I’ve had pretty high expectations for this team the last two years, and both of those years turned out to be two of the most disappointing UK teams that I can remember. I try to be as level headed as possible, but I really struggle to be too optimistic going into next year. Some reasons why:
Offense
-UK will be breaking in an unproven, inexperienced QB. Brock has all the physical traits you’d want out of a QB, but we just don’t know if that will all pan out or not.
-UK has some obvious talent at receiver, but they’ve been incredibly inconsistent and inefficient. Barion and Dane have to live in the weight room this off-season so they can fight through physical play more effectively. I shouldn’t need to mention drops, as we all know both guys simply dropped way too many balls all year. They have a penchant to make special plays, but we need them both to become more consistent and make routine plays.
-UK’s offensive line is probably not going to be good in the run game based off the personnel we have right now. I think they’re okay in pass protection for the most part, but they’ve struggled to move people off the ball in recent years in the run game. The interior OL in particular has been a disappointment with Burton and Cox heading that group. This means that our offense next year is probably going to have to rely heavily on the unproven QB and inefficient receivers I mentioned above…could put us in a tough spot if things don’t pan out.
I like Chip, and I think UK has some decent depth at RB…but will we continue the trend of insanely high level RB play here that we’ve seen for years now? Or does UK finally take a small step back here?
Defense/Special Teams
-If you’re not questioning UK’s incredibly passive and “safe” tendencies on this side of the ball at this point then I’m not sure what to tell you. Opposing coaches and QBs have routinely commented on how our tendency to just give up yards through the air has allowed them to get in a rhythm and execute their offense more effectively. We tend to stop the run pretty well against teams not named Tennessee(because their scheme kills us) and Georgia(because their talent overwhelms us), but we so often allow teams the opportunity of getting a favorable down/distance with quick easy completions that it almost doesn’t matter. I’ve said it before, but anytime UK goes against a solid QB I’d expect us to struggle.
-I’m really concerned about UK’s secondary going into next year. Hairston is really good and Childress is fine in run support, but that’s all I feel good about. We probably need several players from the portal here before I feel comfortable with that position group. Our depth here is a huge concern as well.
-I still have questions on UK’s pass rush outside of Walker. The Gator Bowl probably gave us the best pass rushing game from our edge positions that we’ve had all year, but will that carry over or was it a one time thing? I said it before when the Wade twins transferred that Fearbry probably has better physical traits as a pass rusher than Keaton did, but will his body be ready to play outside of mostly pass rushing situations?
-UK simply has to find a way to be better at punter next year. I’m not trying to throw anyone under the bus, but we simply can’t be that bad again there next season. It absolutely killed us against Clemson in the bowl game.
-Does Raynor have any eligibility remaining? Does he return if so? I feel comfortable at kicker next year if he’s the guy, but if not then that’s another question mark going into the season.
Looking at the schedule I think there are 4 games you can look at and say we’ll have a really tough time winning. Georgia is simply on another level than we are in terms of talent, @Ole Miss has stacked its roster through the portal and we’ve struggled against them recently, @Tennessee flat out beats our defense with scheme every year and I’m not expecting that to change until I see it with my own eyes, and @Texas is another team that’s simply a lot more talented than us. From there it’s a question of how many eggs we lay, because historically we’re good for at least 1-2 a year under Stoops. Right now I think 6-6/7-5 is what I’m going with, another mediocre record which will kind of cement the fact that we’ve declined somewhat after winning 10 games a couple times recently.
Offense
-UK will be breaking in an unproven, inexperienced QB. Brock has all the physical traits you’d want out of a QB, but we just don’t know if that will all pan out or not.
-UK has some obvious talent at receiver, but they’ve been incredibly inconsistent and inefficient. Barion and Dane have to live in the weight room this off-season so they can fight through physical play more effectively. I shouldn’t need to mention drops, as we all know both guys simply dropped way too many balls all year. They have a penchant to make special plays, but we need them both to become more consistent and make routine plays.
-UK’s offensive line is probably not going to be good in the run game based off the personnel we have right now. I think they’re okay in pass protection for the most part, but they’ve struggled to move people off the ball in recent years in the run game. The interior OL in particular has been a disappointment with Burton and Cox heading that group. This means that our offense next year is probably going to have to rely heavily on the unproven QB and inefficient receivers I mentioned above…could put us in a tough spot if things don’t pan out.
I like Chip, and I think UK has some decent depth at RB…but will we continue the trend of insanely high level RB play here that we’ve seen for years now? Or does UK finally take a small step back here?
Defense/Special Teams
-If you’re not questioning UK’s incredibly passive and “safe” tendencies on this side of the ball at this point then I’m not sure what to tell you. Opposing coaches and QBs have routinely commented on how our tendency to just give up yards through the air has allowed them to get in a rhythm and execute their offense more effectively. We tend to stop the run pretty well against teams not named Tennessee(because their scheme kills us) and Georgia(because their talent overwhelms us), but we so often allow teams the opportunity of getting a favorable down/distance with quick easy completions that it almost doesn’t matter. I’ve said it before, but anytime UK goes against a solid QB I’d expect us to struggle.
-I’m really concerned about UK’s secondary going into next year. Hairston is really good and Childress is fine in run support, but that’s all I feel good about. We probably need several players from the portal here before I feel comfortable with that position group. Our depth here is a huge concern as well.
-I still have questions on UK’s pass rush outside of Walker. The Gator Bowl probably gave us the best pass rushing game from our edge positions that we’ve had all year, but will that carry over or was it a one time thing? I said it before when the Wade twins transferred that Fearbry probably has better physical traits as a pass rusher than Keaton did, but will his body be ready to play outside of mostly pass rushing situations?
-UK simply has to find a way to be better at punter next year. I’m not trying to throw anyone under the bus, but we simply can’t be that bad again there next season. It absolutely killed us against Clemson in the bowl game.
-Does Raynor have any eligibility remaining? Does he return if so? I feel comfortable at kicker next year if he’s the guy, but if not then that’s another question mark going into the season.
Looking at the schedule I think there are 4 games you can look at and say we’ll have a really tough time winning. Georgia is simply on another level than we are in terms of talent, @Ole Miss has stacked its roster through the portal and we’ve struggled against them recently, @Tennessee flat out beats our defense with scheme every year and I’m not expecting that to change until I see it with my own eyes, and @Texas is another team that’s simply a lot more talented than us. From there it’s a question of how many eggs we lay, because historically we’re good for at least 1-2 a year under Stoops. Right now I think 6-6/7-5 is what I’m going with, another mediocre record which will kind of cement the fact that we’ve declined somewhat after winning 10 games a couple times recently.
