CATDADDY52

Really surprised anyone decided to write this article, but I have been thinking the exact same thing. He looked great in the spring, and the offense seemed to be much more open. He did play very timid at times last year, some of that could have been injury, but I think a lot of it was game plan. With our run game and defense last year I think they had Terry on a pretty short leash when it came to taking chances. His talent and upside are through the roof. He will have a few decent receivers ( 1 great one with Lynn Bowden), a solid offense line, and three good backs to help him along this season. Factor in his speed, which is elite for any position, he could make opposing defenses really frustrated. I think Terry makes a big stride in year 2, year 3 he is going to be really dangerous. Given the schedule, I think 8-4 or 9-3 is what to expect and a top 25 ranking in 2019, at worst 7-5 and a trip to the music city bowl. Go Cats.

SDS needs to be contacted about this kotex10. Maybe they can remove him from the site, either that, or block him from commenting. We are here to converse about our favorite teams, and ignoring this troll is getting very annoying.

Dylangeorge. We do not feed the troll with attention. Everyone ignores paris10 and his comments. Don't let him get under your skin bro. Exciting things are happening in lexington, and that is torture enough for him.

alot to be optimistic about this upcoming season. Schedule is very manageable, and the offense should be a bit more open this season. Looking forward to watching the cats again this fall!

agreed. With that schedule anything less than 6 would be surprising given the schedule. Im thinking 7-5 as well, with a chance for an 8th in a bowl game. a couple of toss up games on the schedule does create the potential for another great year though. We will have to see who steps up.

This upcoming team has a lot more depth than years past. Plenty of veterans to help lead this team that will hopefully fill the void left behind by last years seniors. The big question mark will be in the secondary, where we were very good last year. Obviously Snell and Allen will be tough to replace, but there are some talented guys in place that will step up. Given our schedule, this team will definitely be bowling next. anywhere between 6 and 9 wins next year. AJ rose will emerge as solid premier running back. Go cats

I think Lynn Bowden could be in this list come end of next season. He will be the hands down top target on a team who probably won't rely as heavily on the run with snell gone. I expect him to get a lot of touches, in a variety of different way. He is very similar to randall cobb in terms of versatility.

no bama or uga...A&M and MSU both ranked #12...Also pretty sure UK beat the fist 3 teams you mentioned and finished second in the east with a better record. There , helped you out a bit. Did you even think about this before you posted it lol?

wow. Somebody is buying their own pre-season hype a bit too much. Im expecting a good game, but to call them frauds is pretty shocking. Our resume is a lot more impressive than USCjr btw. You beat a decent Vandy team, thats its....Guess we will find out Saturday...

Honestly Tua and the tide offense has been so good so far that its actually allowed Jalen to play in every game so far. And we aren't talking garbage time in the 4th qtr. With how much he is playing you guys might wanna start adding him into the list as well haha. I think hed place somewhere around 6 or 7.

you might seriously be the most annoying troll on the internet...

Liking our schedule for next season a lot. We will likely lose benny to the NFL after this season, but will be returning some good backs and a more mature Terry wilson with plenty of good receivers. I think 8-4 or maybe 9-3 with next years schedule should be more than possible. Go Cats.

just checked out the full list..florida at #26, and Kentucky at #42? Not sure what espn is smoking.. Not being biased since im UK fan, but that doesn't add up to me.

Next week vs Miss. State looks like it could be a very good game. Should be a huge test for our defense. Lexington will be rocking for sure! Go Cats!

I like Wilson getting the start in game 1. I fully expect to see Hoak getting action as well. If Terry Wilson can be a dynamic player, and give us big play ability, that might be exactly what gets UK over in some close games this year. I like the call here

go away

also the music city bowl loves UK (close proximity equals ticket sales) so the safest pick is uk heading back to nashville lol.

i think clemson fans would probably be a bit surprised by this list given their recent history... Also, Im sorry, but Im thinking people are way over hyping Mizzou this year. They have a lot of talent returning and a lot to be exited for after the way this finished last year, but they still have some big time holes. I do not see them getting to the outback bowl at all. 8 wins would be a great season for the imo. There is also a lot of parity in the east right now after UGA who is head and shoulders at the top. I think UF, Mizzou, SC, and UK are all pretty evenly matched at this point. The results of the past few seasons would also mirror that point...

Im going to just start ignoring all things written by paris10 because its obvious that he is not really a uk fan based on his comments on all things kentucky related. That being said I feel pretty good about our qb situation. Both Hoak and Wilson are talented guys that could lead us to a solid season in my opinion. They lack experience at the sec level, but they are certainly talented enough to compete. I agree with stoops that getting them both game reps early in the season will be key to find out who "the man" is going to be. Hopefully one of them shines bright in the season opener to carry some momentum down to florida in week 2

It should be taken into consideration I agree. Snell has proved plenty capable receiving out of the backfield, just didnt get thrown that many passes. Kentucky doesn't throw alot to the running backs, and when they do they usually throw to King since he is more of the "speedster" type back. Don't think that should have been the deciding factor. Wasn't aware of KJ missing the first two games either. Overall I could easily see how you could make the case for either player. Personally I think Benny had the best regular season, while you could argue KJ was the best overall offensive player

edit, he will have at least 2 more games. Possibility for 3

Pretty sure the title of the article is ranking the top 10 backs after the regular season, Johnson will have at least 1 more game, with the possibility of 3 more, so he will def finish with more yards and touchdowns, not debating that. They both had terrific seasons, and the exact same yards/carry. Snell had more rushing yards and touchdowns. Also, Snell did it with a lot less talent around him. I stand by my point that if he played for a team with more media appeal than Kentucky, he probably would have nabbed the top spot. They were the two best backs in the conference, no doubt about it. Benny Snell had the VERY slightly better regular season.

Nothing against Johnson, he is a beast, but the top spot clearly belonged to Snell. Bringing Kentucky's record into it doesn't negate the fact the that he had the best season of all the SEC backs. If he played for a more traditional power,you would have #1 no doubt and he would be the one that you would say deserves the heisman ceremony invitation. He led the conference in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, he gets the #1 spot.

Sorry for the typos there lol

The uk forum on catsillustrated is in full on melt down mode. UK fans like Stoops, but can't stand how conservative he is . He also tends to make in game mistakes still in year 5 . I myself am happy with the progress under Stoops, we shot ourselves in the foot tonight and it hurts , but at least we know we know we are becoming competitive with the prominent teams in the conference and our level of play is gradually getting better . I still think we get to 8 wins this year , which for Kentucky is definitely improvement . We should be 5-1 going into Miss State and coming off a bye week . Some fans may be calling for his head tonight , but by then they will be quite . Most of them I think are just very disappointed.

Last year was a great game that came down to the very end with Miss St. This year it will be at home for the bulldogs. Still, I wouldn't be checking that off as an automatic win when going through your schedule. Until some of the other players step up and help Fitzgerald, they are one dimensional and vulnerable. UK has its own issues as well. D-Line is a huge concern in my opinion. My point is that Im not so sure why there are so much high expectations for Miss St. and South Carolina when all three were very evenly matched and full of young talent last season. UK came out on top in both games (both very close games) but for some reason is expected to be worse than both of these teams this season? Doesn't really add up.

I agree with the majority of this list so I'm not going to call it trash or anything, but I have been very confused by the medias perception of this UK team. Some are pretty high on the cats, while some have been downright disrespectful. Kentucky beat Miss St. and South Carolina last year, and return more starters than almost any team in the conference. Most lists have those teams ahead us including this one. Are people just implying that these team will have progressed more than UK during the offseason? Recruiting efforts have been about the same for the past few seasons, with UK and SC both recruiting fairly well. Seems to me most writers are letting UK's past influence the outcome of this season before its even played

Dude I work in marketing down in SC, im most certainly not any of the people you are accusing of having multiple screen names. I have this one( which i rarely use because I very rarely post) and this one only. As far as my knowledge of mental health facilities, that is irrelevant. I know enough about mental health disorders to tell that you are clearly off your rocker. And absolutely will not be disclosing my name to you because there is zero to gain from posting my name on an internet forum to a crazy person. Get some help buddy!

Whose Grandpa is Paris10? Somebody come get your grandpa, he is going crazy on the internet again.... This dude comments on every article that involves UK. While I must admit that the absurdity of his posts sometimes makes me laugh, he is clearly off his medications and is becoming quite a nuisance on this site. If any of the SDS admins are reading this, please get this guy off of here. SMH

One thing thing Kentucky has always lacked in recruiting has been its lack of a "pipeline state". Stoops' Ohio pipeline has proved to be VERY good for UK. Kentucky is the northern-most team in the SEC. Its location gives the kids from Ohio a chance to play in the SEC while still being close enough to home so that Mom can come watch the game. I was beyond happy to make it to a bowl this year, but I am equally happy to see how well we are recruiting on the national scene. Top 25 classes at Kentucky are not the norm in Lexington. We are building a legitimate football program under Stoops. Anyone who can't see that isn't paying attention. GO CATS!