and Reggie Meant are also expected to start on the defensive line.