Happy Labor Day to everyone. A day of rest is always welcome.
My wife and I attended the UK-Miami game Saturday evening. Going into the game, I had specific ideas about strengths and weaknesses of our team that I wanted to watch.
Coach Scangarello called a solid game and used available talent well. He got a look at the key players except Rodriguez. It looked like Scangarello is limiting Will Levis' running game, maybe to save Levis from being on the receiving end of big hits early in the season. Or maybe to avoid showing his play book to Florida's coaches.
Levis has fantastic arm talent. But Levis is prone to lock onto his primary receiver. I don't think Levis has quite mastered the skill of reading coverages and knowing where his secondary receivers are. But his arm is so strong that he gets away with it most of the time. Once in a while, a defensive player reads Levis' eyes and jumps our route. That is when the interceptions happen, same as last year.
UK's WR room looks to be in good shape. TRob is a worthy successor to Wandale. TRob can be all conference. Key and Brown are the real thing. DeMarcus Harris and Chauncey Magwood played well. We will need other receivers to step up, but Coach Scangarello did not show his hand this week.
In a small sample, Lavell Wright might be UK's best RB as long as Rodriguez is unavailable. Smoke played hard. Jefferson's and McClain's injuries looked bad. Our RB depth is no longer a sure thing. But the OL is the key for our RBs.
Zach Yenser has problems to solve. The right side of the OL held up well. Manning played a solid game. I saw Flax get beat once. On the left side, Wohlabaugh was okay considering this was his first start. I saw him get beat twice in pass protection, and he was not consistent in the run game. But he looked stronger than I expected, and he moved his feet pretty well. I saw Burton get beat a couple of times. At times, Burton did not look strong enough, and his balance was not what it needs to be. Cox was okay. But this OL is a long way from living up to the BBW legacy. They are big enough. Maybe even talented enough. But it will take a lot of work, because the chemistry and juice aren't there yet. Most of this is probably fixable.
I liked what I saw from our defense. Square is the leader, and Ajian is another great player. Weaver and Keidron Smith can be all conference. Zion Childress is a beast. Our defense is deep all over. The youngsters looked fantastic. Deone Walker is a huge man who can run. Afari will play a lot. When Wright and Wallace are back, our defense will be even better.
Our special teams turned around the momentum of the game. Kudos to Coach Settle, one of the most important coaches on our staff.
Florida beat Utah. So some UK fans are writing off our next game. My wife and I will be in Gainesville. I believe it will be a good game, and I wouldn't put it past Stoops to find a way to win it. Our team usually plays its best football in the biggest games, and week #2 is often the time of our greatest improvement. This game is an opportunity for UK, and Florida's hard fought win over Utah could actually help us this week.
My wife and I attended the UK-Miami game Saturday evening. Going into the game, I had specific ideas about strengths and weaknesses of our team that I wanted to watch.
Coach Scangarello called a solid game and used available talent well. He got a look at the key players except Rodriguez. It looked like Scangarello is limiting Will Levis' running game, maybe to save Levis from being on the receiving end of big hits early in the season. Or maybe to avoid showing his play book to Florida's coaches.
Levis has fantastic arm talent. But Levis is prone to lock onto his primary receiver. I don't think Levis has quite mastered the skill of reading coverages and knowing where his secondary receivers are. But his arm is so strong that he gets away with it most of the time. Once in a while, a defensive player reads Levis' eyes and jumps our route. That is when the interceptions happen, same as last year.
UK's WR room looks to be in good shape. TRob is a worthy successor to Wandale. TRob can be all conference. Key and Brown are the real thing. DeMarcus Harris and Chauncey Magwood played well. We will need other receivers to step up, but Coach Scangarello did not show his hand this week.
In a small sample, Lavell Wright might be UK's best RB as long as Rodriguez is unavailable. Smoke played hard. Jefferson's and McClain's injuries looked bad. Our RB depth is no longer a sure thing. But the OL is the key for our RBs.
Zach Yenser has problems to solve. The right side of the OL held up well. Manning played a solid game. I saw Flax get beat once. On the left side, Wohlabaugh was okay considering this was his first start. I saw him get beat twice in pass protection, and he was not consistent in the run game. But he looked stronger than I expected, and he moved his feet pretty well. I saw Burton get beat a couple of times. At times, Burton did not look strong enough, and his balance was not what it needs to be. Cox was okay. But this OL is a long way from living up to the BBW legacy. They are big enough. Maybe even talented enough. But it will take a lot of work, because the chemistry and juice aren't there yet. Most of this is probably fixable.
I liked what I saw from our defense. Square is the leader, and Ajian is another great player. Weaver and Keidron Smith can be all conference. Zion Childress is a beast. Our defense is deep all over. The youngsters looked fantastic. Deone Walker is a huge man who can run. Afari will play a lot. When Wright and Wallace are back, our defense will be even better.
Our special teams turned around the momentum of the game. Kudos to Coach Settle, one of the most important coaches on our staff.
Florida beat Utah. So some UK fans are writing off our next game. My wife and I will be in Gainesville. I believe it will be a good game, and I wouldn't put it past Stoops to find a way to win it. Our team usually plays its best football in the biggest games, and week #2 is often the time of our greatest improvement. This game is an opportunity for UK, and Florida's hard fought win over Utah could actually help us this week.
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