Will the Kentucky offense be better, worse or about the same? 

BETTER 

QB position: Patrick Towles is a year older and has looked great thus far, it also helps that Redshirt FR Drew Barker is apparently pushing him as well.  New Offensive Coordinator Shannon Dawson has also taken a more vertical approach to his version of the Air Raid and this should benefit Towles this season. 

The QB targets: contrary to production, UK has actually lined up a tight end on the offense, this year they will have one that is of use.  True Freshman C.J. Conrad should be preparing for his senior prom; instead, he spent the spring wowing everyone.  Look for Conrad to be a dynamic playmaker this fall, heck anything will be a big improvement at that position.  

Coach Stoops has also said he fully expects the WR position to be a team strength this fall.  Garrett Johnson has taken a HUGE step forward and Redshirt FR Thaddeus Snodgrass looks primed to have a solid inaugural campaign as well. 6’5” SO Blake Bone also impressed this spring with his ability to come down with nearly everything thrown his way. 

Add those three to a healthy Ryan Timmons and the return of Jeff Badet and Alexander Montgomery and UK should have a strong rotation. 

The Thoroughbred:  Running back Stanley “Boom” Williams returns for a sophomore season a little bigger but just as explosive as last season.  Boom turned heads on a weekly basis last season as a true freshman and should be nothing less than one of the top backs in the SEC conference this season.  He will also have help in the form of Sophomore Mikel Horton and Junior JoJo Kemp.  

The Protectors: The UK Offensive Line looks to be improved as well.  They lost Darrian Miller to graduation and that is a big loss, but Stoops was able to redshirt several FR linemen last year that will provide tremendous depth and a larger pool of talent to work with this year. 

Summary: Kentucky will be better in nearly every aspect of the offense as well as deeper, the QB competition between Barker and Towles will benefit them both as competition breeds’ excellence… this becomes infectious, and will only benefit the team.  I expect the ‘Cats to have one of the better offenses in the SEC this season. 

 

Will the Kentucky defense be better worse or about the same? 

BETTER 

D-Line: The defensive line will be a strength with this team. Losing ZaDarius Smith will hurt, but ultimately they will be a better unit.  Melvin Lewis has put himself in a position to be a potential all-conference player this season.  Sophomore Matt Elam, who has shed some weight, should wreak havoc as well.  Add them to returners C.J. Johnson, and Reggie Meant and the Wildcats have a strong group.

The Second Layer: Josh Forrest had a great season last year with 110 tackles and has made a strong leap forward this spring.  Beside him will be Ryan Flannigan, he came on at the end of last year and continued the momentum this spring.  I could see him having a 2014 Forrest type year.  They also have two redshirt freshmen with a ton of talent that will see time in Nico Firios and Dorian Hendrix. 

The Defensive Backfield: This is where there are questions to answer, not so much in the middle but on the corners.  A.J. Stamps returns at safety and has NFL talent. Junior Blake McClain and Sophomore Kendall Randolph return to man the nickel position.  Both are highly talented and will be impact players.  Redshirt Freshmen Mike Edwards and Darius West will also contribute and bring a lot of hype with their abilities. 

The Corners will have a lot of experience but talent is lacking.  While starters Fred Tiller and Cody Quinn return, they are not necessarily a year better.  The Cats will have approximately 4 freshmen/RS freshmen vying for serious playing time and that is not a great thing. 

Summary: It is crazy to say that after losing an NFL first rounder in Bud Dupree and NFL draft pick ZaDarius Smith the ‘Cats will actually be better, but they will.  They will NOT replace Dupree as an individual player, but Kentucky is much deeper on defense and they should have 5-6 players on the field at all times that are SEC quality vs. 2-3 the last few years. 

 

You buying or selling this team in 2015? (How many games they winning this year?) 

BUY, BUY, BUY! 

We are in year three of the Mark Stoops era and this is the year everyone pointed to as the year we would see the leap.  Stoops has three full recruiting classes on campus and his culture is now fully ingrained.  Neal Brown moving on will be of minimal effect as new OC Shannon Dawson has stepped right in with the same philosophies and by all accounts, improved upon the past efforts. 

Kentucky has playmakers around QB Patrick Towles and nearly all of them now have SEC experience and ability.  They have also bulked up the depth to a level that the 2^nd teamers can come in and see little drop-off.  

The Kentucky schedule is also as favorable as we have seen in years. The ‘Cats have 8 home games slated in the newly renovated Commonwealth Stadium.  They have three cupcakes that should be automatic wins, combine that with ULL at home, a Florida team in deep transition at home, Missouri at home, and not quite there yet Tennessee at home and this team has a real opportunity this year to make some noise. 

SHOULD Win:

Louisiana-Lafayette

Eastern Kentucky

Charlotte

@ Vanderbilt

Better than average chance to Win:

Louisville

@ South Carolina

Missouri

Florida

Could Win with some breaks:

@ Miss State

Tennessee

Chalk up an L:

@ Georgia

Auburn

Summary: I like Kentucky to win 7 and go bowling this season; I think 6 wins is the floor and would be slightly disappointing.  Kentucky could win 8 with some breaks but who are we kidding, Kentucky Football does not get breaks, Ha!

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Keith Garrett of A Sea of Blue provided the information for our Kentucky football 2015 spring wrap up.  For more Kentucky football information, commentary and analysis, you can follow Keith on Twitter @_KeithGarrett. 

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