July 30, 200818 yr What are UL's receivers looking like? And Pittman is gone correct? Assuming Guy is healthy I think our top 3 will probably be: Trent Guy Scott Long Chris Vaughn with a few other decent options such as Chichester, Urrutia, Beaumont and the RB's can catch fairly well out of the backfield. At this point receiving is an obvious downgrade considering we lost Douglas & Urrutia but I think the WR's will be just fine. The part that worries me is that with Hunter being a 1st year starter it really hurt losing Barnidge and Kuhn. UofL needs someone to step up at TE. And I guess I'm having a brainfart... who is Pittman?
July 30, 200818 yr Assuming Guy is healthy I think our top 3 will probably be: Trent Guy Scott Long Chris Vaughn with a few other decent options such as Chichester, Urrutia, Beaumont and the RB's can catch fairly well out of the backfield. At this point receiving is an obvious downgrade considering we lost Douglas & Urrutia but I think the WR's will be just fine. The part that worries me is that with Hunter being a 1st year starter it really hurt losing Barnidge and Kuhn. UofL needs someone to step up at TE. And I guess I'm having a brainfart... who is Pittman? Maybe it was someone else, a RB, Allen maybe?
July 30, 200818 yr Maybe it was someone else, a RB, Allen maybe? Allen did transfer, but trust me, RB is the LEAST of UofL's worries this year.
July 30, 200818 yr UK should have a fine year. Last years team in reality should have only lost the UGA game. It will be hard to be a better team but having an equal or better record is very possible. The reason being is depth and experience. UK's Offensive line will be one of the better lines in the SEC. That will bode well for breaking a new QB into the system. It will take the pressure off of him. The biggest thing the offensive line will benefit will be the strength of the offense... The backfield While UK may not have a Cadillac Williams, Felix Jones, Darren McFadden, etc, the backfield will be one of the better backfields as a whole in the SEC if not nation. It will be a more running back by committee situation but don't be surprised to see someone step up. Derrick Locke- One of the fastest men in College football (4.21 at pro day). As you saw last year, he is not intimidated and will run over, around, or through you. Alfonso Smith- Just a step slower than Locke but bigger. He has a 4.28 speed and showed great promise in the spring. Look for him to step up and be the man this year if I were betting. Tony Dixon- He is more of a versatile back who has the most experience. Started as a freshman but has been injured on and off. If he remains healthy and fixes some fumble problems, he could be a 1000 yard rusher. He is speedy and powerful. Moncell Allen- HE may only be 5'7" but is a load at 230 pounds. As a junior in high school, he was one of the top recruits in the nation before Katrina forced him to move to NC for his senior season. As a senior and playing half a season he ran for over 600 yards. The receivers will be green but has all sorts of talent. Dicky Lyons is the main target returning. If a freshman or Kyrus Lanxter can step up to be the #1 WR, I would like to see Dicky remain in the slot where he is more effective. Word is, Freshman Randall Cobb has been amazing. Look for Cobb, Aaron Boyd, Dicky Lyons, Kyrus Lanxter, and Demoreo Ford to be your key targets. Don't sleep on EJ Fields, Anthony Mosley, Terrance Jones, Gene McCaskill, and converted CB EJ Adams though. I think we will be fine in that aspect. Two years ago WR was the biggest question mark and then last year it was one of the best in the nation. The Defense will be a strong point for the Cats. I know it sounds weird to speak of UK and defense but under Steve Brown combined with maturation, the defense went from 118 to 67 out of 119 teams. That is playing against SEC teams and Louisville's offense last year. Trevard Lindley (CB) and Jeremy Jarmon (DE) are as good as anyone in NCAA. DE- Opposite Jarmon will be Ventrell Jenkins and/or Nii Adjei Oninku. Jenkins has thrived in his switch from the inside to outside and Oninku has been a solid DE his whole career. He was sidelined with injury last season. DT- As long as they stay healthy, the DT rotation should be excellent. Myron Pryor and Corey Peters have the interior locked down and will be even better than last year. Reason for that will be the depth behind them giving them breaks. Ricky Lumpkin and Shane McCord with an occasional cameo by Jenkins will provide quality depth. At linebacker you lose one of the best in the business with Woodyard but the whole unit should be better than last year. After starting at MLB for 3 seasons, Braxton Kelley moves over to the outside to replace Woodyard. Coaches have said it looks like he has played that spot his whole career. On the other side you have Johnny Williams who I think is one of the most underrated defenders at UK. They will be backed up by Sam Maxwell, Brandon Thurmond, Chris Cessna, and some solid freshmen. In the middle is big Micah Johnson. He didn't have the accolades coming outta Ft. Campbell for no reason. Splitting time the past two seasons, he still managed to put up solid numbers. He will be backed up by Redshirt freshman Ronnie Sneed and Mikhail MAbry. Finally the safeties. Marcus McClinton has been a 3 year starter at FS and will be backed up by Calvin Harrison. Both had very good years for the Cats. At the Strong Safety you will have one of the hardest hitters in the SEC with Ashton Cobb. The Junior will take over for Roger Williams and should be a great improvement. Cobb's best game was against LSU last year. He will be backed up by Winston Guy or Matt Lentz. Wins- Louisville, Nofolk, WKU, MTSU, Vandy, and Arkansas Swing games- Bama, SC, Tennessee, and Mississipi State. Probable losses- UGA, Florida 6-6 is a worst case but I see UK at least getting one of the swing games if not two. Baring injuries they could win all of them. I'll go with the safe pick and say the Cats go 8-4 and head to Atlanta or Tampa.
July 30, 200818 yr Looks like most agree the UofL game is a toss up. Im a diehard Uk fan that doesnt miss a home game but lets be honest here................With a new QB and young unproven offensive players UofL will be big favorites and should win by 14-17 points. If UofL didnt cry so much about this being the first game of the year Uk would have a chance.
July 30, 200818 yr If UofL didnt cry so much about this being the first game of the year Uk would have a chance. No use in keeping that tradition going, right?
July 30, 200818 yr As many question marks as UK may seem to have at QB, anything less than a 10 point win for UK would be a huge shock. Cantwell is decent but what has he really done? The receivers and running backs are depleted. Powell and Bolen are not what I would call terrifying in the backfield. The UL linebackers are going to be inexperienced as all get out. The DLine is depleted down to about 3 man rotation. The DB's would have been decent but didn't Council get arrested and booted? Woodney Turrene?:laugh: Maybe it's the UK fan in me and me being so eager to watch UL fail after we took so many pot shots during probation. I am a realist but cannot help turning the proverbial tables.
July 30, 200818 yr As many question marks as UK may seem to have at QB, anything less than a 10 point win for UK would be a huge shock. Cantwell is decent but what has he really done? The receivers and running backs are depleted. Powell and Bolen are not what I would call terrifying in the backfield. The UL linebackers are going to be inexperienced as all get out. The DLine is depleted down to about 3 man rotation. The DB's would have been decent but didn't Council get arrested and booted? Woodney Turrene?:laugh: Maybe it's the UK fan in me and me being so eager to watch UL fail after we took so many pot shots during probation. I am a realist but cannot help turning the proverbial tables. If Uk is as good as you claim in your other post, then they should have no problem with UofL. Heck, UofL was picked 7th in the Big East. This should be a gimmie for the powerful SEC Cats. Trust me Powell and Bolen are both really good. The offense will score. The defense is the ??. Much like UK's offense is a big ?? With one returning skill player coming back on offense, I would not be so confident.:sssh:
July 30, 200818 yr UK should have a fine year. Last years team in reality should have only lost the UGA game. It will be hard to be a better team but having an equal or better record is very possible. The reason being is depth and experience. UK's Offensive line will be one of the better lines in the SEC. That will bode well for breaking a new QB into the system. It will take the pressure off of him. The biggest thing the offensive line will benefit will be the strength of the offense... The backfield While UK may not have a Cadillac Williams, Felix Jones, Darren McFadden, etc, the backfield will be one of the better backfields as a whole in the SEC if not nation. It will be a more running back by committee situation but don't be surprised to see someone step up. Derrick Locke- One of the fastest men in College football (4.21 at pro day). As you saw last year, he is not intimidated and will run over, around, or through you. Alfonso Smith- Just a step slower than Locke but bigger. He has a 4.28 speed and showed great promise in the spring. Look for him to step up and be the man this year if I were betting. Tony Dixon- He is more of a versatile back who has the most experience. Started as a freshman but has been injured on and off. If he remains healthy and fixes some fumble problems, he could be a 1000 yard rusher. He is speedy and powerful. Moncell Allen- HE may only be 5'7" but is a load at 230 pounds. As a junior in high school, he was one of the top recruits in the nation before Katrina forced him to move to NC for his senior season. As a senior and playing half a season he ran for over 600 yards. The receivers will be green but has all sorts of talent. Dicky Lyons is the main target returning. If a freshman or Kyrus Lanxter can step up to be the #1 WR, I would like to see Dicky remain in the slot where he is more effective. Word is, Freshman Randall Cobb has been amazing. Look for Cobb, Aaron Boyd, Dicky Lyons, Kyrus Lanxter, and Demoreo Ford to be your key targets. Don't sleep on EJ Fields, Anthony Mosley, Terrance Jones, Gene McCaskill, and converted CB EJ Adams though. I think we will be fine in that aspect. Two years ago WR was the biggest question mark and then last year it was one of the best in the nation. The Defense will be a strong point for the Cats. I know it sounds weird to speak of UK and defense but under Steve Brown combined with maturation, the defense went from 118 to 67 out of 119 teams. That is playing against SEC teams and Louisville's offense last year. Trevard Lindley (CB) and Jeremy Jarmon (DE) are as good as anyone in NCAA. DE- Opposite Jarmon will be Ventrell Jenkins and/or Nii Adjei Oninku. Jenkins has thrived in his switch from the inside to outside and Oninku has been a solid DE his whole career. He was sidelined with injury last season. DT- As long as they stay healthy, the DT rotation should be excellent. Myron Pryor and Corey Peters have the interior locked down and will be even better than last year. Reason for that will be the depth behind them giving them breaks. Ricky Lumpkin and Shane McCord with an occasional cameo by Jenkins will provide quality depth. At linebacker you lose one of the best in the business with Woodyard but the whole unit should be better than last year. After starting at MLB for 3 seasons, Braxton Kelley moves over to the outside to replace Woodyard. Coaches have said it looks like he has played that spot his whole career. On the other side you have Johnny Williams who I think is one of the most underrated defenders at UK. They will be backed up by Sam Maxwell, Brandon Thurmond, Chris Cessna, and some solid freshmen. In the middle is big Micah Johnson. He didn't have the accolades coming outta Ft. Campbell for no reason. Splitting time the past two seasons, he still managed to put up solid numbers. He will be backed up by Redshirt freshman Ronnie Sneed and Mikhail MAbry. Finally the safeties. Marcus McClinton has been a 3 year starter at FS and will be backed up by Calvin Harrison. Both had very good years for the Cats. At the Strong Safety you will have one of the hardest hitters in the SEC with Ashton Cobb. The Junior will take over for Roger Williams and should be a great improvement. Cobb's best game was against LSU last year. He will be backed up by Winston Guy or Matt Lentz. Wins- Louisville, Nofolk, WKU, MTSU, Vandy, and Arkansas Swing games- Bama, SC, Tennessee, and Mississipi State. Probable losses- UGA, Florida 6-6 is a worst case but I see UK at least getting one of the swing games if not two. Baring injuries they could win all of them. I'll go with the safe pick and say the Cats go 8-4 and head to Atlanta or Tampa. :ylsuper::thumb::thumb:
July 30, 200818 yr If Uk is as good as you claim in your other post, then they should have no problem with UofL. Heck, UofL was picked 7th in the Big East. This should be a gimmie for the powerful SEC Cats. Trust me Powell and Bolen are both really good. The offense will score. The defense is the ??. Much like UK's offense is a big ?? With one returning skill player coming back on offense, I would not be so confident.:sssh: How many returning starters in skill positions does UL have on offense for a unit that you said "Will score"? QB Cantwell-no, HB Powell-no, FB Bolen-Yes, WR Long- Yes, WR-Guy no, TE-no..... UK QB Hartline-no, HB Locke-no, FB Connor-yes, WR Lyons-yes, WR Ford-no, TE-no... If we are going by partial starters and production UK has more experience than UL in the skill positions. Edited July 30, 200818 yr by EKUAlum05
July 30, 200818 yr Going from one of the worst defenses in the SEC to the best defense since the 70's for the Cats? What changes were made to the kicking game? Didn't UK have an awesome punter? Who's the running-threat QB? Pulley? Neither have much game experience AT ALL...Young talent is key in your statement of the WR's. You have an abundance of optimism, that is for sure. I actually went to a few practices and the spring game so I think my anaylsis is dead on.
July 30, 200818 yr I'll go with the safe pick and say the Cats go 8-4 and head to Atlanta or Tampa. Great run-down. But I firmly disagree with calling 8-4 a "safe" pick. I don't think the Cats or Cards can consider 8-4 easily attainable.
July 30, 200818 yr How many returning starters in skill positions does UL have on offense for a unit that you said "Will score"? QB Cantwell-no, HB Powell-no, FB Bolen-Yes, WR Long- Yes, WR-Guy no, TE-no..... UK QB Hartline-no, HB Locke-no, FB Connor-yes, WR Lyons-yes, WR Ford-no, TE-no... If we are going by partial starters and production UK has more experience than UL in the skill positions. It's wasy to say it that way, but everyone on Louisville, excluding TE has considerable gametime experience....U of L's offense shouldn't be their achilles' this year.
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