Will UK Be A Young Team This Year.

[C1180]

Yes and no. They will be young on offense where they start 8 underclassmen and 3 upper classmen and have 7 underclass men and 4 upperclassmen as backups.

On defense however it is a different story because they start 12 upper classmen and 12 is listed because UK list the Nickel Back as a starter in their two deep. They however list 8 underclassmen and 4 upperclassmen as backups.

There you have they are young on offense and veteran on defense.

These numbers were taken off the post spring chart and could change after fall practice.

 

[Rhavicc]

Encouraging that we return so many players off of what should already be a very good offense. Defensively, I'm pleased with where the depth is going, and the physical growth of all of our players. It's nice that so many redshirt players are in the two deep. They should see significant playing time, which will be big for next season. I think there's a lot to be excited about.

 

[Levibooty]

I hoping for vast improvement on ST's this year.

 

[BlueRaider22]

Personally, I also look at the coaching staff. Stoops' first recruiting class is just becoming Juniors this yr. So, we're sorta young in that respect.

(It's obviously not the only way I measure a team's age)

 

[wildcatbd21]

Young and Hungry. You know just missing a bowl game last year put a sour taste in their mouths. I am sure they have been busting it all off season to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Looking at the coaching staff is a great view BlueRaider. These coaches came to UK from programs that are used to winning. The past season have had the same effect on them. The whole program is ready to get to being a consistent winner.

 

[C1180]

I would also like to add to my post that 4 of the senior defensive players were Stoops JUCO recruits.

Nine of the offensive starters were Stoops recruits and six of the defensive starters were Stoops recruits Eleven of the offensive back ups are Stoops recruits and nine of the defensive backups are Stoops recruits. This is off the post spring depth chart and could change this fall.

 

[BlueRaider22]

Young and Hungry. You know just missing a bowl game last year put a sour taste in their mouths. I am sure they have been busting it all off season to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Looking at the coaching staff is a great view BlueRaider. These coaches came to UK from programs that are used to winning. The past season have had the same effect on them. The whole program is ready to get to being a consistent winner.

It's also the fit. Stoops obviously has a different coaching scheme, philosophy, etc, than Joker did. So, some of the players that Stoops inherited just didn't fit what Stoops wanted to do. Some of these left over players are now seniors which makes the team seem older than it really is.

 

[wildcatbd21]

Love reading your posts BlueRaider. Always make great points. The puzzle that is UK football is getting more full with Stoops' pieces. Excited to see the team when it is all Stoops players.

 

[CATFANFOLIFE87]

Maybe it was deeeeefense that posted this stat (I can't rememeber) but someone posted that we actually have the 3rd most experienced team in the SEC based on starts and minutes played. So while we're young a lot of these guys started playing young and have a lot of experience under their belts. Believe it was pulled out of Phil Steele's print

 

[CatDaddy4daWin]

Also a good indication that our defense could take a step forward this year with having so much experience back. At least, that is my hope!

 

[Poetax]

Maybe it was deeeeefense that posted this stat (I can't rememeber) but someone posted that we actually have the 3rd most experienced team in the SEC based on starts and minutes played. So while we're young a lot of these guys started playing young and have a lot of experience under their belts. Believe it was pulled out of Phil Steele's print

The problem is we still need experienced quality depth on the roster. When that comes, we will actually be getting where we all want to be.

 

[CATFANFOLIFE87]

The problem is we still need experienced quality depth on the roster. When that comes, we will actually be getting where we all want to be.

I agree but it is eye opening that we could be the 3rd most experienced team. We are in a unique position like Mizzou because the powers in the SEC deal with excessive turnover every season with so many sophomores declaring early nowadays. Redshirting so much of our class every season will soon give us a similar advantage that Pinkel has used to climb the East

 

[TuckyFan]

Young guys may very well challenge our veterans on defense. And in any case, the 2nd and 3rd slots at a given position are definitely young in most cases. So I don't know if that defensive experience will pay out the way you may expect on face value. I hope the old guys hold it down and we have experience on the field that have managed to hold of some very talented young players. Stoops did say the defense looks better than his previous years at UK. Now is the time to drink the kool-aid, so I'm taking it in gulps.

 

[Bigblueforever]

Also a good indication that our defense could take a step forward this year with having so much experience back. At least, that is my hope!

I hope so Defense wins games.

 

[Blouman]

We're green. So many of our Jrs. and sophs never redshirted and at most SEC schools would be sophs and rs freshmen. Sr. jucos only in their second season here.