3 Kentucky players to watch against Akron

Kentucky is 2-0 and looking to clean some things up this week before a stretch of eight SEC games in nine weeks begins on Sept. 23 in Nashville. The Wildcats are once again a huge home favorite in a non-conference contest and will get one final tune-up opportunity on Saturday night.

Joe Moorhead‘s second Akron team has some legitimate skill talent weapons, but the quarterback position is a big worry while the defense appears to be making some real strides in Week 2. Establishing the run and holding up in coverage could be two key areas to focus on this week.

Establishing the run

We’ve only seen Kentucky’s tailbacks record 38 rush attempts over the first two games of the season. That’s not a lot of work. I have a feeling we could see an uptick on Saturday.

Ray Davis, JuTahn McClain, and Ramon Jefferson have combined to average 5.6 yards per rush on a poor success rate (36.8%), but the big plays have been there. The Wildcats have seven runs of 10-plus yards with four going for 20-plus yards. Davis has shown some burst when he gets to the second level as the Wildcats are running some stretch mid and outside zone that could lead to more chunk plays and less efficiency on the ground.

The jury is still out on whether Kentucky can run it when they have to run it, but I believe we could see an opening script change to get the traditional run game more involved early. That could lead to more touches for Davis, who has looked like a legit SEC RB1 through eight quarters.

Don’t be surprised if the Vanderbilt transfer pushes 20 touches this week as the Wildcats get ramped up for SEC play.

Good work at cornerback

Akron has a big QB problem entering Week 3, but the Zips have some talent at receiver. Former LSU transfer Alex Adams (6-1, 190, RJr.) and former Penn State transfer Daniel George (6-2, 210, Super) combined to record 130 receptions, 1,643 yards, and 11 touchdowns last season. Adams earned All-MAC honors in his first year with the program, and George leads the team in receiving yards (101) through two games.

Kentucky’s cornerbacks could be tested on Saturday night.

Andru Phillips has played 119 snaps through two games with 12 tackles and some time spent in the slot at nickel. However, the redshirt junior is Kentucky’s boundary cornerback on early downs and that means he will see a lot of action as the season progresses. So far, Phillips has held up well in coverage while also being a productive tackler. Week 3 could be a good test.

Akron has the best wide receivers that Kentucky has seen to this point in the season. The overall pass defense numbers (69.5% completion rate, 7.5 yards per attempt) have not been good. Joe Moorhead’s offense will look to challenge Kentucky on the outside. Expect Phillips to get a lot of action.

Who is RT1?

In Week 1, Jeremy Flax was one of Kentucky’s top offensive line players as he made a key run block to help create a goal-to-go touchdown and allowed only one pressure in 30 pass protection snaps. However, Flax was made unavailable giving the next man up a playing time opportunity.

USC transfer Courtland Ford took advantage of that opportunity allowing zero pressures in 39 pass protection snaps, and held up well in the run game. As expected, the battle at this position is a tight one.

Did Ford do enough to overtake Flax? Do we see a more even rotation on Saturday? We may not learn a lot in Week 3, but we should get a better idea of who is the offense’s top option at right tackle. Keep an eye on who is receiving the snaps at this spot early in the game.