Kentucky's secondary might not have been the team's biggest strength in 2019 but the unit was much more of one than just about anyone could have imagined after the losses it sustained following the previous year.
The Wildcat secondary of 2020 will have much higher expectations.
While almost everyone returns and the group benefits from a couple of key additions, here's what we're wondering about the secondary we'll see this fall.
Will Jamari Brown or Cedrick Dort start alongside Brandin Echols? ... In 2019, Kentucky's top three cornerbacks turned out to be Brandin Echols, Cedrick Dort, and Jamari Brown. A safe bet is that all three players will factor into the rotation at corner in 2020, but who are the starters? Echols was a starter and performed at a high level just about all season. Dort and Brown played about the same number of snaps, but Dort played more in the second half of the season.
Will Davonte Robinson pick up where he left off? ... Before the injury that caused him to miss his entire junior season, Robinson had established himself as one of the better players on Kentucky's best defense in modern times. His return should greatly bolster Kentucky's defense again. And with all the experience Yusuf Corker gained in Robinson's absence, the secondary should be even stronger in 2020 as a side effect to Robinson's lost 2019. It will be interesting to see if Robinson comes back as strong as before and picks up where he left off.
What will Kelvin Joseph's impact be? ... The LSU transfer was one of the nation's top recruits not many classes ago. He could play corner or safety and is a huge variable who could be key to the program's future success.
Can this be one of the most elite secondaries in college football? ... Based on almost all the numbers -- yards allowed, touchdowns allowed, passer rating, etc -- and who returns, this should be one of the nation's best secondaries, or at least they should be poised to have a great season. After exceeding expectations when the hype wasn't there, will they prosper when hopes are very high?
Can any of the young players who redshirted or who were backups break through into the rotation? ... Here we're talking about players like MJ Devonshire, Jalen Geiger, or Moses Douglass. Competition will be fierce because of the number of players in the mix.
Will any of the true freshmen surprise and compete for a spot? ... Speaking of competition (see: above point), it's going to be even tougher with the arrival of Rickey Hyatt, Joel Williams, Carrington Valentine, Andru Phillips, and Vito Tisdale.
Who will replace Dean Hood? ... Steve Clinkscale returns to coach the corners but Hood also coached the secondary. Mike Stoops' name has been mentioned to Cats Illustrated as a possibility for several weeks now but nothing has been announced yet. Regardless of who is hired, given Clinkscale and Mark Stoops' history with the secondary the coaching should be fine.
