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Spring Game Comments

Agree.....I thought he looked pretty bad really; just not accurate at all.

I thought Hoak looked great, most accurate/poised UK QB I've seen seen since Andre Woodson.
I agree hoak looked really good once in rythm. Terry going to be really good. Wayyyy ahead of Smitty at same points in career.
 
Rose, Boogie, Paschal looked good

Bowden looked human

Hughes surprised.

Z Johnson looks like a tough kid. Hoak had some good moments.
 
Abadi Fitzgerald is a physical specimen at DT. When I saw that 94 I said who is that? Could be a great one down the road.
 
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- WR's still need to find a way to make something happen downfield. Both Wilson and Hoak have thrown good balls downfield that haven't been caught.
- Wislon at a disadvantage as a few of his runs have been called down when he likely could have pulled away.
- The IT Wilson threw isn't on him. Hit TE in middle of hands. He bobbled it.

Defense looks decent so far but our biggest issue, at least in this small sample size, is our lack of down-field ability from the WRs. Good news is that Rose looks more than capable as a second RB. Also, Wilson is fast.


Good observations, IMO. Wilson wouldn't have been tackled on several of those stops, and he did look very fast on that one run-------maybe not as fast as Rose but not sure who else is, lol. And Rose didn't just look fast, good cuts.

UK baseball just defeated Georgia after trailing 4-1 most of the game, tied it top of ninth 4-4, won in the 11th 6-4. But the softball team lost to A&M, 9-2 unless they scored last at bat.
 
Kind of what I saw before and expected, a big back but VERY fast (explosive) when he sees an opening. Not sure what has kept him down for so long, but very encouraging.

We have our #2 back from last year back.
 
I know, I know....exhibition.

Our defense which is loaded with returnees and experience has give up 36 points to a team with three new quarterbacks, no tight ends with any game experience and AJ Rose impersonating an all SEC running back.

Ah, me.....
To be fair about the points given up, they did play nearly an entire game against the offense. 48 minute time of possession that isn’t to awful bad. The offense also got points when the get two first downs on a series, and then one point for every other offensive first down on that drive.

With format hard to judge how defense played without having their offense on the field eating time.

To the poster above stating at first glance these qbs don’t seem to have what SJ had, Last years spring game Hoak played circles around ole smitty. The touch of a q.v. causes him to be down cost TD Terry six when touched at the two. His momentum carries him over there, also the big run in first half could of been even bigger if dull contact.

Hard to take anything away from spring game, esp with players who did not play. baity, jones, Conrad, Baker, king ect.
 
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-Boogie Watson would see a ton of playing time if we didn't have so many talented guys in front of him. The dude is going to be great for us in the future

-AJ Rose showed the explosion that our running game kind of lacked last year. His speed and quickness will surely help us a lot next season

-Interior offensive line will likely continue to be a strength going into this year like it was towards the end of last year. Jackson/Bunchy/Stenberg are a pretty good 3 to have on the inside

-Tackle play still seems a bit suspect to me in pass blocking situations

-Still need to find some receivers to make explosive plays down the field. As it stands teams are probably going to man up our guys on the outside and sell out to stop Benny. Hopefully Baker's return does something to fix that

-I like Hoak over Wilson right now, but it's hard to judge Wilson properly in a scrimmage since his scrambling is somewhat limited due to touch tackling QBs. However, it did look like Hoak was the more accurate of the two

-I thought our DBs looked pretty good in coverage most of the night, but considering WR is a question mark at the moment I'm not sure how much we can really draw from that. Definitely not a bad thing, though

-Moving Paschal down to the DL is a great move IMO, he should really make an impact for us this season
 
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Game looked a little better than last year there is more talent on the team but there is still stuff to get cleaned up.We need wide outs and tight ends healthy.
 
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With Benny, Rose, and King, I think we are set at RB this year, anyone else can redshirt.

One of the 2 freshmen are likely to be in the rotation, IMO. I think King is a situational back, regardless of who is in the two deep. But, it all depends on the health of Snell and Rose. And, whether Smoke and/or Rodriguez shine in the fall.
 
I was very impressed by Hoak’s TD where he moved the LB with his body language then anticipated the throw behind him. That’s an impressive move to make as an underclassman with no playing experience.....even if it was just a Spring game. He has a quick release and was pretty accurate. He was 2 drops from having an additional 80 yds and a TD.

Bouvier ran some crisp routes and caught the ball well. I’d like to see some play time....even if it’s garbage time. He’s earned it.

Epps made some good plays that I hope translate to the regular season.
 
I liked this as I value your observations... Is there an alternative?

Making comments live is probably not the best idea. Watched the video again and he is indeed speed challenged which causes him to get out leveraged. Straight ahead runs and reading line and back movements he did very well. Block destruction A+ too.

Though he is not a hash to hash player it will limit what Coverages can be used in secondary, (nothing that would pass a crosser to him going field side) he is physical and appears to have fast reactions to what is happening in front of him.

He will be very essential in improved run defense.
 
The DL is still a problem especially vs the run. OL blocking was vanilla, one on one stuff, they opened holes all night. On Rose's 27 yd TD run Bunchy plowed Bohanna and Jackson influenced Kash out of the play. Too easy. Credit to the OL.

Wilson's speed is going to be hard to keep off the field. Hoak sometimes short arms his throws. Really need WRs to step up. Hoping QBs/WRs stay on campus this summer working on routes/throws.
 
No more excuses for Stoops. His defense better be much improved this coming season or he will deserve every single criticism he will get. This program will not go any further than mediocrity until the defense can stop the run on a consistent basis.

QB wise, I still do not trust KY’s tackles. That is why Wilson’s athletic abilities will likely win the job. However, both will play early on until that is realized.
 
From a great day weather wise to watch Blue-White:
Positive:
- I think our DL is going to be a good bit better. Paschal holds up better. Even Calvin Taylor looks to be turning a corner (He gave big George some problems). And I hope Middleton adding back weight will help him turn a corner.
- Rose was by far the player of the game...and we need him to take the back up RB role
- Stenberg, Bunchy are huge and impressive. I think our interior OL will be really good.
- I am glad EJ Fields is still on team. He's a big kid and he was whopping up on 2nd string DE/SLB the entire game....many of Rose's burst came right off his holes created.

Meh:
- I am not down on QBs...but nothing made me believe we'll be anything but erratic at that spot at least early on. Gunner missed all his deep shots and really was only hitting 5-10 yard stuff over middle vs. zones. Wilson is like a wild colt back there...he'll hit some nice plays (back shoulder throw over middle, then scramble to side and hit a kid with deep shot in sideline route)...then he misses 5 yard outs by throwing it in dirt.
- We need some playmakers at WR bad. This group is so easy to cover and can't get open.
- We all know replacing Austin on FG will be hard. But the punter we lost may be a bigger hole...Grant McGinnis on punting was back to his 35 yard punts that never got end over end.

All in all...we need a Sr laden defense with 10 of 11 starters back to lead this year. I hope we go with WIlson's feet and use his feet a ton on read option along with Benny/Rose..then play off of that to tons of play action to CJ/Bowden. We'll be boring but may have to have another year of meager passing but huge running games to win. I don't see a team that can fling it around the field to move the ball.
 
From a great day weather wise to watch Blue-White:
Positive:
- I think our DL is going to be a good bit better. Paschal holds up better. Even Calvin Taylor looks to be turning a corner (He gave big George some problems). And I hope Middleton adding back weight will help him turn a corner.
- Rose was by far the player of the game...and we need him to take the back up RB role
- Stenberg, Bunchy are huge and impressive. I think our interior OL will be really good.
- I am glad EJ Fields is still on team. He's a big kid and he was whopping up on 2nd string DE/SLB the entire game....many of Rose's burst came right off his holes created.

Meh:
- I am not down on QBs...but nothing made me believe we'll be anything but erratic at that spot at least early on. Gunner missed all his deep shots and really was only hitting 5-10 yard stuff over middle vs. zones. Wilson is like a wild colt back there...he'll hit some nice plays (back shoulder throw over middle, then scramble to side and hit a kid with deep shot in sideline route)...then he misses 5 yard outs by throwing it in dirt.
- We need some playmakers at WR bad. This group is so easy to cover and can't get open.
- We all know replacing Austin on FG will be hard. But the punter we lost may be a bigger hole...Grant McGinnis on punting was back to his 35 yard punts that never got end over end.

All in all...we need a Sr laden defense with 10 of 11 starters back to lead this year. I hope we go with WIlson's feet and use his feet a ton on read option along with Benny/Rose..then play off of that to tons of play action to CJ/Bowden. We'll be boring but may have to have another year of meager passing but huge running games to win. I don't see a team that can fling it around the field to move the ball.
Do you mean EJ Price?
 
From a great day weather wise to watch Blue-White:
Positive:
- I think our DL is going to be a good bit better. Paschal holds up better. Even Calvin Taylor looks to be turning a corner (He gave big George some problems). And I hope Middleton adding back weight will help him turn a corner.
- Rose was by far the player of the game...and we need him to take the back up RB role
- Stenberg, Bunchy are huge and impressive. I think our interior OL will be really good.
- I am glad EJ Fields is still on team. He's a big kid and he was whopping up on 2nd string DE/SLB the entire game....many of Rose's burst came right off his holes created.

Meh:
- I am not down on QBs...but nothing made me believe we'll be anything but erratic at that spot at least early on. Gunner missed all his deep shots and really was only hitting 5-10 yard stuff over middle vs. zones. Wilson is like a wild colt back there...he'll hit some nice plays (back shoulder throw over middle, then scramble to side and hit a kid with deep shot in sideline route)...then he misses 5 yard outs by throwing it in dirt.
- We need some playmakers at WR bad. This group is so easy to cover and can't get open.
- We all know replacing Austin on FG will be hard. But the punter we lost may be a bigger hole...Grant McGinnis on punting was back to his 35 yard punts that never got end over end.

All in all...we need a Sr laden defense with 10 of 11 starters back to lead this year. I hope we go with WIlson's feet and use his feet a ton on read option along with Benny/Rose..then play off of that to tons of play action to CJ/Bowden. We'll be boring but may have to have another year of meager passing but huge running games to win. I don't see a team that can fling it around the field to move the ball.
Max Duffy, the Fr P, looked darn impressive and I expect him to start in the fall.
 
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It was an enjoyable night of football and spring fever always gets me excited for a new season. Lots of good positives and some realities. I am thankful Wilson was an early entry because this spring and summer workouts will go a long way in getting him ready for a tough SEC schedule. His feet and quickness will bail us out of trouble but he needs a lot of work in the passing game. Hauk looked a little smoother to me and it may be because he has been around a few years and knows the system a little better. Plus he has the ability to be a good quarterback.

One reality is we are a poor passing / receiving team for SEC standards. Our receivers still drop the ball and I don't know if any are talented enough to star in our league. I sure hope so but it is yet to be proven.

I am excited and anxious to see what we can do with a little rougher schedule this season. Nothing like football. There is no equal in sports.
 
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King isn’t going to stay the number 2 back if he doesn’t learn how to break a tackle or avoid defenders altogether. He goes down way to easy.

King might be our best back catching the ball out of the backfield and is very good at picking up the blitz. He also has that quick burst. To me that all adds up to him being an ideal 3rd down back. So if I were call the shots I would use Rose to Spell Snell and then come with King on possession downs.
 
King might be our best back catching the ball out of the backfield and is very good at picking up the blitz. He also has that quick burst. To me that all adds up to him being an ideal 3rd down back. So if I were call the shots I would use Rose to Spell Snell and then come with King on possession downs.


Agreed. I don’t get where all the dislike for King comes from. No one has ever claimed he was a #1 back. He’s a change of pace, 3rd down back. And he’s fairly good at it. And while not having a clear back up option to Snell. Hopefully Rose is that guy and reduces some of Snell’s carries this yr.
 
It was an enjoyable night of football and spring fever always gets me excited for a new season. Lots of good positives and some realities. I am thankful Wilson was an early entry because this spring and summer workouts will go a long way in getting him ready for a tough SEC schedule. His feet and quickness will bail us out of trouble but he needs a lot of work in the passing game. Hauk looked a little smoother to me and it may be because he has been around a few years and knows the system a little better. Plus he has the ability to be a good quarterback.

One reality is we are a poor passing / receiving team for SEC standards. Our receivers still drop the ball and I don't know if any are talented enough to star in our league. I sure hope so but it is yet to be proven.

I am excited and anxious to see what we can do with a little rougher schedule this season. Nothing like football. There is no equal in sports.
I've made comments that I'm greatly concerned re WRs, no top end speed has emerged although the claim is Epps has it. But most of the drops in the BW game were walk-ons who won't be playing anyway.
 
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I liked Wilson's poise and the running game in general. Idk if the pass defense is to be congratulated or just benefitted from several inaccurate throws. Although they were aggressive and had a couple nice hits. I'm still a fan of Gran's offense especially as compared to what we had before with Dawson. UC hasn't been the same without him.
 
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Agreed. I don’t get where all the dislike for King comes from. No one has ever claimed he was a #1 back. He’s a change of pace, 3rd down back. And he’s fairly good at it. And while not having a clear back up option to Snell. Hopefully Rose is that guy and reduces some of Snell’s carries this yr.
To me. King was a huge downgrade from Boom as a compliment to Benny and was one reason we piled up huge carries on Benny

King just can’t break any tackles hardly ever and isn’t elite speed/cut back skills to be a backup Rb. We could use an upgrade at backup Rb and need a guy to step forward when Benny leaves next year
 
To me. King was a huge downgrade from Boom as a compliment to Benny and was one reason we piled up huge carries on Benny

King just can’t break any tackles hardly ever and isn’t elite speed/cut back skills to be a backup Rb. We could use an upgrade at backup Rb and need a guy to step forward when Benny leaves next year

I agree, and it's why I was so excited to see the other young RB (Koback) that transferred b/c he appeared to have elite speed in HS and was also bigger than King.
 
I've made comments that I'm greatly concerned re WRs, no top end speed has emerged although the claim is Epps has it. But most of the drops in the BW game were walk-ons who won't be playing anyway.
I am not greatly concerned. Dorian a big piece of what we do. CJ Conrad another big piece. I thought Zyaire looked extremely fast. Not sure if he gets in rotation but he definitely gives you some speed.
 
I am not greatly concerned. Dorian a big piece of what we do. CJ Conrad another big piece. I thought Zyaire looked extremely fast. Not sure if he gets in rotation but he definitely gives you some speed.
Yes but even he dropped a sure TD on a long pass. We can't keep having these drops esp when we don't have much speed to keep the D on their toes.
 
Wilson has a rocket arm and went for some big passes with several walk-on’s at WR.

He has great speed which is needed for us to move ball in sec.

He will be fine. Accuracy will improve over the first few games.

His speed will be the difference maker.
 
Yes but even he dropped a sure TD on a long pass. We can't keep having these drops esp when we don't have much speed to keep the D on their toes.
I think we have enough speed. Epps and Zyaire plus Baker. Plus guys gotta make contested catches down field. Very rarely are you going to run wide open most long gains are contested plays.
 
To me. King was a huge downgrade from Boom as a compliment to Benny and was one reason we piled up huge carries on Benny

King just can’t break any tackles hardly ever and isn’t elite speed/cut back skills to be a backup Rb. We could use an upgrade at backup Rb and need a guy to step forward when Benny leaves next year


We’re you expecting King to replace Boom? Anyone that led you to believe that was severely mistaken. The hope was that someone like Rose would be the 2nd back but he wasn’t ready. The only option we had to spell Snell in pass protection, playbook knowledge, etc, was King. And he did quite well for a guy that’s his stature. In fact he was surprisingly good at pass protection. He also ran at 4.6 yds/carry which isn’t world beating but hardly poor.

Ideally Rose will step up. I would love it if we see Snell/Rose in combination like we saw Michel/Chubb. But until someone steps up King will have to play.
 
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When Boom left there was a void for Rb to partner with Benny point blank. Do you think King was a good backup SEC level rb for a team that runs as much as UK? I personally wasn’t impressed with King and even JoJo give us more at RB the year before. So our Rb group took a step back last year on the whole and it showed in our stats

The extremely low carries King got was a testament that he simply wasn’t a guy Gran could depend upon and most of his stats were not in Sec teams

I just think UK needs a threat on field offensively as much as possible and King just wasn’t the guy which is why we need Rose to fill that void and last night left us feeling there is a shot we can rest Benny better than we did last year
 
When Boom left there was a void for Rb to partner with Benny point blank. Do you think King was a good backup SEC level rb for a team that runs as much as UK? I personally wasn’t impressed with King and even JoJo give us more at RB the year before. So our Rb group took a step back last year on the whole and it showed in our stats

The extremely low carries King got was a testament that he simply wasn’t a guy Gran could depend upon and most of his stats were not in Sec teams

I just think UK needs a threat on field offensively as much as possible and King just wasn’t the guy which is why we need Rose to fill that void and last night left us feeling there is a shot we can rest Benny better than we did last year


I guess that’s where the problem lies. You saw last yr as King was viewed as Snell’s back-up. He wasn’t. He was the complimentary back. You’re right that King is not a back-up and shouldnt he viewed as such. King is a complimentary 3rd down change pace back. He wast Snell’s back up last yr, Rose was supposed to be. And if there was no Snell, King would get a small amount of carries to Rose who would be the headliner.
 
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Kind of OT, but currently watching a replay of the game and it needs to be said how great of an interview Gran is. Listening to him break down plays as they happen is really insightful
 
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I'm not as concerned with the receivers because I believe NOW we have a true receivers coach....but it takes a little time to erase bad habits.
Tackle....this is one of those positions terribly important and enormously hard to fill. Both offense and defense. Not sure we got it solid. The center of the line definitely looks solid.
I hope AJ isn't a practice kid, but also shows up in the real games.
Unfortunately, I am NOT sold on our defensive coordinator and wish we had spent some big dollars to bring an experienced DC in. I am ashamed to say it, but at this point Grantham would be an upgrade.
Still concerned with this defense. Secondary HAS to live up to the hype the coaches gave them and line has absolutely got to put it together.
 
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I guess that’s where the problem lies. You saw last yr as King was viewed as Snell’s back-up. He wasn’t. He was the complimentary back. You’re right that King is not a back-up and shouldnt he viewed as such. King is a complimentary 3rd down change pace back. He wast Snell’s back up last yr, Rose was supposed to be. And if there was no Snell, King would get a small amount of carries to Rose who would be the headliner.
But what I saw was not King subbing in on third down for Benny but we’d try rotating him full series to give Benny a rest which didn’t work out so well.

Regardless It is a tall order for Benny to run such a high percentage of snaps that he did last year and we’d probably be better if we can find a better rb rotation that we had two years ago is all I’m saying. Rose may give us a better rb partner them King IMO
 
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