Ad Disclosure
A reminder of all the skill players UK has in its quiver
By Keith Farner
Published:
There are plenty of areas to stew over during spring practice and into the offseason in Lexington, Ky.
The experienced and seemingly upgraded offensive line that was the headline of the recruiting season, and Kentucky certainly must block better to unlock its full offensive potential.
The development of quarterback Drew Barker will be crucial, as the team’s quarterback play stagnated last year.
And what changes will the slew of new assistant coaches bring?
But one of the known commodities for the Wildcats is the experience, talent and depth they have at several skill positions. The receivers must fix their tendency to drop seemingly every other pass, a bad habit that manifested itself in 2015. But if new coordinator Eddie Gran can coach as well as his reputation, he may be able to take advantage of this rapidly-maturing collection of skill players that Mark Stoops recruited in ’13, ’14 and ’15.
Stanley “Boom” Williams
Kentucky’s leading rusher has battled recurring elbow injuries, and is limited this spring because of offseason surgery. He missed two games in 2015 and played very little against Tennessee. His career highs for single-game carries are 18, 16 and 16. That’s about the only thing keeping him from solidifying himself as a top-shelf SEC running back. Limited carries kept him under 1,000 rushing yards in 2015 as he had 855 and six touchdowns in 10 games, but still set a school record with 7.1 yards per carry.
Jojo Kemp
More than a serviceable backup, Kemp played in 12 games in 2015 and had as many TDs as Williams on 98 carries and 555 yards. Kemp was among the 23 players coach Mark Stoops signed in his first recruiting class in 2013, and was the program’s leading rusher that season. Because of Williams’ absence this spring, Kemp will have plenty of opportunities to expand his role with the new offensive coaches.
C.J. Conrad
One of the early glimpses into the new offense at Kentucky is that TE C.J. Conrad is expected to have a larger role than the position as a whole had last season (15 catches for 149 yards). Multiple new formations are expected to expand the position’s role in the offense.
“We know C.J. is really talented and we’re going to use him,” co-offensive coordinator Darin Hinshaw told a select group of media in January, the Herald-Leader reported. “We’re going to move him all around, make defenses have to be thinking about what they’re doing.”
Despite the limited production, Conrad still made the All-SEC Freshman Team, and he told reporters that he’s looking to do more than just wear the number of New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.
“Gronk is my idol,” Conrad said, the Courier-Journal reported. “That’s why I wore his number. I just try to emulate my game around him. … I mean just big goals, I guess.”
Dorian Baker
The Kentucky wide receivers, and Baker in particular, were criticized throughout 2015 for underachieving and too many dropped passes. Notable drops against Florida and later South Carolina caused Baker to respond to the Lexington Herald-Leader that he wouldn’t let “anything haunt me.”
Baker was just a sophomore and led the team with 55 catches for 608 yards, but just three TDs. For Kentucky to turn the corner in the SEC, Baker will need to establish himself among other top SEC receivers.
Garrett Johnson
Kentucky’s leading receiver by yards last season, Johnson had 46 catches, 694 yards, but just two touchdowns. He showed promise against Missouri (6-119) and Auburn (9-160). Those performances came after six catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns two years ago at Florida, which caused then-Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp to say he should have offered Johnson at Florida, the Courier-Journal reported.
Midway through last season, he was sixth in the SEC in receiving. But Johnson had just 11 combined catches in the remaining four SEC games.
“He’s got the whole package,” Stoops told the Herald-Leader. “Part of it is instincts and understanding how to alter routes and sit in holes and beat one-on-one coverage and all of those things. He can run, he can catch, and he has good instincts.”
Jeff Badet
Perhaps the fastest receiver on Kentucky’s roster, Badet rebounded from a 2014 season lost due to injury to finish third on the team last year with 430 receiving yards.
Five of his 29 catches in 2015 went for at least 35 yards, with four of those coming in the team’s first five games. (One can see a theme here with the numbers of Badet and Baker — the team’s skill players were rolling pretty good during a 4-1 start.)
Known as one of the hardest-working players on the offense, if he can establish a rapport with Barker and become one of the best downfield threats in the SEC East, Kentucky will have a number of strong options on offense.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.