Ramon Jefferson
- Thread starter Deeeefense
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A grown man's body, can see why he is hard to tackle.
He doesn't need contact. He's already had 3+ years of it at this level
If Ramon is totally healed we will be loaded at RB. If I 'm not mistaken he was rated the top RB at FCS level. He also has great hands receiving out of the backfield, which will fit Coen's plan to a tee. It will also help Wilcox to watch and learn getting used to the college level.
I think he was a grad transfer so that would make him at least 23 or so.
There was a story this season about a player in his—what—eighth season, who had been given repeated exemptions by the NCAA for injuries, and the extra Covid year.
A 27 year old is not impossible!
7th year of eligibility. Must be 25
Makes him mature. A leader.
Very happy for Ramon. Very happy for Coen. Will be even happier if the Oline gets fixed.
I think it's an Oregon TE that was cleared for his EIGHT season.
To paraphrase Vince Marrow, he's a groan-ass man!
Guy at Oregon was granted his 9th year of eligibility.
I am making a couple of assumptions about Jefferson. I cannot see Jefferson practicing this spring. He will need longer than that to rehab from ACL surgery. That means he will start out well behind McClain, Davis, and Wright in August since Coen is installing his offense this spring. Since cutting laterally is the last thing to return after ACL surgery, this is not trivial. I assume Jefferson has to take playing time from Davis since they are similar backs. McClain's game is not as much like the others. We might see McClain on the receiving end of lots of passes, and he is suited for cutbacks and other running plays that are not designed to go up the gut of the defense. Coen has a lot of chess pieces on the board.
I am not going to say UK will be loaded at RB....I think last year showed me every team thinks they have great potential at RB...and UK RB room of guys like Donut, Lavell Wright, Smoke, etc...don't have as much potential as fans believe.
- Ray Davis is a solid RB....but he's a lesser version of CROd...no way to argue otherwise
- WIlcox is the key....if he's like a Boom Williams out of the gate....we're set. If he's not so much, we're not much of a threat in backfield
- McClain to me.....never want to see him with more than 5-7 carries a game. Not even a good backup RB...more of a third down back.
- Lavell Wright....major disappointment last year. I still like his size at RB....but man he needs to see it and burst much more explosive than he showed. Hopefully it's coaching and need to just react faster to play faster....but he looked slower and dind't run thru many tackles
I wasn't high on McClain till this past year.
He put a lot of work in the weightroom and is a pretty stout runner now.
I can see him having a Jojo Kemp type impact.
Will remind all that Davis was a thousand yard rusher in '22, one of only 4 in the SEC. If Jefferson is healthy and with the addition of Wilcox I'd think McClain's touches will be very limited. Still have hope for Wright, think most of his problems in '22 were lingering injuries. If healthy he gives UK an inside power threat.
I agree with your assessment, but notice I said, " totally healed ". I have watched most of Ramon unavailable film from his previous school, Sam Houston, and his cutting ability is way above average and he's difficult to tackle. Every player recovers differently from injury, even knees. If he can be healthy by the start of the main thurst of the SEC it'll be a tremendous advantage. He should by that time be comfortable in the offense that Coens installed. Remember he's a Vandy grad so he's no dummy. The more I watched his film the more I was impressed with his vision and abilities to make people miss. Sam Houston beat South Dakota State for the national championship so he's played against quality FCS opponents.
Wilcox will definitely learn, but I also think he will earn some playing time as well. Can't wait to see what these RBs bring to the table this season.
I do not see McClain's touches getting limited for the reasons you mentioned.
They might be limited if Coen goes 60:40 pass:run, but that would limit touches for several running backs. For some reason, McClain is unpopular here. He is not Benny Snell, but he is a good player.
I never said McClain wasn't a good player. I pointed out that Davis was one of only 4 SEC RBs to rush for 1000+ yards so he's proven. IF Wilcox is as advertised and IF Jefferson is healthy those guys will be getting touches. There's only one football so touches for those 3 will have to come at the expense of somebody. McClain is the likely pick to come up short IF others produce.
The differences of the RB's are obvious. Jefferson Davis are kind of similar, lower center of gravity, their cutting and strength are above the others. Haven't seen Wilcox but he is suppose to be able to cut on a dime like them and can run with some power but maybe a little more breakaway speed. McClain and Wright to me are similar, more straight away types that run with some authority. So it would seem till we actually see them this fall that Jefferson Davis and Wilcox are more explosive type runners.
Our Oline did not exactly help our Rbacks last year. I have no doubt McClain is an important contributor. McClain had offers from Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, and Notre Dame for a reason, and I respect his game because he does everything well. Wright has gotten in the dog house for fumbling and poor pass blocking, but those are correctable issues for a young back. Davis and Jefferson appear similar but a healthy Davis will be at spring practice. That matters. Jefferson is overcoming an injury. Wilcox had a monster season at South Paulding. I do not know for sure whether he enrolled at Kentucky last month but I think he probably did. If he can pass block, he's going to play because he is tough as nails and makes tacklers miss. Wilcox is a high energy back with burst.
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McClain may be a 3rd down or specialty back on passing downs but that position is needed like dbs for nickel and dime packages and 2 TE sets He is not a number 1 back but subs that add things like he does are valuable. Need at least 3 rbs for a season and he is at least one of them. Had he been a bigger or feature back slotted to start, UK may not have gotten the guys they did so it worker out having him.
RB depth chart is decided in fall camp. Jefferson will be on site and in meeting rooms. If he has recovered fully in fall, he will be in the mix. Spring will be a good time for the others to improve and make impressions. But, fall camp decides the depth chart.
Jefferson a Vandy grad? Davis is the Vandy grad, isn't that right?
Yes, Jefferson graduated from Sam Houston St while Jefferson Davis attended West Point.
Someone could be in their 30s. I saw a movie about it, so it has to be true.
The depth chart is set in the spring, but gets updated in the fall. I think we are saying more or less the same thing. I think the spring is very important for the OL and DL depth chart, but August practice might be more important at times for the non-QB offensive skill positions including RB.
In this case, getting Ramon Jefferson back in August could be impactful depending on how his offseason recovery goes. These days, most athletes recover in less than a year from ACL surgery. But it is still variable.
RB depth is no longer a question, but other questions remain in the room. We don't know how quickly Wilcox will learn the offense or how well Davis will fit. Jefferson's recovery is just another variable. I feel confident our RBs will be effective. But at the same time, it is a crap shoot to guess how the carries will get distributed. Seems very interesting at this point.
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Crod ran behind that same line and still almost had a thousand yards in what eight games ?
Chris Rodriguez was a great player for us. His performance is a big feather in his cap, and it will get him drafted. But Rodriguez is gone now. Our OL has to get better. This is imperative. Anyone who has any doubts at all about this must understand that UK QBs were sacked 46 times in 2022. If Devin Leary gets sacked 46 times, or anywhere close to that number, look for UK's other QBs to see the field a lot. And although Rodriguez was outstanding, watching game film showed that first contact by opposing defenses was often happening in our backfield or at the line of scrimmage. Rodriguez often didn't go down on first contact, but that is what made him great. Our OL must improve, and I think the addition of Marques Cox will help a lot as long as he stays healthy. It better.
That is not likely, actually. McClain was our second leading rusher last year. McClain will play. Wilcox has never been in a collegiate game before. The toughest path is Jefferson's because he had surgery. All of them should get their chances, but McClain and Davis should get most of the carries in September.
BYU with their 2 year mission exemption and a RS has had several 25 year olds.
Crod is probably the best back to ever play at UK. He got what he did this year in spite of the OL issues. Chris is just hard to tackle.
RB room will be the most watched room. I think we have potential. But it will be up to the fellas putting on the funny hats.
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