Three Kentucky players to watch against Florida

Kentucky will play in a big boy football game on Saturday night. The contest with Florida in The Swamp could go a long way in the SEC East race.

After a big Week 1 win over Utah, the Billy Napier era got started off with a bang in Gainesville as many are drinking the blue and orange kool-aid this week as hype continues to grow for redshirt sophomore quarterback Anthony Richardson.

Kentucky is feeling confident heading into the contest as a six-point road dog. The Cats will need a big game from redshirt senior quarterback Will Levis to get into the winner’s circle on Saturday night, but he’s not the only player that will need to play well for head coach Mark Stoops.

KSR will be watching three other players as line of scrimmage play will go a long way in determining the winner on Saturday.

Kenneth Horsey looks to provide upgrade at left tackle

After Deondre Buford couldn’t seize the starting left tackle job in fall camp, Kentucky shifted redshirt freshman David Wohlabaugh Jr. over from the right side. That experiment did not last long.

After getting his first start against Miami (Ohio), Kentucky decided to pull Wohlabaugh out of the starting lineup and kick redshirt senior Kenneth Horsey out to left tackle.

Over the last two seasons, Horsey has been Kentucky’s best pass protector, and that skillset is a high priority protecting the blindside. The move is allowing offensive line coach Zach Yenser to get his best five on the field with redshirt freshman Jager Burton taking over for Horsey at left guard.

Horsey served as Kentucky’s swing tackle last season, and the veteran held up well on both the right and left sides receiving snaps against LSU, Mississippi State, Louisville, and Iowa. Horsey got beat a few times in the Citrus Bowl during isolation situations but was solid in other spots last season at tackle.

Kentucky is adding some much-needed experience at an important position, and Horsey should help with communication with Burton on the left side. Florida does not have the most explosive pass rush, but former five-star recruit Brenton Cox Jr. can bring some issues as a pass rusher. Expect defensive coordinator Patrick Toney to give him some one-on-one matchups with Horsey on passing downs.

If Horsey can give the offense an upgrade it could all of a sudden make things a lot easier for Levis and the running game. All eyes will be on the redshirt senior from Central Florida on Saturday.

Octavious Oxendine looks to bounce back

The highly touted class of 2020 defensive line haul is now in year three at Kentucky. That group with numerous top-500 prospects has helped build a strong position room for assistant coach Anwar Stewart. But a star needs to emerge.

In the offseason and throughout fall camp, redshirt sophomore Octavious Oxendine was brought up by the coaching staff and fellow players to be the next star on the defensive line. Before being lost in 2021 with a knee injury, the Radcliff (Ky.) North Hardin product appeared to turn the corner in a strong performance against LSU. Oxendine shedded weight in the offseason as many expected him to fill in for the departing Josh Paschal at Kentucky’s field end position.

In his first game back from injury, the in-state prospect had a middling outing.

Oxendine recorded two assisted tackles in 40 snaps but had issues holding the point of attack against double teams and did not provide much penetration. That has to improve moving forward.

The defense was good against Miami (Ohio), but Kentucky needs more from its defensive front. It starts with Oxendine as the leader of the group. The Cats will use a heavy defensive line rotation on Saturday, but its starters must make plays.

Kentucky needs Octavious Oxendine to shake off the rust and provide some havoc plays against Florida.

La’Vell Wright’s golden opportunity

Despite entering the season with a loaded tailback room, Kentucky finds itself with some depth issues in Week 2.

All-SEC tailback Chris Rodriguez Jr. is still unavailable, and transfer addition Ramon Jefferson was lost for the season against Miami (Ohio). Meanwhile, JuTahn McClain was also injured and is unlikely to play on Saturday. Kentucky is down to three scholarship tailbacks, and we’ve only seen one game.

Kavosiey Smoke will get the start again, and the coaching staff still has a lot of confidence in the redshirt senior. The Wetumpka (Ala.) High native will be a big part of the game plan, but his new primary backup might be the biggest wild card of the night.

La’Vell Wright is a redshirt freshman who brings size (6-0, 217) and a small sample size of explosive production (10.7 yards per rush on 12 career attempts) to the lineup. The former three-star recruit was expected to be heavily involved in the RB2 competition before injuries slowed the young tailback down in fall camp.

Wright is healthy now and brings a bruising downhill running style to the offense with solid vision that should make him a great zone scheme fit. In short-yardage, Wright could give the offense another power option with Rodriguez out. The youngster will get a chance to show what he can do against Florida after playing only 10 snaps last week.

If Wright can give Kentucky anything of plus value on the ground it could be a game-changer for the offense.