KSR Today: Kentucky's prep for Florida rolls on
We have our first big game week of the football season here in the last few days of September. At high noon on Saturday, toe will meet leather at Kroger Field when Florida and Kentucky square off for the 74th team. Florida owns a commanding 54-20 lead in the series, but the Wildcats have won two in a row for the first time since 196-77 and own three victories in the last five meetings with the Gators. Kentucky has had a lot of success against Florida under Mark Stoops.
The head coach is chomping at the bit to go against the Gators again. Stoops expects a wild atmosphere despite the early kickoff time in Lexington.
Later this evening, offensive coordinator Liam Coen and the rest of the offense will meet with the media for their weekly press conference. KSR will have boots on the ground to keep the pregame coverage rolling. Make sure you join the party at KSBoard where live updates will be provided.
Let’s recap everything we learned yesterday on a busy Monday in the Bluegrass.
Honors roll in for Maxwell Hairston
Redshirt sophomore cornerback Maxwell Hariston was one of the biggest unproven starters on Kentucky’s defense entering the season. The former three-star recruit out of Greater Detroit is quickly making a name for himself this season.
After a good three-game run to begin the season, Kentucky faced a different challenge in Week 4 against pass-heavy Vanderbilt. Will Sheppard is a potential All-SEC wideout, and the Commodores to targeted him heavily against Kentucky. Quite often, Hairston was the player going one-on-one with the true senior who owns 132 career receptions for 1,728 yards and 19 touchdowns. Hairston won most of the battles.
The third-year player played a big role in Sheppard only recording two receptions on 10 targets, and had the two biggest highlight plays with a pair of interceptions that turned into defensive touchdowns. Hairston was rewarded for that huge performance.
The Kentucky cornerback brought home SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Monday. There is a ton of praise going around for Kentucky’s secondary. That group will face another challenge on Saturday.
Graham Mertz vs. Devin Leary
When looking for a transfer portal quarterback back in December, Kentucky hosted two mid-year transfers for official visits. Both of those targets will be taking snaps from under center on Saturday afternoon at Kroger Field.
Graham Mertz was the first big name to emerge for Kentucky. The Wisconsin quarterback was considered the leader at one point in Kentucky’s search before Devin Leary emerged as a candidate. The Wildcats decided to roll with Leary, and Mertz committed to Wisconsin shortly after. Now the two transfers will go head-to-head on Saturday.
Mark Stoops has respect for Mertz’s game.
“He’s been very good with the football. They have very few turnovers in general. Want to say he maybe only has one. He’s been very efficient, very smart,” Stoops said about Graham Mertz on Monday. “Getting rid of the football and taking care of the ball and running their offense. He’s been very efficient.”
This week will very much be about Leary vs. Mertz. How each team went about landing their transfer quarterbacks will be a storyline leading up to the game.
Kenneth Horsey is still TBD
Kentucky made a shift on the offensive line in Week 4 when Eli Cox switched inside to center, and Jager Burton took over at right guard. For the third game in a row, Kentucky played without four-year starting left guard Kenneth Horsey as West Virginia transfer Dylan Ray made his third consecutive start. The redshirt sophomore has held his own, but the offense is ready to get Horsey back into the lineup.
There was a thought that the super senior could return this week. However, things are currently in a holding pattern.
“Kenneth is getting better,” Stoops said about Horsey. “I don’t know if he’s going to be ready to play this week or not, but he wants to be out there with his teammates, especially being from Florida and being a senior. Believe me, he wants to be out there. And we’ll see where he is.”
We play the waiting game.
Prime time kickoff in Athens
We’re all ready to see Florida and Kentucky lock horns on Saturday afternoon at Kroger Field, but we found out what time kickoff will be when the Wildcats travel to Athens in Week 6. Get ready for premium viewing window on big ESPN.
Get ready for a loaded college football slate next Saturday to start a strong October run.
- Oklahoma vs. Texas | Noon | ABC
- LSU at Missouri | Noon | ESPN
- Maryland at Ohio State | Noon | FOX
- Alabama at Texas A&M | 3:30 | CBS
- UCF at Kansas | 4:00 | FOX
- Arkansas at Ole Miss | 7:30 | SEC Network
- Notre Dame at Louisville | 7:30 | ABC
KSR has you covered on YouTube
Things were popping on KSR’s YouTube channel. Podcasts, press conference, and rapid reactions. Did you miss the action? Don’t worry because we have you covered.
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard