Matchups that matter: Chris Westry vs. D.J. Thompson
Cats Illustrated's preview of Kentucky's season opener continues with a series breaking down individual match ups that could shape the game's outcome.
Football is a team sport and the one-on-one match up rarely lasts for the entire game. But some match ups stand out on paper.
Let's get started.
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USM wide receiver D.J. Thompson (Sr.) vs. UK cornerback Chris Westry (So.)
Why the match up matters: Thompson enters the 2016 season as the leading receiving for the Golden Eagles. While USM lost their top two pass-catchers from 2015, a great year for their offense, Thompson and his 55 catches, 779 yards and six touchdowns return. He was USM's third-leading wide receiver last year. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound native of Pearl, Miss., is expected to be Nick Mullens' top target in the passing game in 2016.
Westry, meanwhile, will enter the 2016 season as one of Kentucky's most heralded players and perhaps as a dark horse candidate to garner All-SEC honors. The 6-foot-4 physical specimen may only be a true sophomore but he's certainly not inexperienced, having played an entire season in college football's most difficult conference. He matched up with the best receivers Kentucky faced last year.
Link: Ask the expert - Breaking down the USM offensive line
Premium link: Florida defensive line says the Cats are his early favorite
Who has the edge?: That may depend on who you talk to, but there are reasons to believe that Westry has the edge. Thompson's size is normally going to be a significant advantage for him. At times this year he may face defensive backs in Conference USA that are half a foot shorter than he is. Against Westry, he'll be facing a corner who actually has the size and length advantage.
Westry turned in some of his best performances against some of the better receivers Kentucky faced last year, dating back to that early season game in Columbia, S.C., when he fared so well against the Gamecocks' Pharoh Cooper. After that game Westry wasn't a secret anymore.
It helps Thompson that he'll be targeted by Mullens, arguably the best passer on Kentucky's schedule this year. Questions about Kentucky's pass rush also might normally mean Westry has to cover a little longer than any defensive back would like to in an ideal game.
Thompson was solid in games against the better opponents Southern Miss faced last season. He had five catches for 58 yards against Mississippi State, two for 78 (long of 50) against Nebraska, and three for 36 yards against Washington. But he didn't score against any of those teams.
But Southern Miss is one of the few opponents on Kentucky's schedule that presents a huge opportunity to pressure the quarterback, with the Golden Eagles breaking in two new starting tackles and with one of those a converted defensive tackle playing on the offensive side for the first time in five years.
How it will play out: This is all conjecture, but Mullens is going to test Westry. He doesn't shy away from throwing at players and while Westry is one of the better corners he'll have tested, Shannon Dawson is going to throw the house at Kentucky vertically. Westry may give up a little, but if Mullens is on the run - as he should be at times, with Kentucky sending its outside length and athleticism to those untested tackles - then Westry could be a game-changer.