Kentucky football: Grading the depth chart ahead of the season opener

Kentucky football comes back from a 10-win season and returns the team’s leading passer, rusher and tackler. That said, while the Wildcats return plenty of depth at some spots, others are a little shakier. They lost their starting wide receivers — including New York Giant Wan’Dale Robinson — their starting defensive line and three-fifths of their offensive line. Here’s where UK’s depth chart stands — by position group — heading into their Week 1 matchup with Miami of Ohio.

QB: B

QB1 is in fine shape — at least A-, if not higher. Will Levis is probably the best quarterback UK has had since at least Andre Woodson, if not further back. He passed for 2,837 yards and 24 scores last year, rushing for another 376 yards and 9 scores. While he could stand to cut back on turnovers (he threw 13 picks), Levis is full of potential and could be one of the SEC’s best at his position.

Behind him, it gets scary. Iowa transfer Deuce Hogan and redshirt freshman Kaiya Sheron have no real experience, and it’s fair to question how badly the UK offense would be hamstrung if either had to play more than mop-up duty. Sophomore Beau Allen was probably in line for No. 2 duty, but he transferred to Tarleton State. In an emergency, Kentucky might use Tennessee signee Destin Wade, who has a Randall Cobb-like skill set, to name another versatile Tennessee athlete who saw some time under center in Lexington.

As long as Levis is fine, Kentucky is great. If not, the situation is far from settled and far from certain. Still, 1 good quarterback is 1 more than Kentucky has had entering into some seasons.

RB: B+

This group would have a higher spot, but returning star Chris Rodriguez Jr. will apparently miss UK’s first few games for an off-field-related suspension. A bowling ball of a back, Rodriguez rushed for 1,379 yards and 9 TDs last year. If he does miss 3-4 games, as is being suggested, it may cost him a chance to pass Benny Snell Jr. for Kentucky’s all-time rushing mark.

Behind Rodriguez, FCS transfer Ramon Jefferson has some of the same characteristics. Having rushed for 1,907 yards in the last 2 seasons at Sam Houston State, Jefferson has experience, albeit not at the SEC level. Senior Kavosiey Smoke has shown flashes (416 yards last year), even if he’s more of a speed back on the edge than a physical runner. JuTahn McClain (165 yards) is versatile, and La’Vell Wright (118 yards) might be the future star of the group.

This is a deep and talented group. It would get at least a B+ if not for the pending suspension of Rodriguez.

WR/TE: B-

Plenty of questions here, mostly centering around how to replace Robinson. Robinson, who had 104 catches for 1,334 yards, was one of the best receivers in UK history. Fellow senior Josh Ali (41 catches, 601 yards) will also be missed. Kentucky can’t replace Robinson with 1 player, but it has several candidates — albeit none entirely proven.

Virginia Tech transfer Tayvion Robinson has 113 catches for 1,555 yards in his career. He’s the first option at the spot. In-state true frosh Dane Key is a 6-2 playmaker who is simply too skilled to sit. But after that, it gets even dicier. True frosh Barion Brown lacks a ton of football experience, but he has a Lynn Bowden-esque ability to make plays. He’ll be out there. So will junior DeMarcus Harris, who has made some nice plays but has struggled with consistency.

Kentucky can lean on its tight ends for help. With the return of Keaton Upshaw, who missed the ’21 season due to injury, the Wildcats have tons of depth at that spot, whether it’s a physical mauler like Brenden Bates or true frosh Josh Kattus or receiving-oriented threats like Izayah Cummings (14 catches for 195 yards last year) or Upshaw. While the tight end spot doesn’t have one superstar, there’s a ton of depth.

OL: B

Losing 3 outstanding starters makes life interesting. Returning starters Eli Cox and Kenneth Horsey can both be plugged into starting spots, as can Auburn transfer Tashawn Manning. Tackle is the question mark of this group, with junior Jeremy Flax, a JUCO product, an absolute key. Flax struggled a year ago, but at 6-6 and 328 pounds, he has the kind of size that is hard to replicate.

Unless it’s massive true frosh Kiyaunta Goodwin. Kentucky wants to go slow with the masive 5-star recruit, who played high school football at a smaller Indiana high school. Goodwin will see some time and might even start by the end of the year, but he’s not likely to start Game 1. Sophomore Deondre Buford is more likely as that option, even if his ceiling is not as high as Goodwin’s. Redshirt frosh Jager Burton will also factor in on the interior line. If not for the question marks at tackle, this group would be in great shape.

DL: B-

The good news with this group is that the potential is there. The bad news is that the experience isn’t. Kentucky lost all 3 defensive line starters, including Josh Paschal, who was the emotional leader of the 2022 defense. Kentucky has accumulated plenty of highly-regarded recruits. But it’s time to put up for the young guys.

Juniors Octavious Oxendine (12 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss) and Justin Rogers (16 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss) are 2 candidates to step up. Oxendine was playing well around midseason, but then was lost for the rest of the year due to injury. Rogers has struggled to adjust to the speed of the college game, but at 332 pounds, his lane-clogging skills are evident. Sophomore Tre’vonn Rybka and true frosh Deone Walker have both impressed this fall. There’s plenty of talent, but it’s time for talent to translate to results.

LB: A-

This is probably the most settled group on UK’s team. Kentucky will return junior J.J. Weaver and senior Jordan Wright at the outside positions, and on the inside, Ole Miss transfer Jacquez Jones and fellow super senior DeAndre Square both returned. Weaver and Wright are pass rushers, while Jones and Square were the No. 1 and 3 tacklers last season.

There’s depth here, too. D’Eryk Jackson was pushing for a starting spot a year ago before a camp injury caused him to miss most of the 2021 season. Sophomore Trevin Wallace has too much skill to keep off the field, as demonstrated in his blocked field goal return that swung the Florida game last year. Kentucky should be in good shape here.

DB: B-

UK returns safety Tyrell Ajian (46 tackles, 4 passes broken up) and corner Carrington Valentine (61 tackles, 5 passes broken up). It has added super senior Keidron Smith from Ole MIss and sophomore Zion Childress from Texas State. Smith is a wily SEC veteran, and Childress brings physicality to the position group.

Junior Jalen Geiger was shining late in the ’21 season and should again play a big role. There are even a few intriguing freshmen at these spots. Assuming the veteran guys are ready to go, Kentucky should be fine. That said, there’s still not a ton of depth here, particularly in terms of pure cornerbacks.

Joe Cox

Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.