Ad Disclosure
The SEC East is wide open, as six of seven teams in the division already have a conference loss less than halfway through the season (the only team without an SEC loss is defending East champ Mizzou, which claims perhaps the ugliest non-conference loss of the year at home to Indiana).
In a division loaded with mediocrity, even the Kentucky Wildcats find themselves in the thick of the SEC East race at 2-1 in the conference following a win over South Carolina last week. The Wildcats may run an Air Raid offense, but don’t get it confused — this team loves to run the ball, and it’s run it well all season long.
The Cats have a deep stable of tailbacks, and no one player has asserted himself as the team’s workhorse through five games, making it one of the most compelling midseason position battles in the East.
KENTUCKY RB
Players involved: Jojo Kemp, Braylon Heard, Boom Williams, Mikel Horton
Who will probably start: Heard
Who should start: Kemp
Jojo Kemp carried Kentucky to a victory last weekend, rushing for more than 100 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter alone to help the Cats overcome a 14-point deficit. It was the largest fourth quarter comeback in UK history, and Kemp’s career day was the fuel that powered the Cats late-game surge.
However, Kemp did not do any of that work as a traditional tailback. Instead, all 11 of his fourth quarter carries came on direct snaps, as Kemp lined up as the Wildcats’ “wildcat” quarterback for most of the game’s final 15 minutes. Kentucky’s leading rusher from a year ago seems to be even better in 2014, but there’s a crowd of tailbacks just as good that may limit his carries going forward, even after his career night against the Gamecocks.
Fellow UK tailback and former Nebraska transfer Braylon Heard has shined when he’s had opportunities this year, running for 116 yards and two touchdowns on his first two carries as a Wildcat in Week 1. Freshman Mikel Horton has worked his way into the mix at times, making the most of the few carries he gets, and fellow newcomer Stanley “Boom” Williams has proven himself to be one of UK’s most versatile weapons out of the backfield.
All four backs bring something different to the table, and none of them seems likely to ever seize the starting job outright. But Kentucky ought to consider giving Kemp a greater workload going forward following last week’s win.
Ever heard the saying “ride the hot hand” when referring to running back committees? It implies that a team with many different running backs should assign carries based on who has been the best runner in recent weeks.
Right now, the Cats’ best runner is Kemp, who is fast enough to get around the edge but proved in his role as “wildcat” quarterback that he can also earn hard yards between the tackles.
Heard had the hot hand to start the year, but was hurt following his first two carries of the season, setting him back some. He’s healthy now, and he hasn’t appeared to have lost any speed or power in recovering from an ankle injury. He and Kemp have shared the starting job on the depth chart the last two weeks, but unless Kemp shows a regression in his play he should move ahead of Heard in terms of playing time.
Williams is the true complicating factor here, as he seems to be Kentucky’s best pass-catching back and most explosive runner in the open field. UK will surely think of new ways to use him in the offense as he returns from a suspension this week, but he’s not every-down material just yet.
Head coach Mark Stoops would be smart to try and maximize the strengths of all four of his backs, but until someone stops him it should be Kemp who gets the bulk of the work. The fact that he wasn’t alone as the No. 1 back on this week’s depth chart shows Stoops does not have a top tailback in mind, and while there’s no need to rely on only one rusher, Kemp should be his No. 1 guy.
Sharing is caring, but Kemp deserves the nod as the starter going forward, at least for the foreseeable future.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
