True freshmen that are likely to play next year
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GAA, Conrad, Daniel, Walker, Westry, Baity and King for sure. King is a Jeff Demps clone IMO, gotta have him on the field as a returner and packages. It'd be great if we could redshirt all of our WRs to help space them out more but I would say Greenwood and Richardson will play. Redshirt all lineman save GAA and Daniel.
You might have missed some, always some surprises, but a pretty good summary.
I think all the wrs redshirt unless someone gets injured. Maybe Greenwood plays.
Jeff Demps has, or had when he was at UF, world class Olympic-type speed. Don't think King is that level.
That is sometimes true, but not always. If a true freshman wins a backup position on the 2-deep at quarterback or on the offensive line, sometimes it might still be best to redshirt. Backups at those positions often sit all year. We have a lot of disagreement in our fan base about redshirting, because we haven't had a deep enough roster to allow extensive redshirting for a long time. But redshirting is a sign of a healthy program, and our program is getting stronger. If you sign a difference maker at a position where freshmen can make the adjustment, like Boom or Conrad, then it's a no-brainer. There isn't much question that we will need King and the receivers to play this year. But when it comes to quarterbacks and linemen, they should almost always redshirt unless they win a starting job. Every year, someone suggests this freshman or that freshman ought to play, because they won't be in Lexington for 4 years anyway. But that invariably turns out to be wrong. It was wrong when it was said about Aaron Boyd, Morgan Newton, Darrian Miller. Soon, it will be obvious that it was wrong with Jason Hatcher and Matt Elam too. This isn't basketball, and almost all of our players need a full college career. Adding a redshirt just makes them better players, and strengthens the program in the long run.
I would not compare Demps and King. Demps was 1 of the fastest SEC players I ever saw, but he was tiny and had no physical strength. Boom is a better comparison. King is almost exactly the same height and weight as Boom was when he signed with us.
Demps set the high school record for the 100 meters in 2008, and it lasted until 2013 when an Oriental kid tied it in 10.01 and then Bromell bested it, but only by .02 seconds, in 9.99, still the record I think. Watch how fast the winning times are in Kentucky and compare, but even to be compared to Demps is a great compliment, he still might be the fastest player on UK's team next year from all the reports.
Randall Cobb is a great example to support your point. Stevie Johnson too. We have a couple wide receivers coming in this next class who may be good examples.
LOL, yeah comparing anyone to Demps where speed is concerned is kind of silly, he was a 10.0 100 meter guy. I don't know what King runs, don't know if he runs track or not but he wasn't at state track meet this year. Fastest guy at that meet ran a 10.26, an all time Georgia HS record, doesn't play football but is going to Florida on a track scholarship, had the fastest time in US this year for a HS kid at 10.22. King isn't in that league, he is pretty quick and fast though, not sure if he is faster than Boom or not. But he is taller and much leaner than Boom was last season, but not so much leaner than Boom was in HS. I can't believe how much thicker Boom got after he finished his HS career.
Yeah, it seems there really is something to all that bragging on our strength and conditioning program.
I was really impressed with Kengara Daniels Dad's description of what they did with him in one semester, tore him down to about 220# IIRC and then rebuilt him back up to 250# with a lot less body fat.
I was really impressed with Kengara Daniels Dad's description of what they did with him in one semester, tore him down to about 220# IIRC and then rebuilt him back up to 250# with a lot less body fat.
Several have mentioned Kengera Daniel will play. I just don't see it. He played DE in the spring and we only have one DE position. Guys that are ahead of him are Huguenin, Dubose and probably Miggins. They could also slide Middleton over there. The kid needs to red shirt IMHO.
im not sure how fast king is but he didn't get caught from behind in tape. if he got a step through a whole, he was gone. i think at worst, he's probably as fast as timmons. i like that he could be a slot receiver as well. he's got that wiggle that would be hard to tackle if you put a safety or lb'er on him.
i believe the staff told him to work on the jack position this summer and to plan on playing. 2 olb'er spots and hatch, ware, johnson, walker, and blaylock.... you could see where they think they might need a extra guy especially if we get an injury. walker is a little undersized and blaylock hasn't played a lot in 4 years so if daniel gets the playbook and coverages down he's probably more physically ready then those others.
King is not a slot receiver. He is a running back all the way. He might play a lot this year, but that probably depends on Boom's durability and the length of Kemp's leash in Dawson's system.
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