What We Learned During Spring: Kentucky Offense

The 2022 Kentucky football team entered their first normal offseason since 2019 after the Citrus Bowl win, but the program found a way to make it unique. After quickly re-signing Mark Stoops to new terms and keeping Brad White away from LSU, some unexpected changes happened on the offensive side of the football.

Eric Wolford surprisingly left for Alabama after just one season with the program. Shortly after, Sean McVay named Liam Coen as the new offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams. All of a sudden, Kentucky had much turnover to deal with on offense despite getting both Will Levis and Chris Rodriguez Jr. back for their redshirt senior seasons.

San Francisco 49ers assistants Rich Scangarello and Zach Yenser have stepped in to take over the unit and just completed their first spring practice with the program. After covering all 15 practices, here is what we know about the group.

Will Levis appears primed for a monster season

Last season, Penn State transfer Will Levis recorded 24 touchdown passes to go along with a ton of success rushing the football. His return means that the program will get a 20-plus touchdown guy back behind center for the first time since 2007.

Yes, it has been that long.

In 2006, Andre’ Woodson collected 32 total touchdowns in a breakthrough season that saw him lead the Wildcats to an upset victory over Clemson at the Music City Bowl. That propelled Woodson to a monster senior year where the Radcliff (Ky.) North Hardin product threw 40 touchdown passes and led the Wildcats to wins over Louisville, LSU, and Florida State.

Kentucky is hopeful that Levis can have a similar breakthrough season. The quarterback seems to be hitting all of the checkpoints.

The offense was not great in the open practice the media was invited to, but Levis was razor-sharp in the spring game leading the ones to a pair of touchdown drives. Early reviews have been very positive from Scangarello, and the expectation is for Levis to have a big season.

Levis has a great chance to be the best quarterback not named Bryce Young in the SEC next year. That should lead to a big year for Kentucky football.

JuTahn McClain will have a huge role

JuTahn McClain was a significant four-star recruiting win for Vince Marrow in the class of 2020 as the Fairfield (Ohio) High running back put up big numbers against very tough competition in Ohio. The all-purpose back was expected to make a big impact as a sophomore, but McClain was forced to miss a bunch of practice time and the first four games of the season due to an off-campus fight incident.

However, McClain showed some flashes to end the season as both a rusher and a passer. Through the spring, it has been proven that the junior is the clear No. 2 at the spot for position coach John Settle.

McClain has received a ton of reps with the ones lining up as a traditional tailback as well as outside as a receiver. The third-year player will have a major role in the offense and will be a key piece when Scangarello builds out formations to create a schematic advantage against the defense.

Meanwhile, Kavosiey Smoke appears to have fallen behind and could be looking behind more than a couple of players at tailback.

Kentucky must be ready to move forward at tackle

Throughout the spring, one huge transfer target loomed around the program. Vanderbilt transfer Tyler Steen felt close to a must-get player to help fill a hole at offensive tackle. However, Wolford never stopped recruiting the transfer and was able to land a recruiting win for Alabama.

Kentucky now seems set to enter the month of May without a transfer offensive tackle. That means the team must be ready to win SEC games with the tackle personnel available on the roster.

Redshirt junior Jeremy Flax appeared to take a huge step forward. The former junior college transfer has locked up a starting spot at right tackle. On the other side, Deondre Buford is the clubhouse leader at left tackle, but the redshirt sophomore is being pushed by David Wohlabaugh Jr. and Kiyaunta Goodwin.

Flax answering the bell checks off a big box for the offense. Now Yenser must find one guy to be the dude at left tackle. Kentucky appears to have some quality options, but each is very young. We should expect some growing pains at the position.

The coaching staff will continue to monitor the transfer portal, but solid starting left tackles usually aren’t looking for somewhere else to play. Kentucky needs Flax to continually solidify that right tackle spot as the team looks for a long-term answer at left tackle.

You can scheme around one iffy situation at tackle. It is much harder to do it around two.

Recruiting has completely flipped the WR room

In 2020, the Kentucky offense was in very bad shape. The Wildcats built a very strong rushing attack, but the passing game had slowly developed into one of the worst in college football. There were some issues at quarterback, but mainly, the team lacked talent at wide receiver.

Mark Stoops decided to make a coaching change to switch things up, but the No. 1 priority was to get more talent at wide receiver. Less than two years later, that position is ready to be a program strength in 2022.

The success of Wan’Dale Robinson appeared to open some big-time transfer doors. Tavyion Robinson (Virginia Tech) appears ready for a huge season, and expectations are high for outside receiver Javon Baker (Alabama). Meanwhile, solid high school recruiting wins are starting to add up.

Dane Key flashed in his first spring and will be able to help Kentucky as a true freshman. Chris Lewis is someone multiple folks talked about, and the redshirt freshman could have a role. Dekel Crowdus has top-end speed and could be the vertical field stretcher this offense desperately needs. Barion Brown is a top-100 recruit who is expected to make an impact even if it is only on gadget play designs.

Levis is the No. 1 reason for optimism for the offense followed by what could be an extremely efficient rushing attack powered by Rodriguez and the Big Blue Wall. However, explosive plays are needed to create easy scoring opportunities. The best way to produce them is with the passing game.

Kentucky has the quarterback and the skill talent to now test defenses at multiple levels with the passing game. The quick recruiting success at wideout has raised the ceiling for the 2022 offense.

Kentucky has best offense since 2007

Games are not played on paper. We all know that. Kentucky has plenty of unknowns to get through in 2022. Coaching change can be difficult, there is a lack of quarterback depth, and tackle is a big concern. Despite all of that, this seems like the program’s best offense in nearly two decades.

The identity is not changing under Scangarello as the Wildcats will remain a run-first operation. The interior trio of Eli Cox, Kenneth Horsey, and Tashawn Manning will assure the offense of rushing success with Rodriguez toting the rock. Levis is a proven quarterback with some legit weapons at the power conference level.

All of the pieces are there for this offense to score points in bunches this season. If a few things hit, Kentucky could turn into a top-10 offense in 2022.