Kentucky's bye week comes with four games remaining in the season.

It's a good time to hit the pause button and open the floor for questions, so I took a round from both Twitter and Cats Illustrated users. Here's my attempt at answers.

Based on the chatter that I heard when the NCAA made its announcement about a free year for players, there was a lot of downplaying what it would mean for Kentucky. For that reason I'm inclined to think that almost everyone will be prepared to move on, whether they still harbor NFL aspirations or not. After four or five years of college there's probably only so much someone can do to improve their stock, and perhaps no more playing another season of college football than they could by training on their own and trying to work their way onto a roster. However, I wouldn't be shocked if they welcome one or two guys back, and I'd say that for any team.

It must have been a pretty tentative hold on that top spot on the depth chart. We've always cautioned not to read too much into the depth chart. Drennen got fewer snaps than Josh Ali, Bryce Oliver, Allen Dailey, and DeMarcus Harris. It may have just been something to signal to the young guy that they recognize his hard work and are intent on getting him more time, but they didn't want to put too much on him against such a strong secondary.

In the SEC it's always hard to predict that unless you're talking about a five-star talent but the question makes sense given the receiver play and the fact that the class should be pretty heralded. The two receivers I'm highest on in this class are Christian Lewis and Armond Scott. I would give Drennen and Izayah Cummings a better chance of starting next year but there has to be a pretty open competition that gives young guys a chance.

That's the task. It's pretty impressive that Rodriguez has had as much success as he has had with how defenses have been able to lock Kentucky's receivers up on the outside. I suspect he will continue to have success against the teams still on UK's schedule given who he has run well against so far.

Tight end Jordan Dingle is obviously one of their top remaining targets from the 2021 class, and they don't have many spots left. In spite of the offensive woes I think the tight ends have played pretty well this year and they've been more involved in the passing game, so that's something positive to sell.

Christian Lewis is the one guy I would probably be watching most closely with Ole Miss, Texas A&M and others on him pretty hard but he's got a good relationship with Jon Sumrall. Dekel Crowdus seemed to tap the brakes on talk about other schools when Josh Helmholdt caught up with him recently. JUCO 'backer Joko Willis is a great athlete and a bunch of other schools have had him on their radar for a while. JUCOs are always a bit tough to lock down because they're away from home. I'm not predicting any of those guys will leave. As far as guys committed elsewhere, linebacker Devon Williams (Minnesota, formerly committed to UK) is someone to watch and there are a couple of tight ends committed elsewhere they could move on if Dingle doesn't pick UK.

The FutureCast is 100% in favor of Michigan and I'm not inclined to go against that kind of unanimity without a good reason to feel everyone is totally wrong. I would say Michigan State is pretty high up there and Kentucky still may be the darkhorse but smart money is on the Wolverines until something else leaks. His decision will come next Monday.

It makes it harder to seal the deal with the receivers they have. That's no small thing. The numbers and the eye test play into what every other school will be saying in terms of negative recruiting, and to really change the game on offense they have to keep those guys on board. It might make it a bit harder to close on guys like Dingle, Benny, some flip candidates, etc., who have been open to Kentucky, but in the grand scheme most of this class was already together. When you fall short of expectations it does put you on the defensive and knock your finish down a notch. You have to hope they at least play well and do something exciting the last month of the season, or maybe get a big-time 2022 commitment early -- think Gavin Wimsatt -- to reverse course in that class.

I don't really put this on Gran, maybe more on the offensive philosophy that Stoops wants, but it's probably fair to say a different system would have made the program more attractive to Rondale Moore, Wandale Robinson, and guys like that. That's not to say that style of football would be any more successful in terms of winning games -- 18 in two years, four straight bowls. But it certainly does affect recruiting skill guys.

That's probably fair to say. At the same time, there is always a balance between "win now" and "build for later" because part of building for later is keeping some present momentum to keep the team's morale high and to recruit well. If they beat South Carolina and Vanderbilt to finish 4-6, that's actually a higher conference winning percentage than last year's 3-5. Once everyone steps back they would realize that record isn't the end of the world and doesn't have to hurt your overall standing as a program.

Epps' situation coming back from injury and complications remains a mystery. He played 11 snaps in a recent game, but he seems to have an uphill climb with Ali, Dailey, Oliver, Harris, Cummings, Drennen, Thomas, and Hayes, probably, as ahead of him in the pecking order. As for Crumes, the same applies but he's young enough that it's too early to say his situation right now defines his future with the program.

I think they've got a shot. Vince Marrow knows the Aspirations Gym well and UK was obviously in very early. His weight loss is impressive and makes him even more intriguing as a prospect. Ohio State looks like a prohibitive favorite but not so much I'd call it a certain lock.

Woody1977: Justin, as of right now. Does the wr's that UK has committed in this coming class going stay with there UK commit. Or is there other schools trying to get them UK right now. With the concerning problems with passing attack right now at UK offense.

That's the million dollar question.

Ole Miss and Texas A&M like Christian Lewis, but he's communicating well with the UK staff.

Texas and some others have recruited Dekel Crowdus, but he's also communicating well with UK and I like where they stand with him.

Armond Scott has reaffirmed his status as solid with the 'Cats and I think Chauncey Magwood will stick around, although Florida State has recruited him.

Mister Rogers: JUCO WR targets

Can't say that I have heard of any. It does seem like that would be a help if they could find someone who can really play.

HoptownCat93: With Terry's midseason "issues" and the record now being disappointing, is there any reason not to start Gatewood the rest of the year? Record now does not matter and we need to get ready for the future.

At this point I would assume that Gatewood is going to be the guy for the rest of the year. I'd agree with that. There has been a lot going on here behind the scenes and with Gatewood already almost a game and a half into real action you might as well get him more experience. He didn't do anything to make me think UK can't win with him back there.

usa1000: Any shot we get a new passing game coordinator next year that could breathe life into the offense?

In order to do that there would have to be some kind of staff shake-up and I haven't heard anything about that. I'll just continue to say they're going to have to do something to make over the passing game and it's going to have to be substantial. Not nibbling around the edges.

FeelinBlue13: Thoughts on scraping the entire offense over the bye week? Running a style of offense where we spread the field out, so they can’t load the box, I think our run game would be just as effective.

Even if we suck at it now at least we will be getting some practice and figure out what works and what doesn’t and if we have any players that can do it next year. If we don’t then we go get a grad transfer and plug some true freshman in till we figure it out.

Now that I don't expect to happen. It might frustrate some fans who feel like the offense is so broken they can't switch things up quickly enough, but there's no chance they rebuild entirely. I could see them switching the emphasis within their current packages and playbook though, which is what you might be talking about.

I'm all for them building something new and maybe Mark Stoops is as well -- we'll see. But I don't think it's fair to the guys on the team to just scrap it mid-season.

TuckyFan: Are there any defensive backs that could cross over and bring SEC athleticism to the WR group. Even if just for one season?

That's the kind of thing that a staff is always going to keep in mind but I don't think it's in the cards for any of the younger defensive backs they've got.

Ebop81: How is the offensive gameplay effecting Gavin Wimsatts recruitment? Do you think he is the most important recruit of stoops tenure maybe comparable to Barkers impact? Are we front runners still or is a blue blood in the front of his mind?

I haven't had a chance to speak with him about that but Kentucky still seems to think they have a really good shot with him. It goes without saying that passing game struggles will always be an obstacle when you have a highly regarded quarterback prospect. That didn't hurt too much with Beau Allen last year. That was a little different because he committed after the 2018 season and before the 2019 season when things looked a tad bit better in terms of the passing game, but I'm sure they're telling Wimsatt the same types of things they told Allen and are still telling Allen.

Catfanfolife87: What is going on with Terry Wilson? We were told that he was out for a wrist injury then you made a post that seemed to allude to the fact that he was holding out because he was benched. What is the deal there?

Without getting into all the details that have been passed to me I have no reason to doubt any of the injury talk but there have definitely been rumblings according to many that he's been on the fence about his immediate future in the program. I'm not sure where that stands right now but I wouldn't be surprised if Gatewood is the starter for the rest of the year.

rast2020: Any word on Demontae Crumes? He was supposed to be a speed guy coming out if I recall and haven’t heard a peep about him since signing day.

Haven't heard anything good or bad, but it's still far too early for me to say that's a reflection on him in any way.

uksam21: Do we run any double moves or any like slant n gos? Hitch n go's?

It's tough to say without a lot of the All-22 tape but I've seen a bit of it on replay. Not as much as some others run however.

502cats: What are the chances that Maxwell Hairston gets a look at WR once he gets on campus? He looked really fast in his highlights and I think it’s painfully obvious that the WR position needs A LOT more help than the DB position.

This is along the lines of a previous question but it's different since he's not there yet. I think they'll always be open to position moves for somebody but corner is a need in this class and he's one of two they've got, so that's definitely the preference for him at the moment.

ctroberts1024: With Vandy being so bad, do you see us opening up (or trying to) the offense and try to get some sort of passing game going? Or do you think we’ll see the usual “run for 400 and say we got back to our identity” and instead of using an inferior opponent and probably a big second half lead to work on our passing attack, we just run the clock out?

It's a good question. Ideally they would be able to do that. I think they will come out doing something similar to what they would have done under different circumstances, maybe with a couple of extra tweaks because of the bye week and extra time for preparation. I think there's a real chance they build a 14-17 point lead and from that point maybe they veer off the typical "foot on the throat" script with the lead and try to get the quarterback some passing game experience.

Swirlycat19: Is the staff committed to keeping Allen on the sideline, or do you think he will get any significant snaps this season?

Nobody has told me they're against him playing this season. The three variables here are Wilson's status with the program and what he wants it to be, Gatewood's play, and Gatewood's health. If Gatewood is healthy and playing well then we probably don't see much of him. But if he's not playing well or he's not hurt