Monday Huddle: Kentucky camp is off and running

Football season is here. Now we just have to play the waiting game until the actual games start.

KSR’s Monday Huddle is making its return for its third consecutive season, and our weekly feature will serve as a newsletter to get each football week started in the Bluegrass. There will be a lot to cover and discuss over the next few weeks before Miami (Ohio) rolls into town on Labor Day weekend.

The Wildcats are entering a big season with high expectations and have one of the deepest rosters in program history with a schedule that includes eight home games. Those expectations should be high.

Let’s set the table for what will be an important week at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility.

First Down: Growing pains on offense

Since Rich Scangarello was hired to be the new offensive coordinator at Kentucky, we’ve seen the offense three times — open practice in spring, spring game, and Kentucky Fan Day this past weekend. In the spring game, the ones looked terrific as Will Levis took the team down to score two touchdowns in two possessions before calling it a day.

But for the second time, the offense struggled in a practice setting.

At the practice, Kentucky’s QB1 threw interceptions in multiple different periods of practice. Playing against Brad White’s zone-heavy scheme loaded with veterans, the defense was ahead of the passing game. You got a sense that the timing of plays was somewhat off for Scangarello’s unit and that Levis wasn’t seeing things clearly.

The redshirt senior was very disappointed in his group’s effort.

“Not up to our standard,” Levis told KSR after Saturday’s practice. “Me personally didn’t make some good decisions. There’s going to be those days where the defense gets the best of us — it’s definitely been back and forth this year — but today wasn’t our day. We had some flashes, but I need to be a lot better.”

There is a long way to go, and Kentucky has many moving parts. Some expected key contributors are adjusting on the fly after not participating in spring practice. There is time to improve, but it’s clear that this offense has work to do and some growing pains should be expected.

Seeing how this unit develops over the next couple of weeks with two full pad scrimmages upcoming will be important to monitor.

Second Down: Defense looks old and motivated

At the most recent open practice, White’s fourth defense at Kentucky looked like the clear top side of the ball. The group has depth at multiple spots, and some new transfer additions help give the unit some different looks. But returners are leading the way.

A case can be made that Kentucky’s linebacker room is among the best in college football. White has a pair of super seniors — Jacquez Jones and DeAndre Square — setting the table along with talented sophomores D’Eryk Jackson and Trevin Wallace. All four of these players were a pain in the rear for the offense to deal with on Saturday. Each made instinctual and competitive plays in coverage.

The secondary might have been the biggest surprise. Returning starter Carrington Valentine won his fair share of battles in isolation and produced some plays on the ball. That ball production is something we did not see last year. At the other spot, redshirt sophomore Andru Phillips looked like he belonged.

On the line of scrimmage, Kentucky looks to be a legit two-deep at every spot and three-deep at others. Blue-chip freshman Deone Walker was one of the stars of the show, and it’s clear that the Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech product will have a role this season.

“That’s a different cat right there,” Jones told the media on Saturday. “He’s so big and the way he moves I feel like Deone he’s special. Nobody that big should be able to move like that. He’s a special talent.”

Expected secondary contributors Zion Childress and Keidron Smith are still adjusting to life at Kentucky. The veterans got most of their reps with the twos on Saturday.

The defense has depth and experience. That might take this unit a long way.

Third Down: Class of 2022 passes the look test

In the most recent recruiting cycle, Mark Stoops again signed the best class in Kentucky football history. The Wildcats finished with the No. 15 class as the group fell inside the top-20 in average star rating and inked a pair of top-100 recruits to go along with 10 more top-500 prospects.

Those players are making noise early in their careers.

Alex Afari and Keaten Wade should have roles on defense along with Walker. Dane Key is already a starter at wide receiver, and the coaching staff is making a concerted effort to get Barion Brown some reps with the ones. Kiyaunta Goodwin is also expected to get rotational snaps at left tackle at some point this season.

Those were known assets as each was a top-300 recruit coming out of high school. However, quite often, a signing class can be determined success or failure based on how some of the lower-ranked players turn out. Kentucky seems to have found an early hit on one.

Josh Kattus was a low three-star tight end prospect out of Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller who had multiple Power Five offers but decided to continue the Moeller pipeline at Kentucky. Coming out of high school, the true freshman had a reputation as an instant impact blocker, and that is showing up at camp.

“He’s turned heads ever since he got here,” Levis told KSR. “Obviously, not the biggest dude at tight end position, but he’s just got a really good feel for the game.”

“I think he’ll get some burn this year.”

Kattus was on the winning end of a few crushing blocks at Saturday’s practice and that brought out a huge reaction from the team. As a versatile piece, the tight end could have a specific role in an offense that will need blocking in space from the off-ball tight end in some bigger personnel groupings. The rookie could become an unexpected contributor quickly.

The new class is already making an impact, and there have only been a few practices. That’s a very good sign.

The week ahead at KSR

There is basketball in the Bahamas this week, but we will be staying in football mode as well with the season quickly approaching. With media opportunities three times this week, expect numerous updates on how camp is developing.

Want podcasts? Both 11 Personnel and The Depth Chart Podcast will be recording this week. Make sure you are subscribed on your favorite podcast feed. If video is your thing, go over to YouTube and subscribe to KSR’s channel. Videos are going up daily with podcasts included. Make sure you are following along as our pivot to video gets cranked up over the next couple of weeks.

Football is coming.