FOOTBALL PREVIEW ‘17
KENTUCKY
OUTLOOK
Lifted by a late-season win against Louisville, Kentucky’s optimism for 2017
wasn’t diminished much by a lackluster performance vs. Georgia Tech in the
TaxSlayer Bowl. After finishing 7-6 last season, expectations for this season
include a bowl and possibly more. There have even been a few analysts calling
Kentucky a dark horse for the SEC East crown.
Last season the Wildcats produced the third-most rushing yards in school history.
This season they’ll likely rely on QB Stephen Johnson to even out the rush-pass
percentages. Johnson won seven of his 11 games as the starter, and now he’s
the full-time starter. The Wildcats are deeper and more talented than they have
been in many years and a return trip to a bowl seems likely. Like the last few
seasons, the final regular-season game vs. Louisville will be a key to how the fans
view this season’s success or failure.
COACH SPEAK
Mark Stoops: “We feel like we have an
experienced football team. We’re returning 17
starters, nine on offense, eight on defense. And
the maturity level of your team is getting better.
They can handle more. So, it will be much of the
same this summer: push them harder and be
more consistent.”
TEAM STRENGTH
Secondary safety. Mike Edwards has NFL talent,
and the Wildcats also return talented defensive
backs Chris Westry and Derrick Baity. At SEC
Media Days, Stoops said, “We have some
superstars in the making at that position.” UK
can match up with every offense in the SEC in the
secondary.
Photos by University of Kentucky Athletics
24 EXTOL SPORTS / AUGUST 2017
BIGGEST QUESTION
Defensive Line. The Wildcats were downright
dreadful for most of 2016 on the defensive
line, and the final stats show an embarrassing
lack of production. The line accounted for just
13 tackles and two sacks for the entire season.
That’s a great single-game performance from a
linebacker, but that’s what they did in an entire
season. Stoops said the D-Line “must improve”
for Kentucky to meet its 2017 goals.
BREAKOUT STAR
Benny Snell. The sophomore back had a
great first season, and SEC Network analyst
Marcus Spears believes Snell could be one of
the best in the nation in 2017. “He won’t get
talked about because he’s at Kentucky. We’ll
talk about backs at Bama and backs at LSU, but
at the end of the year, Benny Snell is probably
going to be one of the leading rushers in the
conference,” Spears said.