After a second consecutive 5-7 season, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops tinkered his coaching staff in the offseason. The most notable move was the departure of Shannon Dawson and the hiring of Eddie Gran and Darin Hinshaw as co-offensive coordinators.

Gran and Hinshaw ran a spread offense at Cincinnati, and the Bearcats led the American Athletic Conference in passing yards per game (359.9) and total offense in 2015. Gran will call the plays, as he did in Cincinnati, and work with the running backs while Hinshaw will coach the quarterbacks.

The two new coaches will be charged with producing a few more big plays in the passing game. While the system will be similar to the Air Raid style favored by Dawson and his predecessor, Neal Brown, Stoops hopes the results will be a better in 2016.

Last fall, the Wildcats struggled to throw touchdown passes while serving up far too many interceptions. Drew Barker returns at quarterback after taking over late in the season for the now-transferred Patrick Towles. Barker won the starting job this spring and is one of 10 returning offensive players who started the season finale against Louisville last season.

Despite the shortcomings, Kentucky did lead the East in passing yards last season. That was a dubious honor in 2015, and improvement is needed.

Passing yards per game (SEC rank): 209.3 (6th)
TDs: 10 (tied for last)
INTs: 16 (tied for most)

QB PLAY

Barker will be the focal point for any improvement — or stagnation — this fall. He’s a former four-star recruit out of nearby Hebron who completed exactly half of his 70 pass attempts in five games (two starts) in his redshirt freshman season.

He’s a year older and wiser now, and since JUCO transfer Stephen Johnson II is the only other quarterback on the roster with college experience, he’ll need to be.

“I’ve seen a big change in Drew and I want to continue to see that,” Stoops told SB Nation. “This is one semester. He needs to have a great summer; he needs to be a great leader in organizing all voluntary workouts and throwing with receivers and running backs and tight ends.

“But I have seen a change. I’ve seen a maturity in him. I’ve seen him much more composed on and off the field. I see a guy who’s very hungry to learn and just settle in and continue to grow.”

He’s the clear starter coming out of spring ball, but Stoops wants to get Johnson on the field as well. Johnson doesn’t have Barker’s arm talent, but he is speedy and elusive.

He’s also hand-picked by Hinshaw, who brought him in from College of the Desert (Palm Desert, Calif.) after taking the position at Kentucky.

It’s not hard to imagine Johnson appearing in red-zone and other special situations as a change of pace, despite his small frame (6-foot-2, 187 pounds).

Both quarterbacks will need to take better care of the football this fall. Kentucky’s 16 interceptions tied for worst in the league last year.

Hinshaw’s recent work with Cincinnati quarterbacks Gunner Kiel and Brendon Kay suggests that he’ll be able to coax improvement out of Barker this fall.

Receivers/TES/RBs

The top four rushers are back, but they weren’t a factor in the passing game. Stanley “Boom” Williams and Mikel Horton were the only backs with more than 10 catches last season.

That’s OK because nearly everyone else who caught a pass in 2015 is back (barring Towles, who caught one of his deflected throws).

Dorian Baker and Garrett Johnson anchor the receiving corps after combining for 101 catches, 1,302 yards and five scores last fall. Jeff Badet (29 catches, 430 yards, 2 TD) and Blake Bone (20 receptions, 210 yards, 1 TD) are also dependable options, as is Ryan Timmons (12 catches, 114 yards, 1 TD), who led the team in receiving in 2014.

Timmons made an explosive play in the spring game, too, a catch-and-run 64-yard burst for a touchdown.

Tight end C.J. Conrad returns after catching 15 passes for 149 yards and a score as a true freshman.

Talent wasn’t the issue with the pass-catchers last season. It was consistency, in the form of dropped passes. Spotty quarterback play didn’t do this unit many favors, but the receivers still left too many plays on the table.

Former University of Miami standout Lamar Thomas was brought in to coach the receivers this season, and perhaps he’ll help this talented group reach its potential.

PLAY-CALLING

First-down passing stats (East games only): 33 of 60 for 412 yards, 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

Under Dawson, Kentucky had difficulty throwing on first down in its six SEC East games. The Cats didn’t throw much and averaged 6.9 yards per attempt. Oddly enough, this figure was better than the team’s 6.3 yards per passing attempt (12th in the SEC) for the season.

Comparing that with Cincinnati’s numbers in its divisional games under Gran suggest that an improvement could be on offer this fall:

Cincinnati’s first-down passing stats (AAC East games only): 52 of 66 for 616 yards, 5 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.

The Bearcats passed for more than 200 more yards, two more touchdowns and had a yards-per-attempt average of 7 yards in one fewer division game in 2015.

The interception rate is troubling. In all, Cincinnati quarterbacks served up 22 interceptions last fall in the midst of a 7-6 season. That’s an area Gran and Hinshaw will be looking to clean up for their new school in 2016.

ONE STAT THAT MUST IMPROVE

Last season, Kentucky threw 10 interceptions and no touchdowns outside the opponent’s 40-yard line. That means there were no touchdown passes longer than 40 yards, and on 10 of their 16 interceptions, the opponent began drives with good field position.

If you’re wondering, Cincinnati had five touchdowns and nine picks in those situations last season.

GREATEST CONCERN

Can Barker develop into an average or better SEC quarterback? Four of the five offensive linemen are back, as is every important skill position player. So there won’t be anywhere else to place the blame if he doesn’t succeed.

Most quality SEC quarterbacks improve their numbers across the board as sophomores.

If Barker can post somewhere around 2,500 yards and 15 touchdowns — while keeping the interceptions in single digits, Kentucky’s offense should be in good shape.

For a guy with two career starts working with a new offensive coordinator and quarterback coach, that’s a good-sized “if.” But Barker has already shown flashes of his potential, so he has a chance to make it happen.

BETTER OR WORSE IN 2016?

Kentucky’s passing offense should be better. There’s too much returning talent and too much experience for the Wildcats not to take at least a modest step forward.

It really does all hinge on Barker.

If he lives up to his recruiting ranking and takes to Gran’s new offense quickly, the Wildcats could end up with a passing offense that is not only one of the best in the East, but one that compares favorably to West schools as well.

If Barker struggles, or gets injured, all bets are off.

Johnson is an interesting dual-threat prospect, but his size and lack of major college experience would be big obstacles to overcome in his first season in Lexington.