KSR Roundtable: What we learned at Kentucky Football Fan Day

Kentucky football just wrapped up practice No. 4 of the 2023 season on Saturday and did it in front of a big crowd. The Wildcats opened the doors to the practice fields at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility for a padded practice.

There was a lot to unpack. To get us started on this beautiful Saturday afternoon, we’re coming at you with a roundtable that will include takeaways from Adam Luckett and Nick Roush. Let’s dive in.

Offensive Line looks Improved

Luckett: In the offseason, Kentucky added four scholarship offensive line transfers and a fifth — walk-on Dylan Ray from West Virginia — is making a big push early on. These additions were added to improve the trench play. On Saturday, Zach Yenser‘s second offensive line in Lexington look much improved from what we saw in the spring.

A starting lineup that included Marques Cox (left tackle), Kenneth Horsey (left guard), Jager Burton (center), Eli Cox (right guard), and Jeremy Flax (right tackle) created firm pockets for quarterback Devin Leary and had some success creating running room on some gap scheme concepts for the running game.

With the twos, there was a heavy dose of transfers. Ray (left tackle), Tanner Bowles (center), Ben Christman (right guard), and Courtland Ford (right tackle) were joined by returnee Paul Rodriguez. This group created some gashes in the run game and also held up well in pass protection.

Offensive coordinator Liam Coen is already making an impact with this group. Mark Stoops feels that Kentucky is slowly gaining its edge back on this side of the football.

“I thought our physicality is starting to come back on the offensive side of the ball and I want to continue to see that,” Stoops said after practice.

After practice, super senior tight end Brenden Bates spoke with the media. The Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller product said that Vince Marrow has a sign in his position that says “no soft ****”. It’s pretty clear that playing with more physicality is a top goal for this unit and we saw that play out on Saturday.

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No Barion Brown

Roush: Personnel played a big part in why Kentucky’s running game looked better than its aerial attack. The Cats were without two of their top five pass-catchers, Barion Brown and Jordan Dingle. Neither injury is serious. It’s just senseless to play fast and loose with a playmaker’s health this early in fall camp.

Even though Brown did not participate in the practice, he was very involved. The charismatic character was feeding off the fans’ energy and interacting with the Big Blue Nation. Ahead of a special teams period, he fielded punts from the jugs machine (think a pitching machine launching a ball 50 feet into the air for players to receive). The Kentucky wide receiver caught one ball after another, keeping each football in his hands while waiting for the next to arrive. The crowd was impressed when he was able to hold onto three at a time, then let out a sigh when ball No. 4 just bounced out of his grasp.

Anthony Brown will play as a True Freshman

Roush: With Barion on the sideline, the first player to step into his place was another Brown, true freshman Anthony Brown. An early enrollee in the spring, No. 5 has shown the coaches a willingness to work. He already knows the offense well enough to run with the ones and he’s constantly spending time around his teammates.

Anthony Brown is listed as 5-foot-10 on the Kentucky roster, but I don’t believe that for a second. Even though he’s slight of stature, he’s turned that physical weakness into a strength of his game. The only way he can get open is to run great routes. He may not be big, but Brown is strong enough to leverage his body against a defender, creating enough space for the ball to fit in as it arrives. It’s unclear exactly how much he will be used this fall, but there’s no doubt he will regularly make appearances on Saturdays.

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Secondary makes competitive plays

Luckett: Kentucky was without Barion Brown and Jordan Dingle on offense at fan day. That took away some legitimate firepower from the passing game. After the dust settled, the secondary appeared to have won this battle.

Playing boundary cornerback, redshirt sophomore Maxwell Hairston matched up well with Dane Key. Andru Phillips looked the part at boundary cornerback. At safety with the twos, redshirt senior Jalen Geiger made some competitive plays on the football.

There were a handful of pass breakups throughout and overall sticky coverage when the ones were on the field. Cornerback is legitimate concern for this team entering the season but Hairston passed the eye test on Saturday going against a top-level SEC receiver. As of right now, the starters look locked in but developing depth will be important.

Jantzen Dunn, JQ Hardaway, and Jordan Robinson each had some up-and-down moments during open practice. But overall, this group did some good things.

Did Dane Key Catch this Pass?

Roush: I don’t believe he had full possession of the football when his left toe was on the ground. Nevertheless, it’s still one amazing grab from the second-year Kentucky wide receiver.

Josh Kattus is Always Stirring Up Something

Roush: The second-year tight end is called the Ass-Kicker for a reason. He was piling up flapjacks faster than a chef at Sunday brunch. By my count he had four during the team period.

Kattus actually started the day wearing a red jersey, one that’s reserved for injured players who are on light duty. He ditched it ahead of team period to get into the action. Following the first play he and Tre’vonn Rybka had to be separated. That wasn’t even the most intense back-and-forth he had with the defense.

Later on Kattus got the best of Octavious Oxendine, who got lost in the wash on the down block and was taken to the ground. JJ Weaver had his buddy’s back. Weaver won the next battle, then let everyone in the entire facility know about it. Kattus was briefly rattled and sent to the sideline for a play. When he returned, he lined up right across from Weaver. The tight end faked the block, then released down the seam. The safety was nowhere to be found. It was a wide open routine touchdown. Weaver did not mince words, sharing his disappointment with his defensive teammates.

The competitive juices were flowing at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility and it was a beautiful sight to see. Football is Back.