Has the coaching staff improved our football team?

[Rembrandt90]

It is a fact, not an opinion, that UK's football program took a backward step in 2024. It isn't as simple as it sounds, but it is true. It is also true that 3-4 more properly executed plays could have won the GA game on Sept 14, the Vandy game on Oct 12, and perhaps even the TN game on Nov 2. I don't say that to minimize the negative impact of the season. Again, it's just a fact, and it shows that this football program might not be as far from coping as it may seem from the record. A lesson we have learned in the past is that the difference between successful and unsuccessful seasons can boil down to as little as 10-20 plays. Again, 2024 highlighted the critical importance of winning in the trenches. It is simply a fact that our OL did not play winning football and our DL did not hold up.

So there has been an offseason discussion about whether our coaches have accomplished enough with the transfer portal to reshape our roster. My opinion is that our 2025 roster is significantly improved.

The problem is that 14 of UK's 19 inbound transfers will apparently use up their eligibility in 2025. That includes almost all of the projected starters among the transfers. So, while our 2025 roster appears significantly improved, Coach Stoops and his staff will need to undertake a similar rebuild through the portal again a year from now. Let me give an example. Kendrick Law or Troy Stellato may be every bit as effective for us (if not more so) than Hardley Gilmore would have been. But Gilmore has 4 years of eligibility left, whereas Law and Stellato will be gone after 2025. FWIW, both projected starting OTs, Pete and Wollschlaeger, will also be gone after 2025. So it isn't just a question of whether our 2025 roster is better. (It clearly is.) The question is whether Stoops and his staff can do a better job every year of managing their roster than they have done recently. Maybe they can, but that must be proven in an environment of NIH, SEC expansion (TX, OK), and rules changes including inevitable expansion to 100+ scholarships. It's a tall order for a program in a small state bordering B10 country, and will clearly require more focus by all concerned including administration, coaches, fans, and corporate supporters. And since rules changes continue to constitute a moving target, innovation will be more critical than ever.

Let's segue to comparisons of starting lineup and rotation projections.

QB

2024- Vandagriff, Wimsatt, Boley

2025- Calzada, Boley, Saunders

I was optimistic about Vandagriff, because Kirby Smart signed him. But his lack of playing experience hurt once our OL turned out subpar. I am also optimistic about Calzada but, again, everything starts upfront. I have no doubt Calzada is mentally tougher and more aggressive than Vandagriff. Vandagriff may have more skills on paper, but that's moot if he can't pull the trigger, or if he has no pocket.

RB

2024- Trayanum, DSM, Wilcox, Patterson

2025- Dowdell, Wilcox, Patterson, Mizell

The top of the 2024 rotation was experienced. Once Trayanum got hurt, OL inadequacies were reflected in RB performance. If the OL is better now, our running game should be a LOT better. It's about our OL.

TE

2024- Kattus, Dingle, Anderson, Rodriguez

2025- Kattus, Rodriguez, Boyer, Skinner

The comparison boils down to how improved Willie Rodriguez will be with a season of experience. I'm betting he will be much improved. Kattus is solid, tough, and experienced. Boyer looks mainly like a run blocking specialist. Skinner is a wildcard who could achieve more as a receiver in 2025 than we anticipate.

WR

2024- Brown, Key, Maclin, Farrier, Gilmore, ABS

2025- Stellato, Edwards, Hester, Law, Maclin, Farrier, Miller(s), Simmons

Losing Gilmore was a blow, because he has 4 years of eligibility. Losing Brown hurts at several levels although Brown was never a solid route runner. Losing Key and Shorts to NE was a reputational hit for Stoops. But, remarkably, our 2025 rotation is as good or better. Stellato and Edwards are legitimate X receivers. Law is a three-level threat. Hester has major size and upside. Maclin was underutilized in 2024 and has something to prove. Dejerrian Miller and Cam Miller are future starters.

OL

2024- Cox, Burton, Cox, Farmer, Mincey, Ray, Wood, Selm

2025- Pete, Braun, Wibberley, Farmer, Wollschlaeger, Burton, Wood, Unamba, Selm, Nave

Herein lies the most important difference between our 2024 and 2025 offenses. This is a much better OL. Our new OTs represent big improvements. On the inside, Braun is a great addition and Farmer has another year of experience. The SEC is a step up for Wibberley but Coach Wolford likes him. There is more quality depth now. Wood still has upside. Selm and Darrin Strey are future starters.

DL

2024- Silver, Walker, Hayes, Saunders, Rybka, Oxendine, DHY

2025- Hayes, Ramsey, Williams, Gusta, Saunders, DHY, Gadson, Gilbert, Edwards, Smith, Grace, Robinson

On paper, our 2024 DL was a strength. Then Hayes, DHY, and Gadson got hurt, while Walker and Silver underachieved. Our 2025 DL is deeper and arguably as good. Better depth means fresher players in 4th quarters of close games. Hayes, DHY, and Gadson are healthy now. Gusta and Grace were among the better defensive players in the portal. Smith is a future starter and Robinson has huge upside. Saunders is very underrated. Now healthy, Gadson could surprise.

LB

2024- Weaver, Jackson, JDJ, Afari, Fearbry, Matthews, Soles

2025- Olds, Watson, Rayner, Afari, Soles, Godfrey, Smith(s), Greene

Jackson and JDJ are difficult to replace. But our 2025 rotations are deeper. Watson and Olds are quality portal additions. Afari still has more upside and Rayner is underrated. The list of young LB talent is very impressive, but when will they be ready? Hopefully, soon. I have my eye on Grant Godfrey, Devin Smith, and Jacob Smith. Quintavion Norman and Antwan Smith are underrated prospects.

DB

2024- Childress, Lovett, Story, Bryant, Hairston, Hardaway, Dunn, Waller, Addison, Nichols, Dooley

2025- Lovett, Bryant, Dooley, Carter, Smith, Dunn, Scott, Hardaway, Waller, Nichols, Addison, Thomas

Losing Childress and Hairston is tough. But the depth of excellent young talent in our secondary is notable. Nichols and Carter look like future all SEC players. Hardaway, Dunn, Addison, and Waller are experienced returnees. Not much has been said so far about Quaysheed Scott and Jaden Smith, but they were two of the highest rated recruits in last year's class. True freshman CB Andrew Purcell is the highest rated recruit in the incoming class.

Special teams

Losing Brown and Raynor hurts. But punter Aidan Laros is back, so the all important field position game is in good hands. It is being said that Coach Boulware really likes new placekicker Jacob Kauwe. Kendrick Law was a dangerous punt returner at AL so he somewhat limits the damage done by losing Brown.

Meanwhile, I am recovering from another surgery and looking forward to spring practice. I don't worry about schedules. The schedule takes care of itself. Playing in the SEC means bringing your A game every week. UK didn't do that in 2024, so results reflected that. Rumors persist that there were big problems in our locker room, and that the large list of portal departures reflects the staff's response to that. Not every departure was a locker room problem, but some were. Coach Stoops has now reshaped his team and obviously intends to restore the culture we had here in 2018. He is right to try. I think the pieces are there now. But, again, football seasons usually boil down to a relatively small number of pivotal plays. When we beat Ole Miss, we executed those pivotal plays. For the most part, that didn't happen for the rest of the season, largely because our QB, OL, DL didn't get the job done. Now, almost all of those jobs are being reassigned. If not literally the most important season in Stoops' career, this will certainly be one of them. This time, four wins won't get it done. But, again, the pieces are there to do much better. Is the culture more conducive for success this time? I remain optimistic. Does Mitch Barnhart have Jon Sumrall on speed dial? I really don't know. But that isn't too farfetched this time. I just hope for the best and keep up my contributions to 15.

 

[trueblujr2]

Well wishes on your recovery. Thanks for all you put in here. I can’t argue with much of it. I will say I think Calzada will be a step up due to improvements in the OL and the fact he just has more game experience and maturity under his belt. But I’m still not sleeping on Saunders. I think he might be better than Boley based on what I’ve read about him. Looking forward to seeing what he can do.

 

[Deeeefense]

Trivia point on Calzada, he played one year at FCS Incarnate Word the same school Cam Ward played at before going to Miami. Maybe there's something in the water there?

 

[Rembrandt90]

Well wishes on your recovery. Thanks for all you put in here. I can’t argue with much of it. I will say I think Calzada will be a step up due to improvements in the OL and the fact he just has more game experience and maturity under his belt. But I’m still not sleeping on Saunders. I think he might be better than Boley based on what I’ve read about him. Looking forward to seeing what he can do.

Stone Saunders is a terrific prospect. Underrated probably. Saunders had a remarkable career and accomplished incredible things against a good level of competition at Bishop McDevitt hs. When you think about all the great college QBs that have come out of the state of PA, Saunders outachieved all of them.

However, Boley has a year of college experience and got into some games against good SEC defenses. Much is being made of the fact that Boley did not play well against UL. Our fan base blows everything way out of proportion when it comes to UL. But experienced observers understand our 2024 OL was awful. Skill players seldom look good playing behind a bad OL. The fact that Boley played well against TX is a much better indicator of his large upside. But he was a true freshman.

In some respects, Saunders and Boley are different. But both are outstanding QB prospects. Boley didn't play against the same level of hs competition that Saunders did. But there are reasons why AL, ND, and OR offered scholarships to him. Boley has a frame you can't teach and elite arm talent. Saunders might turn out to have higher football IQ, but he doesn't really hold an edge in the talent department. There will come a point, and it probably won't be long, when Stoops and Hamdan will have to make a decision and commit to one of them. Of course, there could be injuries, in which case the decision could get made for them.

 

[Rembrandt90]

Trivia point on Calzada, he played one year at FCS Incarnate Word the same school Cam Ward played at before going to Miami. Maybe there's something in the water there?

This also falls into the trivia category, but Calzada actually played two seasons at IW.

 

[gamecockcat]

Good stuff and I hope you're right. If I had to quibble about your analysis, I'd say there's no way to know that this year's roster is better than last year's. On paper, maybe. I thought 2024 roster was better than 2023 and we all saw what happened last year.

But, different personnel to play with, different coaches, different opponents, different schemes, different training habits, etc will affect everyone in that locker room. For many of our transfers, it's a big step up in weekly competition when you play in the SEC. Marques Cox was outstanding at a MAC school but was barely adequate for UK. Maclin killed it at previous stops but was rarely used last year. Numerous examples can be cited of guys we expected to shine who didn't.

Again, I hope you're right that we're much improved. For the first time, I'm going to wait until the first or second SEC game before I form an opinion. Been burned too many years in the past with my blue tinted glasses.

 

[screwduke1]

We won't know the answer to this until about 9 or 10 months from now...but I hope they did. The o line should be better but mostly because almost anything should be an improvement over last years line...which was so bad Brock didn't wanna play football anymore playing behind it.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Acquiring and assembling talent wasn't the issue last season. The issue was sacrificing culture to do it. That wrecked everything.

I can see they're trying to address that, so there is hope. We need to hope they fix it, because its going to be tough finding another staff that can punch up with nil and schedule difficulties we have at UK.

 

[kyleb740]

I think this line that you wrote is where my hang up with our staff/support/admin:

“And since rules changes continue to constitute a moving target, innovation will be more critical than ever.”

Everything is just stale with the program right now. It’s hard to change stagnation once it starts creeping in.

 

[satcheluk]

It is a fact, not an opinion, that UK's football program took a backward step in 2024. It isn't as simple as it sounds, but it is true. It is also true that 3-4 more properly executed plays could have won the GA game on Sept 14, the Vandy game on Oct 12, and perhaps even the TN game on Nov 2. I don't say that to minimize the negative impact of the season. Again, it's just a fact, and it shows that this football program might not be as far from coping as it may seem from the record. A lesson we have learned in the past is that the difference between successful and unsuccessful seasons can boil down to as little as 10-20 plays. Again, 2024 highlighted the critical importance of winning in the trenches. It is simply a fact that our OL did not play winning football and our DL did not hold up.

So there has been an offseason discussion about whether our coaches have accomplished enough with the transfer portal to reshape our roster. My opinion is that our 2025 roster is significantly improved.

The problem is that 14 of UK's 19 inbound transfers will apparently use up their eligibility in 2025. That includes almost all of the projected starters among the transfers. So, while our 2025 roster appears significantly improved, Coach Stoops and his staff will need to undertake a similar rebuild through the portal again a year from now. Let me give an example. Kendrick Law or Troy Stellato may be every bit as effective for us (if not more so) than Hardley Gilmore would have been. But Gilmore has 4 years of eligibility left, whereas Law and Stellato will be gone after 2025. FWIW, both projected starting OTs, Pete and Wollschlaeger, will also be gone after 2025. So it isn't just a question of whether our 2025 roster is better. (It clearly is.) The question is whether Stoops and his staff can do a better job every year of managing their roster than they have done recently. Maybe they can, but that must be proven in an environment of NIH, SEC expansion (TX, OK), and rules changes including inevitable expansion to 100+ scholarships. It's a tall order for a program in a small state bordering B10 country, and will clearly require more focus by all concerned including administration, coaches, fans, and corporate supporters. And since rules changes continue to constitute a moving target, innovation will be more critical than ever.

Let's segue to comparisons of starting lineup and rotation projections.

QB

2024- Vandagriff, Wimsatt, Boley

2025- Calzada, Boley, Saunders

I was optimistic about Vandagriff, because Kirby Smart signed him. But his lack of playing experience hurt once our OL turned out subpar. I am also optimistic about Calzada but, again, everything starts upfront. I have no doubt Calzada is mentally tougher and more aggressive than Vandagriff. Vandagriff may have more skills on paper, but that's moot if he can't pull the trigger, or if he has no pocket.

RB

2024- Trayanum, DSM, Wilcox, Patterson

2025- Dowdell, Wilcox, Patterson, Mizell

The top of the 2024 rotation was experienced. Once Trayanum got hurt, OL inadequacies were reflected in RB performance. If the OL is better now, our running game should be a LOT better. It's about our OL.

TE

2024- Kattus, Dingle, Anderson, Rodriguez

2025- Kattus, Rodriguez, Boyer, Skinner

The comparison boils down to how improved Willie Rodriguez will be with a season of experience. I'm betting he will be much improved. Kattus is solid, tough, and experienced. Boyer looks mainly like a run blocking specialist. Skinner is a wildcard who could achieve more as a receiver in 2025 than we anticipate.

WR

2024- Brown, Key, Maclin, Farrier, Gilmore, ABS

2025- Stellato, Edwards, Hester, Law, Maclin, Farrier, Miller(s), Simmons

Losing Gilmore was a blow, because he has 4 years of eligibility. Losing Brown hurts at several levels although Brown was never a solid route runner. Losing Key and Shorts to NE was a reputational hit for Stoops. But, remarkably, our 2025 rotation is as good or better. Stellato and Edwards are legitimate X receivers. Law is a three-level threat. Hester has major size and upside. Maclin was underutilized in 2024 and has something to prove. Dejerrian Miller and Cam Miller are future starters.

OL

2024- Cox, Burton, Cox, Farmer, Mincey, Ray, Wood, Selm

2025- Pete, Braun, Wibberley, Farmer, Wollschlaeger, Burton, Wood, Unamba, Selm, Nave

Herein lies the most important difference between our 2024 and 2025 offenses. This is a much better OL. Our new OTs represent big improvements. On the inside, Braun is a great addition and Farmer has another year of experience. The SEC is a step up for Wibberley but Coach Wolford likes him. There is more quality depth now. Wood still has upside. Selm and Darrin Strey are future starters.

DL

2024- Silver, Walker, Hayes, Saunders, Rybka, Oxendine, DHY

2025- Hayes, Ramsey, Williams, Gusta, Saunders, DHY, Gadson, Gilbert, Edwards, Smith, Grace, Robinson

On paper, our 2024 DL was a strength. Then Hayes, DHY, and Gadson got hurt, while Walker and Silver underachieved. Our 2025 DL is deeper and arguably as good. Better depth means fresher players in 4th quarters of close games. Hayes, DHY, and Gadson are healthy now. Gusta and Grace were among the better defensive players in the portal. Smith is a future starter and Robinson has huge upside. Saunders is very underrated. Now healthy, Gadson could surprise.

LB

2024- Weaver, Jackson, JDJ, Afari, Fearbry, Matthews, Soles

2025- Olds, Watson, Rayner, Afari, Soles, Godfrey, Smith(s), Greene

Jackson and JDJ are difficult to replace. But our 2025 rotations are deeper. Watson and Olds are quality portal additions. Afari still has more upside and Rayner is underrated. The list of young LB talent is very impressive, but when will they be ready? Hopefully, soon. I have my eye on Grant Godfrey, Devin Smith, and Jacob Smith. Quintavion Norman and Antwan Smith are underrated prospects.

DB

2024- Childress, Lovett, Story, Bryant, Hairston, Hardaway, Dunn, Waller, Addison, Nichols, Dooley

2025- Lovett, Bryant, Dooley, Carter, Smith, Dunn, Scott, Hardaway, Waller, Nichols, Addison, Thomas

Losing Childress and Hairston is tough. But the depth of excellent young talent in our secondary is notable. Nichols and Carter look like future all SEC players. Hardaway, Dunn, Addison, and Waller are experienced returnees. Not much has been said so far about Quaysheed Scott and Jaden Smith, but they were two of the highest rated recruits in last year's class. True freshman CB Andrew Purcell is the highest rated recruit in the incoming class.

Special teams

Losing Brown and Raynor hurts. But punter Aidan Laros is back, so the all important field position game is in good hands. It is being said that Coach Boulware really likes new placekicker Jacob Kauwe. Kendrick Law was a dangerous punt returner at AL so he somewhat limits the damage done by losing Brown.

Meanwhile, I am recovering from another surgery and looking forward to spring practice. I don't worry about schedules. The schedule takes care of itself. Playing in the SEC means bringing your A game every week. UK didn't do that in 2024, so results reflected that. Rumors persist that there were big problems in our locker room, and that the large list of portal departures reflects the staff's response to that. Not every departure was a locker room problem, but some were. Coach Stoops has now reshaped his team and obviously intends to restore the culture we had here in 2018. He is right to try. I think the pieces are there now. But, again, football seasons usually boil down to a relatively small number of pivotal plays. When we beat Ole Miss, we executed those pivotal plays. For the most part, that didn't happen for the rest of the season, largely because our QB, OL, DL didn't get the job done. Now, almost all of those jobs are being reassigned. If not literally the most important season in Stoops' career, this will certainly be one of them. This time, four wins won't get it done. But, again, the pieces are there to do much better. Is the culture more conducive for success this time? I remain optimistic. Does Mitch Barnhart have Jon Sumrall on speed dial? I really don't know. But that isn't too farfetched this time. I just hope for the best and keep up my contributions to 15.

Well said and I could find nothing to refute, as opinions were backed with solid logic. I was pretty high on them last year when I predicted 7 or 8 wins, but I was giving the Oline and QB the benefit of the doubt. On paper, they seemed to deserve it, but on the field they didn't earn it. Absolutely everything revolves around the Oline and QB. Better Oline means more efficiency in both the runnignn and passing games which leads to increased ToP, which helps the defense stay fresh deeper into the game. I have no other concerns other than the front 5 and the guy rubbing their balls. If they are both adequate to very good, then we will certainly beat expectations this year. I would be happy with a bowl game, given the schedule, and thrilled if they can win 7+.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

Someone put it best on here. We may have an improved team but not win many more games than 2024.

 

[K_TIME]

Remb....good to see you posting again and glad to hear you recovering from health issues!

1. Offense....
- I get the Oline was a disaster but we kept the same Oline coach for some reason (even though UK bought back 3 starters...picked up 2 NIL/portal kids from Florida and Tennessee..and that unit went from decent to worst in SEC. So to lay it out the oline will be a ton better. due to portal kids...Wolford had issues at Bama...so it's hard for me to believe in the scheme/coaching up front.
- I'll skip the skilled position additions....let's talk Bush Hamden. UK was 119 (out of 133) in scoring at 20 pts a game.. In 2023 under Liam Coen UK was ranked 56 in scoring 29pts a game....and I'd argue Devin Leary, Ray Davis, Jeremy Flax, Tayvion Robinson, etc...were not elite players (only Ray Davis is in NFL) to see this big of a drop off. So I see a major red flag in coaching/scheme with Bush Hamden to be honest.

2. Defense...
- I agree Walker was a disappointment (he played too many snaps) and sucked Hairston missed essentially the heart of the schedule as our best DB. But losing the entire 2 deep on DLine, JJ Weaver, both inside LBers (who were obvious team leaders) Max, etc... and tell me we'll be better is a hard sell to me. Duman Johnson and DJackson were dang good players and their replacements are not likely to be as tough and good.
- I can see a world with an improved offense that keeps our defense off the field will result in an improved defense

3., Special teams
- Raynor was money....his balls essentially split the uprights right down the middle. We had some blocked FG issues at times but inside the 35...it was 3pts. Hard to see improving upon his talent. Seemed like Raynor was Austin McGinnis
- Losing Barion....hard to see kickoff being a bigger threat than him.

All in all, I can see UK winning 1-2 games more....but in Stoops year 14...is 5 win UK team coming off disappointing two 7 win seasons, then a 4 win season....feels like UK is just keeping a dead man walking in Stoops until the buyout is affordable. Hard to see the program going anywhere at this point.

 

[Deeeefense]

I think it's fair to point out that both O-tackles were playing injured for most all of the season, Mincey finally had to give it up. That's not the whole story by any stretch but it is a piece of it. Regarding Wolf, I don't know much more than anyone else outside the program but I do recall Jeromy Flax tweeting a few months ago that he was very high on Wolf and thought he was the kind of tough no-nonsense coach they needed. FWIW.

 

[gamecockcat]

Remb....good to see you posting again and glad to hear you recovering from health issues!

1. Offense....
- I get the Oline was a disaster but we kept the same Oline coach for some reason (even though UK bought back 3 starters...picked up 2 NIL/portal kids from Florida and Tennessee..and that unit went from decent to worst in SEC. So to lay it out the oline will be a ton better. due to portal kids...Wolford had issues at Bama...so it's hard for me to believe in the scheme/coaching up front.
- I'll skip the skilled position additions....let's talk Bush Hamden. UK was 119 (out of 133) in scoring at 20 pts a game.. In 2023 under Liam Coen UK was ranked 56 in scoring 29pts a game....and I'd argue Devin Leary, Ray Davis, Jeremy Flax, Tayvion Robinson, etc...were not elite players (only Ray Davis is in NFL) to see this big of a drop off. So I see a major red flag in coaching/scheme with Bush Hamden to be honest.

2. Defense...
- I agree Walker was a disappointment (he played too many snaps) and sucked Hairston missed essentially the heart of the schedule as our best DB. But losing the entire 2 deep on DLine, JJ Weaver, both inside LBers (who were obvious team leaders) Max, etc... and tell me we'll be better is a hard sell to me. Duman Johnson and DJackson were dang good players and their replacements are not likely to be as tough and good.
- I can see a world with an improved offense that keeps our defense off the field will result in an improved defense

3., Special teams
- Raynor was money....his balls essentially split the uprights right down the middle. We had some blocked FG issues at times but inside the 35...it was 3pts. Hard to see improving upon his talent. Seemed like Raynor was Austin McGinnis
- Losing Barion....hard to see kickoff being a bigger threat than him.

All in all, I can see UK winning 1-2 games more....but in Stoops year 14...is 5 win UK team coming off disappointing two 7 win seasons, then a 4 win season....feels like UK is just keeping a dead man walking in Stoops until the buyout is affordable. Hard to see the program going anywhere at this point.

Comments re: offense - 100% agree. Assuming the OL will improve over last year's disaster is not a big stretch. But, improve enough to jump start the offense? We'll see. Also agree that Hamdan may be the problem, not the talent. I can see the argument that personalities (Key, Brown, et al) and forcing touches to those and other players may have played a part in the offensive disaster last year. But, Hamdan showed me nothing last year re: calling plays that made sense, setting up a rhythm, setting up a play for later, catching the defense by surprise. He needs to GREATLY improve, imo, or we're looking at incremental improvement at best.

Defense: we lose a lot of talent and experience in all 3 levels. And we're just gonna plug and play and end up better? Even with the top HS recruiting Georgia has strung together for several years, their defense took a step back last year (and they're projected to have at least two players drafted in first round so it wasn't all a talent drain). Alabama also saw a step back even with the riches residing on the bench waiting their turn. And, our defense wasn't exactly good the last half of the season. We need a better defense and there are many, many question marks about the defensive roster to definitively say we should be as good or better, imo.

STs: again, agree 100%. If Raynor came on the field, you could automatically put points on the board. Hard to improve (or even match) what he did last year. I will somewhat take issue with Brown as a KR. A threat, yes. Also a threat to make a bad choice, get tackled by the first contact and, unfortunately, had a few fumbles. We may not have the breakaway, take-it-to-the-house guy back there, but we may have more consistency and less chance of back breaking turnover, also.

With all that said and us playing virtually the same schedule, I think 4 wins would be a reasonable expectation and I believe 6 may be the ceiling barring some unusual development (like one of the FR is Randy Moss 2.0 or the OL suddenly resembles the BBW again).

 

[gamecockcat]

I think it's fair to point out that both O-tackles were playing injured for most all of the season, Mincey finally had to give it up. That's not the whole story by any stretch but it is a piece of it. Regarding Wolf, I don't know much more than anyone else outside the program but I do recall Jeromy Flax tweeting a few months ago that he was very high on Wolf and thought he was the kind of tough no-nonsense coach they needed. FWIW.

That's a heckuva indictment of our recruiting if we played two injured OTs most of the season instead of a healthy backup, isn't it? And those backups (with transfers, obviously) are the ones who will be counted on to make the OL better this year. I'm going to wait until I see us in action against SEC competition before I come to any conclusions about our roster, talent, coaching staff.

 

[Deeeefense]

That's a heckuva indictment of our recruiting if we played two injured OTs most of the season instead of a healthy backup, isn't it? And those backups (with transfers, obviously) are the ones who will be counted on to make the OL better this year. I'm going to wait until I see us in action against SEC competition before I come to any conclusions about our roster, talent, coaching staff.

Yea the O-line history has been discussed on here quit a bit, injuries, transfers, recruiting misses, coaching changes etc. So we definitely had a depth issues last year there.

 

[Soupbean]

Good stuff and I hope you're right. If I had to quibble about your analysis, I'd say there's no way to know that this year's roster is better than last year's. On paper, maybe. I thought 2024 roster was better than 2023 and we all saw what happened last year.

But, different personnel to play with, different coaches, different opponents, different schemes, different training habits, etc will affect everyone in that locker room. For many of our transfers, it's a big step up in weekly competition when you play in the SEC. Marques Cox was outstanding at a MAC school but was barely adequate for UK. Maclin killed it at previous stops but was rarely used last year. Numerous examples can be cited of guys we expected to shine who didn't.

Again, I hope you're right that we're much improved. For the first time, I'm going to wait until the first or second SEC game before I form an opinion. Been burned too many years in the past with my blue tinted glasses.

I agree but last year may have been one of those where one key part affected a lot of other things. I had a personal analogy of that last week. My serpentine belt came off my car and it ran the alternator, water pump and power steering . . . all with one $50 part. I think our Oline struggles affected a lot other things too and it is encouraging that the one are we seem to have made the most off season improvement in is the OL for 2025.

But just like Rembrandt says, that just takes care of next year so what happens after that? Its like my 2013 Cadillac again . . . I got this problem fixed but whats next years gonna be? They dont let up when you're running with 280K mile on you, and thats what life is like trying to keep up on the SEC.