3-2-1: Spring practice resumes

Spring break is over and for Kentucky that means football is back underway. This week's Cats Illustrated 3-2-1, presented by Safe Floors and Tubs, touches on the team's first day back and what lies ahead.

Cats Illustrated's 3-2-1 follows a simple format: Three things we've learned, two things we're asking and one bold prediction.

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1. Barker's coming along — slowly

Based on what the coaches (both Mark Stoops and Eddie Gran) said two weeks ago it sure seemed like a 'full go' (to use their words) had been all but categorically ruled out for the spring. The coaches were just doubtful that it would happen, and it certainly hadn't happened yet. It still hasn't happened — no surprise, no setback and no concerns, apparently — but on Tuesday the Cats' offensive coordinator did say that Barker took at least a small step in the right direction.

"Got some reps in team, got some reps in 1-on-1s," Gran told reporters, according to Cats Illustrated's Derek Terry. "He was kinda just put in there at periodic times. Not really getting into rhythm, just wanting to see where he’s at and how he feels after this. We’ll see how it is and we’ll keep progressing him as we go. But he got more reps than he’s had the last three practices before he came back.”

Answering a follow-up question, Gran struck a cautious tone. So don't take Barker's limited reps in 1-on-1 situations as a sign that he's ahead of the non-descript wait-and-see approach from before spring break.

"It’s crazy to go in there and throw him in there for seven plays in a row," Gran told reporters. "That doesn’t make any sense. We have to see where it’s at, how he feels. We’re talking to him each day. We’ll just take it nice and easy. There’s no hurry. We don’t have to win a game here in the next couple of weeks. That’s a good thing.”

The coaches aren't talking in terms of starters and backups and really there's no need to do that. It's widely assumed that Stephen Johnson is the de facto starter following his 7-4 record last season.

At this point in Barker's recovery and return every day that he works out and throws without re-injury has to be taken as a positive. How much of a positive? Without more information and a better idea of how he's feeling and where his arm is at, that much is tough to tell. But he at least felt good enough to throw.

2. Justin Rigg isn't the kind of player many expected him to be

When a relatively little-known three-star tight end from Springboro (Ohio), Justin Rigg, committed to Kentucky not much was known about him. When I first had the opportunity to size him up at a 2015 Rivals Camp Series event he was far more impressive than I anticipated he would be. I didn't know much about him at the time, frankly, except that when I saw him he was one of the biggest bodies on a field full of big football players.

What was impressive about Rigg's physique was - well, just about everything. He had broad shoulders, the right wing span, he kept a straight back with ease, he ran better than expected, he showed off hands that you generally don't associate with those of a player of that size. In short, Rigg looked like a tight end all the way, but even as a better-than-expected athlete he still had the look of a guy who would primarily be an in-line tight end, maybe more of a blocker than a pass-catcher, who would need to continue to develop as a receiver.

While I feel great about that initial impression of Rigg in hindsight (because though only a 'low three-star prospect, he could be one of the most promising players from that 2016 class), Gran's comments on Tuesday indicate that the early scouting report on Rigg hasn't been perfect.

"Then Justin, he catches the ball really well," Gran said. "You can see the athleticism in him for a big, tall guy. His biggest thing is going to be, can he be an on-the-line guy? Can he block? Can he handle up and be -- he’s blocking a nine-technique or he’s blocking a six-technique – can he hold up? So that’s what we’re going to find out here this spring.”

Rigg has impressed the coaches throughout his time at Kentucky dating back to last summer. Just look back and read what they said about nine months ago. They're still talking him up. But he's just not the kind of player that it seemed he would be. That's not a bad thing. It's just that this very large-bodied tight end with sneaky-good receiving skills is actually regarded by Gran as more of a receiver than a blocker.

That could actually help Rigg get on the field given that C.J. Conrad and Greg Hart have been just as roundly praised for their blocking as their receiver, if not more. Perhaps part of the intrigue with Rigg is that he offers something a little different.

3. No major spring surprises thus far.

So far, based on what the coaches have said on the record and what we've heard off the record, this seems to basically be the Kentucky football team of the spring that we and most expected to hear and read about when the season ended.

There probably aren't as many 'sexy' position battles as there are at some other places, with the first string quarterback, the first string running back and the big returning names at receiver still apparently in good shape to hold onto their jobs. At least there hasn't been much scuttlebutt about guys leaping last year's starters on an unwritten depth chart in the coaches' minds.

There are probably going to be more sneaky good position battles on the offensive and defensive lines and maybe in the secondary than at the offensive skill positions.

Players seem to be staying out of trouble. There are some injury issues and some players sidelined, but nothing debilitating or season-changing at this stage. The coaches are talking about players shaking off rust and getting back into the swing of things.

Spring isn't usually a time of major surprises, relative to some other times of the year, but as practice gets cranked back up it seems like everything's par for the course we expected. That's not a bad thing. Any day that passes without an injury is, on the one hand, a good day. Coaches are saying positive things about enough guys that it doesn't seem that they're too down about what they've seen thus far. And there's no reason to doubt that what we perceived months ago as Kentucky's biggest 2017 strengths are substantially different than what we've heard so far.

The new arrivals, those early enrolling freshmen, have earned some praise. But they haven't been consistent themes singled out yet in a way that would signal that returning starters should watch their backs.

All that's to say that spring seems to be playing out according to what most expected to happen, at least so far.

1. In the competition for time at receiver, who will stand out?

The coaches are shedding some light on what receivers are doing in these early days of spring practice. They're not going to share everything. No coaches do. But Gran said on Tuesday that rising senior Blake Bone and redshirt sophomore-to-be Jabari Greenwood are "almost identical."

What does that mean?

Gran's buzzword and expectation from Bone? "Consistency," he said. As for Greenwood, Gran simply said "those guys gotta make plays."

Clevan Thomas was a receiver Gran singled out on Tuesday. He won't likely play the exact same receiver position that Greenwood and/or Bone would, but he seems to be an early candidate to play early on the basis of Gran's Tuesday comments praising him.

That Gran is preaching consistency shouldn't be taken as a surprise, because that's exactly the issue Kentucky's wideouts have struggled with in recent years. The talent has clearly been there and players like Dorian Baker and Garrett Johnson have made big plays at times.

But it shouldn't be taken as a point of concern at this juncture, either. There's always going to be some rust to shake off in the spring, and even if the receivers have looked lights out (they may well have thus far), the coaches are unlikely to deviate from the consistency message anyways.

It's clear that Kentucky has a good number of options at receiver, but there are a lot of unanswered questions. Who will emerge as the go-to big play receiver? How are the catches distributed underneath? How much time will the young players (including those not on campus yet) steal from the older veterans?

2. Are Gran's comments about the offensive line's interior concerning?

Frankly, it's too early to worry about much of anything we're hearing, not hearing or are expecting to hear, and there's such a lid on the information that's coming out a lot is left to the imagination.

The interior of Kentucky's offensive line was a very strong point for last year's team with Jon Toth, Nick Haynes, Jervontius Stallings and Logan Stenberg, among others, anchoring that part of John Schlarman's unit.

Is it concerning that Gran seemed less than thrilled with how the middle of the line has looked thus far? That's a legitimate question, but you wouldn't expect a well-oiled and cohesive machine right now, especially with Jon Toth, the line's four-year leader at center, gone.

It's worth noting that Gran's "criticism," and a constructive one on Tuesday at that, was simple: They're playing too high. They've identified a problem, early in the spring, and they're working on it months before the season. That's not a bad thing. But, it's an issue that has been identified and it needs to be cleaned up.

There seems to be a widespread assumption that Kentucky's offensive line will be just as good as it was last year (and it was really good for most of the year, with some exceptions: USM, UF, Georgia Tech to name three), or even that it might improve. And why not? The number of returning starters, starts and rotation players is impressive. But how can you quantify the significance of the loss of a leader like Toth, who made everyone better and made sure of the line's organization before each play? We'll see in the fall.

For right now don't worry - period. It's too early. But Gran's comments always make for a fun read because he sprinkles the bad with the good and the demands with the praise in a balanced way that keeps fans and players on their toes.

Don't be surprised if there's ultimately a very different receiving corps going into 2017. That's not to say that Clevan Thomas, Lynn Bowden and others are going to take all the catches and immediately become Kentucky's leading receivers, but I've got a sneaking suspicion that newcomers are going to play a heck of a lot and they're going to have some really bright moments.

That doesn't mean that the familiar faces are going to fade into oblivion, but the coaches want competition and one of Gran's statements today almost sounded like a kindly-worded warning: "It's time to go, or they're gonna get passed up, because we got more guys coming in."

Thomas and Bowden are the two incoming receivers most likely to make an impact in their first year, but all the others, from JaVonte Richardson to Isaiah Epps and Joshua Ali, will have opportunities to bypass their redshirts as well. As Darin Hinshaw said early this spring practice season, the coaches want to get those young receivers some reps so the positional turnover isn't so daunting in 2018.

This is bold because as good as UK's receiving class was, a lot of focus is going to be on the older guys because it's their last go-round and they're perceived as needing to pick up the slack left from Jeff Badet's departure. Three years into those guys' college career, it's still too early to write any of them off because the talent is there, but what's more likely: That a talented, deep class of freshmen provide big contributions, or that the older group, whose flaws and inconsistencies are well-known, shed the problems and become regular game-changers? Probably the former.

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