Rounding up some of the latest developments, what we can confirm, thoughts on where things stand:
** Vanderbilt OT Gunnar Hansen will be visiting Kentucky this week. Hansen was a senior this year and has one season remaining. Had a really good game against Alabama, a showcase performance for him. On the season Hansen scored 55.9 on PFF, playing 722 snaps, and he was slightly better at pass blocking than run blocking. It was an okay season and he would probably be serviceable at left tackle. Whether that's going to be the best option, time will tell. The fact that he has played left tackle extensively makes him interesting. Wallace Unamba from New Mexico, for instances, was a right tackle. Alex Wollschlaeger, who is committed, has been a three-year starter at Bowling Green but exclusively at right tackle. You would expect a MAC right tackle to play right tackle in the SEC. But pass protection has been prioritized with the linemen they have been pursuing so far and I think the pass protection already looks improved on paper.
** Alabama WR Kendrick Laws will also be visiting Kentucky this week. I believe Josh Edwards had this report first. Laws is someone who has been mentioned to us for the past week or so. This has been in the works for a little while now. He was a legitimate rotation guy at Alabama and my view is the numbers would have been a lot better under different circumstances there. Law played a decent amount, about as much as a typical backup receiver in the SEC, grading out at 58.2 on PFF. In spite of being 5'11, 209 pounds, he is not exclusively or even mostly a slot receiver. In usage at Alabama he was spread out wide 75% of the time. There were moments when he was used extensively in the slot on passing plays against Auburn but he was primarily an outside receiver. Kentucky's in a position where they need size at receiver but that's not all, they also need rotation players and depth. Just look at the depth chart and there are a lot of guys who haven't proven it yet. Laws didn't have any contested catches last year but he only had one drop.
** Wake Forest WR Horatio Fields is someone they felt good about coming out of the visit. It will be interesting to see how hard they press for a commitment. The word I've gotten early on is they will be helped with receivers when they know who the quarterback is going to be and that can be communicated. For a receiver that's going to be a huge deal, they're going to have opinions on it.
** Bleed Blue Network reported that Ball State WR Justin Bowick will be visiting Kentucky later this week and I had this confirmed with the caveat that things can change. However, he has been on the radar for a little while, since he went into the portal. Bowick is like Fields in that he's a big target who would help fix the lack of size in the room. The 6'4, 192-pound receiver wasn't exactly efficient last year. He had 28 targets and only 13 receptions, a 46.4% catch rate. But his average depth of target was 19.3 yards downfield. What's really impressive about Bowick is he had seven contested catches on 11 opportunities. He can go get it. Three balls thrown to him were picks, so there was a tendency to just put the ball in the vicinity because of Bowick's size and radius. Bowick would be very high on the wish list for me. In only four games he had 20 catches for 383 yards and three touchdowns. He was dominant against Miami-OH (8 catches, 171 yards, TD) and Buffalo (7 catches, 148 yards, 2 TD) in consecutive weeks.
** Nick Roush reported that Incarnate Word QB Zach Calzada will be visiting Kentucky this week. Remember he is someone that we've heard about for some time, even before he went into the portal. Kentucky is not the only school interested but we've heard about him enough and for long enough that he seems like someone they have a very real shot with. The visit right after going into the portal is a great sign there. In terms of the ability to run the ball, Calzada makes more sense than Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy, who arrived yesterday for a visit. I think Murphy can be a really good college quarterback but as Conor O'Neill said you want him set up to succeed the way he needs to be. Kentucky's pass protection should be improved next year based on the additions they've had so far alone, but do you really go into a season thinking a Mark Stoops team is going to pick you apart with the passing game? The Calzada option just makes more sense in terms of the direction you would expect Hamdan and Stoops to go. Throw in that he's been mentioned for so long and I'd be paying close attention there.
** Calzada played 1,038 snaps and scored 72.0 on PFF. He had a few down games but for the most part scored very well. 72.0 as a passer, 73.5 as a runner for Incarnate Word.
** Ever since Dane Key went into the portal and even during the season I heard about Georgia as the main option to watch and it seems like that is still looking like a strong option.
