We're filling the front page with football as fall camp is almost upon us.

CI publisher Justin Rowland has been counting down his top five players for Kentucky heading into the 2024 season, and here managing editor Jeff Drummond reveals his list and rationale.

1. Deone Walker

2. Maxwell Hairston

3. Jamon Dumas-Johnson

4. Marques Cox

5. Barion Brown

I went with Deone Walker, aka The Grizzly, at the top of the list. Bold move, eh? Walker has the potential to be the best D-Lineman that UK has ever produced, and this is a huge season for his NFL Draft hopes. I think we're going to see him take his play to a new level with the impressive work he's done to slim down a bit in the off-season.

Max Hairston was a clear No. 2 for me coming off a sophomore season which saw him take a huge leap forward as a ball-hawking corner. I'm really excited to see him with another season of experience under his belt.

I continued to stick with defense by placing Pop Dumas-Johnson on my list despite the fact that he's never played a down for the Cats. I trust what we saw from him in a Georgia uniform. If you were a playmaker on those championship defenses, you should be one here as well. He has All-SEC talent.

The last two spots go to offense with Marques Cox a rock-solid left tackle with both athletic and cerebral ability to protect Brock Vandagriff's backside, and Barion Brown for his massive potential.

He's been more athlete than receiver thus far -- and one could argue he belongs on this list for special teams alone -- but all the buzz this spring indicated that Daikiel Shorts is helping him make progress toward becoming an all-around player.