Projecting Kentucky football’s offensive depth chart after spring practice

Boring is often best when it comes to a college football program’s spring practices.

“Pretty drama free for the most part,” Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops said Wednesday after the Wildcats put a bow on spring practice, confirming the team had made it through 15 practices without any major injuries.

Since most of the incoming freshmen are still not on campus and a handful of key veterans were unavailable as they recovered from offseason surgeries, it is clear the product on the practice field over the last month is not the same as the one that will be on display when Kentucky opens the 2023 season against Ball State in September.

Still, there were important developments this spring that have offered insight into areas of strength and areas where work is still needed before the opener.

Here is a position-by-position look at the projected depth chart for the offense after spring practice. We will look at the defense and special teams in another installment.

QUARTERBACK

Projected starter: Devin Leary (6-1, 217, SSr.).

Backups: Deuce Hogan (6-4, 217, Jr.), Kaiya Sheron (6-3, 210, So.), Destin Wade (6-3, 223, RFr.).

What to know: Leary was able to return from a torn pectoral muscle that ended his 2022 season at North Carolina State after just six games to fully participate in spring practice. Early reviews have been stellar for the 2021 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award finalist, but the summer will be important for Leary as he works to master a new offense.

The search for a No. 2 quarterback is ongoing. Sheron took most of the second-team reps in the two open practices this spring, but offensive coordinator Liam Coen told reporters that pecking order was mostly due to Sheron being more comfortable with the offense since he was on the team in 2021 when Coen was coordinator. Wade was the most productive of the backups in UK’s first spring scrimmage and might have a leg up in the backup competition after starting the Music City Bowl loss to Iowa.

What the coaches are saying: “You just watched the film and you could see (Leary’s) ability and how good he is. Coming in here, I’ve been impressed. … We have to be better around him. We’ve got to continue to really work hard, put things together. Give him the protection, get back to having a balanced attack and be able to run the ball effectively, keep people off balance.” — Stoops

RUNNING BACK

Projected starter: Ray Davis (5-10, 216, SSr.).

Backups: Dee Beckwith (6-5, 236, Jr.), Ramon Jefferson (5-10, 210, SSr.), JuTahn McClain (5-9, 198, Sr.), La’Vell Wright (6-0, 214, So.).

What to know: Davis, the transfer from Vanderbilt, stepped into the featured role this spring in the competition to replace Chris Rodriguez as starter. As evidenced by his strong showing against Kentucky last season, Davis has already proven himself at the SEC level. Fans should not expect Davis to be a Rodriguez clone, but he has the ability to gain difficult yards.

With no single running back likely to receive the same share of carries Rodriguez did, depth will be important. McClain has enough versatility to carve out an important role in Coen’s offense. Jefferson did not practice this spring as he works his way back from a torn ACL suffered on the first drive of the 2021 season. Wright has also battled injuries throughout his UK career.

Four-star signee Jamarion Wilcox, who is set to arrive on campus this summer, appears to have a clear opportunity to earn a spot in the rotation as a freshman.

What the coaches are saying: “I like Ray. He’s consistent, dependable. A good, solid runner. … I’ve always trusted JuTahn as a guy that can come in and be steady and be on it, good in the pass pro. Then La’Vell just kind of hasn’t stayed healthy yet. He just hasn’t stayed healthy. He’s practiced and then he’s out for five or six days. So, it’s been hard to truly evaluate that room without consistent participation every day. But, they’re coming along.” — Coen

WIDE RECEIVERS

Projected starters: Barion Brown (6-1, 174, So.), Dane Key (6-3, 195, So.), Tayvion Robinson (5-11, 194, Sr.).

Backups: Jordan Anthony (5-9, 156, RFr.), Anthony Brown (5-10, 168, Fr.), Dekel Crowdus (5-10, 171, So.), Brandon White (5-9, 167, RFr.).

What to know: Excitement is high about the potential of this group after stellar debut seasons from Brown and Key, but Kentucky needs those players and Robinson, who acknowledged inconsistent effort at times in his first season as a Wildcat after transferring from Virginia Tech, to take another step forward if the offense is to thrive. The work Brown and Key put in during summer conditioning will be particularly important as they aim to get stronger so they can better handle SEC defenders.

Stoops singled out Crowdus as a breakout player this spring, offering some much-needed depth to the position after all of Kentucky’s more experienced backups transferred out of the program following last season. An early enrollee, Brown showed reasons to be excited about his future during his first spring practice. Keep an eye on Anthony, who did not participate in spring practice while he focused on a record-breaking freshman track season. Anthony is a raw receiver, but Coen could find creative ways to get him the ball in space and take advantage of his elite speed.

There appears to be snaps available for a freshman at one of the outside receiver positions with four-star signee Shamar Porter and three-star signee Ardell Banks arriving this summer.

What the coaches are saying: “Our receiver room is very different really than it was two years ago. We had Josh Ali and Wan’Dale (Robinson) two years ago and you knew what both of those guys did well or didn’t do well and where they fit in the offense and trying to gear concepts toward them. Whereas Barion, Dane, Tayvion, Dekel, those guys are all a little bit different than them. So, trying to just find out right now as we learn the offense I’m learning about them and trying to learn what they do well, what we need to work on. But also trying to see, who fits on some of the routes Wan’Dale ran? Who fits some of the routes that Josh ran and had success with? Trying to piece those things together, but definitely a different room. But talented for sure.” — Coen

TIGHT ENDS

Projected starters: Jordan Dingle (6-4, 238, So.), Josh Kattus (6-4, 231, So.).

Backups: Khamari Anderson (6-5, 238, Fr.), Brenden Bates (6-5, 251, SSr.), Izayah Cummings (6-3, 232, Sr.).

What to know: No position was harder to judge this spring than tight end, where Dingle, Kattus and Bates were all unavailable after offseason surgeries. That meant extra reps for Cummings and Anderson, an early enrollee from the 2023 high school class, but neither player brings the same physicality of the injured trio.

The good news is when all Kentucky’s tight ends are healthy, Coen should have the ability to get creative with personnel formations. Expect multiple tight ends to be on the field at the same time at most times this fall, lessening some of the pressure on the freshmen wide receivers to play immediately.

What the coaches are saying: “Right now it’s hard to really see who we’re truly going to be without Brenden Bates, Dingle, Kattus, those guys. So, it’s really hard for us to see. What’s nice about those guys being out right now is our receivers are getting a ton of reps because we’re having to play in some 11 personnel versus being a little bit more 12, which I think we relied on pretty heavily in 2021. That’s probably the only difference, I guess, right now. I think if you look at us in the fall, probably will be an 11-personnel, 12-personnel team. Going to look, I’ve got to believe, pretty similar to ‘21 to the fans, but in terms of who the offense is run through. … Two years ago the offense was run through Chris Rodriguez, Wan’Dale Robinson and our quarterback. I can’t say if that’s the case right now. I have no idea.” — Coen

OFFENSIVE LINE

Projected starters: LT Marques Cox (6-5, 311, Sr.), LG Kenneth Horsey (6-3, 311, SSr.), C Jager Burton (6-4, 307, So.), RG Eli Cox (6-4, 311, Sr.), RT Jeremy Flax (6-6, 315, Sr.).

Backups: Grant Bingham (6-5, 321, RFr.), Tanner Bowles (6-5, 306, Sr.), Deondre Buford (6-3, 312, Jr.), Nik Hall (6-6, 314, RFr.), Josh Jones (6-6, 343, Jr.), Koby Keenum (6-4, 295, Fr.), Paul Rodriguez (6-5, 324, So.), David Wohlabaugh (6-6, 321, So.), Malachi Wood (6-8, 283, Fr.).

What to know: The addition of Cox, a transfer from Northern Illinois, led to a shuffling of positions this spring with Horsey, Burton and Cox each moving one spot to the right from their 2022 positions. The move of Burton was first discussed as an experiment this spring, but Stoops confirmed Wednesday the plan is to keep him there and Cox at right guard. This group still has much to prove after an abysmal 2022 season, but there were at least signs of progress during spring practice.

The one starting job still up for grabs is at right tackle. Flax, the incumbent, took most of the first-team reps in the two open practices, but Coen and offensive line coach Zach Yenser made it clear that Buford and Wohlabaugh remain in the competition. Hall could also be a factor, but he missed spring practice after an offseason surgery. It is likely Kentucky adds at least one more tackle in the transfer portal as well.

What the coaches are saying: “Bringing a couple of guys in with Marques and Tanner. I think it’s kind of lit a little fire. There’s more competition in the room, and guys can’t relax. They know they’ve got to bring it every day. We’re still trying to figure out the right tackle spot right now. Whether that’s somebody in our room or we’ve got to go get another one, we’re going to do whatever we have to do to feel confident to be able to win games this fall.” — Yenser

2023 UK season opener

Ball State at Kentucky

When: Sept. 2

2022 records: Ball State 5-7, Kentucky 7-6

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