Understand basketball is in focus but continuing to track football developments:
The loss of Ja'kayden Ferguson is significant. Quintin Simmons is an intriguing prospect but as far as receiver upside, Ferguson is a big blow to what they wanted to accomplish with the class on offense. Tough to replace that upside with a month before signing day.
I think you're going to see Kentucky be very run heavy the rest of the season. In the big picture, as long as Stoops is working on fixing this, I would expect them to go more and more back to the run-heavy approach that they had before. They're still going to go after portal targets at receiver for instance, but think about how many portal receivers we have talked about in recent years and what the impact of those guys has been in real terms.
Again, it's all about the offensive line. One month ago, Kentucky lost to Georgia by one point and won at Ole Miss, which may well be in the playoff.
Any path to being better next year involves getting the line right. Three guys to watch: Malachi Wood, Jalen Farmer, and Aba Selm. Those are three that I think they definitely feel like will be a part of the rotation for next year. Wood isn't ready but what he gains this year will help him next year, and I think ideally you would bring in two tackles -- one that could plug and play, another that would perhaps compete for the job but it would be a competition.
I think they're going to need a running back as well, but I wouldn't expect movement on that for a few weeks after the season. I do think they will be in the market for some of the biggest running back names in the portal, and probably selling that vision of getting back to more of a run-heavy approach.
Here's the thing, though: UK is still going to have to make sure Vandagriff will come back. The OL is still a project, they need to bring in other players around him, and the last month has been abysmal on every level. It just would not be very easy to convince a quarterback better than him to come in, given all of those realities.
It was mentioned elsewhere that Brad White could consider the Florida State defensive coordinator position. I can tell you that there are other coaches on the staff who have been approached about opportunities elsewhere. More than in past years, staff continuity is going to be difficult given that folks are wondering about the big picture and whether Stoops is going to be able to fix it.
One thing I would say about this year. I don't buy that this was UK's most talented roster under Stoops. The offensive line is far from as good as it has been, I don't think it's close to their most talented secondary, and they went into the year with a question about running back.
Last note: I spoke with four-star DL Christian Ingram and he confirmed that his interest in Kentucky is very high. He took that official to Lexington but Anwar Stewart and Chris Collins have both been by for a visit recently and he said those relationships are very strong.
The loss of Ja'kayden Ferguson is significant. Quintin Simmons is an intriguing prospect but as far as receiver upside, Ferguson is a big blow to what they wanted to accomplish with the class on offense. Tough to replace that upside with a month before signing day.
I think you're going to see Kentucky be very run heavy the rest of the season. In the big picture, as long as Stoops is working on fixing this, I would expect them to go more and more back to the run-heavy approach that they had before. They're still going to go after portal targets at receiver for instance, but think about how many portal receivers we have talked about in recent years and what the impact of those guys has been in real terms.
Again, it's all about the offensive line. One month ago, Kentucky lost to Georgia by one point and won at Ole Miss, which may well be in the playoff.
Any path to being better next year involves getting the line right. Three guys to watch: Malachi Wood, Jalen Farmer, and Aba Selm. Those are three that I think they definitely feel like will be a part of the rotation for next year. Wood isn't ready but what he gains this year will help him next year, and I think ideally you would bring in two tackles -- one that could plug and play, another that would perhaps compete for the job but it would be a competition.
I think they're going to need a running back as well, but I wouldn't expect movement on that for a few weeks after the season. I do think they will be in the market for some of the biggest running back names in the portal, and probably selling that vision of getting back to more of a run-heavy approach.
Here's the thing, though: UK is still going to have to make sure Vandagriff will come back. The OL is still a project, they need to bring in other players around him, and the last month has been abysmal on every level. It just would not be very easy to convince a quarterback better than him to come in, given all of those realities.
It was mentioned elsewhere that Brad White could consider the Florida State defensive coordinator position. I can tell you that there are other coaches on the staff who have been approached about opportunities elsewhere. More than in past years, staff continuity is going to be difficult given that folks are wondering about the big picture and whether Stoops is going to be able to fix it.
One thing I would say about this year. I don't buy that this was UK's most talented roster under Stoops. The offensive line is far from as good as it has been, I don't think it's close to their most talented secondary, and they went into the year with a question about running back.
Last note: I spoke with four-star DL Christian Ingram and he confirmed that his interest in Kentucky is very high. He took that official to Lexington but Anwar Stewart and Chris Collins have both been by for a visit recently and he said those relationships are very strong.
