Five draft-eligible Kentucky players who can improve their stock
One of the most important benefits of having a 2020 football season is for the individual college football players who have NFL aspirations but could use one extra showcase year before the next draft.
Kentucky figures to have a strong class of draft prospects going into the 2021 calendar year.
In this piece we're not going to touch on all of those players. We'll just run down five draft-eligible Wildcats who have the most room to improve their standing.
Offensive tackle Landon Young (Sr.)
The first five-star prospect in program history is now entering his senior season, tough though that may be to believe, and he's coming off a solid redshirt junior campaign. He's firmly on the draft radar for NFL franchises because of his measurables and college productivity. Durability is not an issue since he has rebounded well from an injury earlier in his collegiate career. Walter Football rates Young as the No. 21 draft eligible offensive tackle but he has been higher on the list. He's going to get a lot of attention as the starting senior left tackle for a unit that should again contend for the Joe Moore Award.
Offensive tackle/guard Darian Kinnard (Jr.)
Kinnard is more likely than any other underclassman to test the waters following this season. In fact, there's a strong likelihood that will happen even if he only has the kind of year that he did last year. "Only" meaning one of the top offensive linemen in the SEC. If Kinnard gets an opportunity to showcase himself at guard that could add to the intrigue with NFL scouts because he's a guy with the ability to cross-train to fill multiple spots even at the professional level.
Nose guard Quinton Bohanna (Sr.)
Bohanna has known what his task is coming into this year. He told Cats Illustrated in the spring that he wants to improve the pass rush portion of his game. He's always been a stout anchor in the middle of the Cats' base 3-4 defense. He's tough to move and keeps his gap assignment, which is one big reason the UK unit has become more stout against the run in recent years. Bohanna has played a lot of football so plenty of film is already available but if he can make more plays in the backfield and push the pocket backward more often it could even garner him early round looks. Walter Football currently rates
Bohanna as the No. 14 draft eligible defensive tackle.
Outside linebacker Boogie Watson (Sr.)
Like Bohanna, Watson knows the task. He had tons of quarterback hurries a year ago, but both he and defensive coordinator/OLB coach Brad White knows that he left some sacks on the field. Since the end of last season Watson has been laser focused on finishing as many of those plays in the backfield. He is the SEC's top returning sack man so there will be plenty of attention on him, but with Jordan Wright on the other side it could keep things pretty open for him. And White has certainly gotten the most out of his edge defenders at Kentucky.
Wide receiver Josh Ali (Sr.)
How about a wild card or a darkhorse pick? There hasn't been a lot of buzz about Ali as a draft prospect but he didn't have much of a chance to make a name for himself outside of Lexington last year. Ali is a guy with the speed to go over the top. He's on this list because this year is a prime opportunity for him to go from totally off the grid to someone that starts to get some attention at the SEC level because of the change in offense. A lot of wide receivers are going to be drafted as well.
One of the most important benefits of having a 2020 football season is for the individual college football players who have NFL aspirations but could use one extra showcase year before the next draft.
Kentucky figures to have a strong class of draft prospects going into the 2021 calendar year.
In this piece we're not going to touch on all of those players. We'll just run down five draft-eligible Wildcats who have the most room to improve their standing.
Offensive tackle Landon Young (Sr.)
The first five-star prospect in program history is now entering his senior season, tough though that may be to believe, and he's coming off a solid redshirt junior campaign. He's firmly on the draft radar for NFL franchises because of his measurables and college productivity. Durability is not an issue since he has rebounded well from an injury earlier in his collegiate career. Walter Football rates Young as the No. 21 draft eligible offensive tackle but he has been higher on the list. He's going to get a lot of attention as the starting senior left tackle for a unit that should again contend for the Joe Moore Award.
Offensive tackle/guard Darian Kinnard (Jr.)
Kinnard is more likely than any other underclassman to test the waters following this season. In fact, there's a strong likelihood that will happen even if he only has the kind of year that he did last year. "Only" meaning one of the top offensive linemen in the SEC. If Kinnard gets an opportunity to showcase himself at guard that could add to the intrigue with NFL scouts because he's a guy with the ability to cross-train to fill multiple spots even at the professional level.
Nose guard Quinton Bohanna (Sr.)
Bohanna has known what his task is coming into this year. He told Cats Illustrated in the spring that he wants to improve the pass rush portion of his game. He's always been a stout anchor in the middle of the Cats' base 3-4 defense. He's tough to move and keeps his gap assignment, which is one big reason the UK unit has become more stout against the run in recent years. Bohanna has played a lot of football so plenty of film is already available but if he can make more plays in the backfield and push the pocket backward more often it could even garner him early round looks. Walter Football currently rates
Bohanna as the No. 14 draft eligible defensive tackle.
Outside linebacker Boogie Watson (Sr.)
Like Bohanna, Watson knows the task. He had tons of quarterback hurries a year ago, but both he and defensive coordinator/OLB coach Brad White knows that he left some sacks on the field. Since the end of last season Watson has been laser focused on finishing as many of those plays in the backfield. He is the SEC's top returning sack man so there will be plenty of attention on him, but with Jordan Wright on the other side it could keep things pretty open for him. And White has certainly gotten the most out of his edge defenders at Kentucky.
Wide receiver Josh Ali (Sr.)
How about a wild card or a darkhorse pick? There hasn't been a lot of buzz about Ali as a draft prospect but he didn't have much of a chance to make a name for himself outside of Lexington last year. Ali is a guy with the speed to go over the top. He's on this list because this year is a prime opportunity for him to go from totally off the grid to someone that starts to get some attention at the SEC level because of the change in offense. A lot of wide receivers are going to be drafted as well.
