Kentucky Football Cracks Top 5 of SEC Power Rankings

Talking season is underway in Nashville, Tennessee. SEC Media Days kicked off Monday afternoon, unleashing takes from all corners across the conference. Mark Stoops’ Kentucky football team is already making a splash.

Friend of the program Cole Cubelic rolled out his SEC Power Rankings and it’s not going to make the folks in Knoxville happy. Ahead of the season he ranked the Wildcats No. 5 in the conference, second in the SEC East to only Georgia.

“I know people don’t like that. People won’t want to hear that,” the SEC Network analyst said on the Cube Show. “But if you point to Kentucky last year, what was the problem? The offensive line. That was about it.

“Now, you lose a really good running back, but you plug in Ray Davis, another really good running back. Those freshman receivers that were really good, they’re a year older. Now you bring in an offensive coordinator that’s going to make life easier getting them the football and finding matchups and he’s going to have a scheme that’s a little better suited for an offensive line that might just be a bunch of glass-eaters. Liam Coen’s addition is huge.”

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Devin Leary: “The kid can f—ing play.”

Cubelic will not be the only prognosticator that is bullish on the Wildcats in the preseason. The return of Liam Coen plays a significant role in that equation. Brad White is also finally starting to receive some well-deserved recognition for consistently fielding one of the SEC’s best defenses. One person that often gets omitted in these forecasts is arguably Kentucky’s most important offseason addition, quarterback Devin Leary.

“I see all of these preseason quarterback things, all of these preseason SEC deals and there’s almost no conversation about Devin Leary. I’m here to tell you guys the kid can f—ing play. If he’s healthy and he’s upright, he can play,” Cubelic said emphatically.

“It comes down to the offensive line. You go get a transfer from USC (Courtland Ford), you go get a transfer from Northern Illinois (Marques Cox), who’s plug and play. You move some guys around with Kenneth Horsey and Eli Cox back and you add a little bit of a new scheme that I think will help them be better. Keep in mind, when they had this scheme a couple years ago, there were different players, but they were better at it. If the tight ends come around, it will also be a massive help for Kentucky.

“The blueprint is still there for Stoops of being hard-nosed, being a bunch of grinders that will just fight you and that’s not going to go away. Add in some of the things they’ve got, I think Kentucky’s next.”

Cole Cubelic’s SEC Power Rankings

1. Georgia
2. LSU
3. Alabama
4. Texas A&M
5. Kentucky
6. Tennessee
7. Ole Miss
8. South Carolina

For the rest of the his power rankings, check out the Cube Show on YouTube.