Kentucky a "poor man’s Georgia?" Analyst says Wildcats are close

On3 imageby:Jack Pilgrim09/30/22

George Whitfield is the founder of quarterback training academy Whitfield Athletix, working with the likes of Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Donovan McNabb, Jameis Winston and Johnny Manziel. He’s also a college football analyst, now working with The Field of 12 and previously with ESPN.

After watching Kentucky play this season, the quarterback guru is convinced the Wildcats are not only on the same level as Georgia in some regards, they’re better.

“I think Kentucky is a poor man’s Georgia,” Field of 12 host and former Arkansas quarterback Clint Stoerner said this week. “I don’t mean that in as negative a connotation as that sounds, I just can’t come up with anything better.”

Whitfield’s thoughts? Kentucky is firmly the third-best team in the SEC behind Georgia and Alabama, and they’re not too far behind. When you factor in the Wildcats’ toughness and talent on both sides of the football, it’s a very real conversation to be had.

“I don’t think that’s negative at all, I think that’s facts,” Whitfield responded. “Behind Georgia and Alabama — and I don’t even know how far behind — I don’t know if there’s an SEC team that puts a better, stronger, badder 22 (players) on the field (than Kentucky). They can step out there and go man-to-man in the trenches, they run downhill, meet you at the point of attack, there’s no real finesse to this team. They want to go toe-to-toe, there’s no dancing, none of that stuff. They’re not throwing combos, they’re throwing haymakers.”

Poor man’s Georgia? Maybe. Or Kentucky is simply the next Georgia.

“If they’re a poor man’s Georgia — I think their quarterback is better than Georgia’s, I think they do some things offensively that’s a little bit more dynamic,” Whitfield added. “No one touches Georgia’s defense, but Kentucky has a formidable one. If you put them up against a whole bunch of teams in the country at a neutral site, Kentucky comes out of that. They’re coached hard, coached well, smart players, but the physicality of this unit — they have a brand. The brand isn’t too far off that super Raptor truck that is Georgia. They’re like the next model down right now, which is still a really badass brand.”

Stoerner agreed, adding that the two schools check the same boxes on both sides of the football. Georgia obviously has the talent of a No. 1 team in America, but in terms of identity, culture, physicality and skill, the two SEC programs aren’t far off.

“When I look at Georgia, I can check that same box in Kentucky — other than just outright No. 1 team in the country,” he said. “Other than that, I can check those boxes.”

Coming in at No. 7 in the country, the ranking justifies the hype. The Wildcats will have to back it up Saturday taking on the No. 14 Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford.

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2024-03-28