Kentucky will put the finishing touches on spring football Friday at Kroger Field when the Wildcats square off in the annual Blue-White Game. Naturally, quarterbacks will garner a great deal of attention but here are four other UK players that fans should be watching closely.
1ST DOWN: KASH DANIEL, MLB, No. 56
If Kentucky is going to take a big step forward this year, the Wildcats have to improve on the defensive side of the ball. The pieces are there to do that with improved D-Line depth, the return of both Josh Allen and Denzil Ware at outside linebacker, and a big group of talented veterans in the secondary. One of the biggest question marks is at middle linebacker, where UK must replace Courtney Love, a solid contributor who may have meant more to the unit with his leadership than anything else. The departure opens the door to Kash Daniel, the former U.S. Army All-American and "Mr. Football" from Paintsville. He has patiently waited his turn, serving as a backup and special teams standout. Now it's his turn to shine. The coaching staff has been very pleased with his spring performance. Mark Stoops recently said he gives the defense a strong "presence" in the middle of the field, which is exactly what you're looking for at that position.
2ND DOWN: NAASIR WATKINS, OT, No. 66
The Kentucky staff has been sky-high on Watkins ever since they signed him out of Maryland in the Class of 2017. The 6-foot-5, 318-pounder is coming off a strong off-season in the strength and conditioning program and looks like he's ready to step into a key role this season. Veterans George Asafo-Adjei and Landon Young are reportedly playing well this spring, so he may need to wait another year to challenge for a starting job, but rest assured he's going to play quite a bit in 2018. Athletically, he's a unique guy in the O-Line group. It will be fun to watch if he gets some one-on-one matchups with our next selection, his former high school teammate...
3RD DOWN: JOSH PASCHAL, DL, No. 4
We got a taste of Paschal as a freshman last season. This year, we're getting a full helping. The four-star prospect played the hybrid linebacker/defensive end position as a backup for Denzil Ware in 2017, showing glimpses of his enormous potential with 17 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and a blocked punt. One thing the UK staff knew moving into 2018 is they had to find a way to get Paschal on the field more consistently alongside playmakers like Allen and Ware. The result was a position change to defensive tackle, which Paschal has embraced. He's now carrying 280 pounds on his 6-foot-3 frame, and has been a constant nemesis this spring for the UK O-Line. Don't be surprised if he emerges as the star of the unit this season.
4TH DOWN: LYNN BOWDEN, WR, No. 1
I may have saved the best for last here. One thing the UK staff has done consistently since Mark Stoops arrived in Lexington is tempering expectations for individual players. That's hard to do when you sign someone as hyped as Lynn Bowden, but we were warned repeatedly last season not to expect too much, too fast from the four-star Youngstown, Ohio, native. Bowden had some moments as a freshman, but thanks to missing a large portion of summer workouts, he was always playing catch-up. He was also playing receiver exclusively for the first time in his football career, which was a big adjustment. Now that Bowden has that first year under his belt, he could be primed for a breakout season as a sophomore. No one has drawn more daily praise from his coaches and teammates this spring. The quarterbacks -- Gunnar Hoak, Terry Wilson and Danny Clark -- have raved about his playmaking ability. Kentucky desperately needs explosive plays from Bowden this season to help prevent opposing defenses from stacking the box against Benny Snell. It would be nice to see a couple on Friday in the Blue-White Game.
Which non-quarterbacks are you most looking forward to seeing? Share your picks with us on The House of Blue.
