As the 2011 college football season rapidly approaches each team is seeking to spin their situations into the most positive light. Yet all programs have question marks, some are simply more glaring and important than others.
Coach Joker Phillips’ Kentucky Wildcats have a number of serious questions to answer entering this season. They lost the overwhelming majority of their offense from last year with the graduation of seniors Derrick Locke, Chris Matthews, and Mike Hartline, and the early draft entry of Randall Cobb. Replacing those key components will determine their ability to reach a sixth consecutive bowl appearance. That noted, here are three things to watch with the Wildcats as they enter their season.
Who will lead the running game? Locke and Cobb combined for over 2700 rushing yards over the last two seasons. This season the lead horse in the running game would seem to be sophomore running back Raymond Sanders, who rushed for 254 yards and three touchdowns last year in spot duty. However, there does not look to be a premier back that is ready to step in and take the reins to this point, and the other backs (including Jonathan George, CoShik Williams, Brandon Gainer, and freshmen Josh Clemons and Marcus Caffey) will be jockeying for playing time in the pecking order.
With an offensive line that returns four starters and is anchored by pre-season all-SEC guard Stuart Hines, the holes for the running game should be there. Whether the Cats have the backs to make use of them has yet to be seen.
Is Morgan Newton ready? The junior quarterback is going to be the centerpiece of the Kentucky offense this year, and as he goes so will go the success of the Cats season. After starting eight games his freshman year, his only start last year was in the Compass Bowl loss to Pittsburgh. Now he is the longest tenured quarterback on the Kentucky roster and the only one with starting experience. His ability to make sound decisions, make a threat of the passing game, and remain healthy through the brutal SEC schedule will be essential to Kentucky’s success on offense. Especially since to this point there is not a clear picture of who the back-up to Newton is going to be.
Has the defense improved enough? Kentucky returns ten starters on defense from last year’s team, but it was a team that had some glaring holes in its rush defense, allowing 170 yards per game, ranking them next to last in the SEC. New defensive coordinator Rick Minter is implementing an overhaul of the Cats defense, infusing 3-4 and 4-2-5 schemes to go along with the base 4-3 that has been run by Kentucky for years. The question is whether or not the defense, led by all-SEC linebacker Danny Trevathan and safety-turned-linebacker Winston Guy, will pick up and effectively utilize the schemes quickly enough to be able to close off some of the holes that were always popping up on the defense last year.
If Kentucky is to improve, the defense is going to have to start holding up its end of the bargain. That means turnovers and stops in key situations, something last year’s defense was not able to accomplish.
How the Cats answer these questions will be the difference in a five win or eight win season. It will be interesting to see them answered as the season begins.