The Cats Illustrated Postseason Roundtable presses on with Jeff Drummond, Warren Taylor, Travis Graf and Justin Rowland sharing takes.
Today's topic: Who was Kentucky's breakout player of the year?
Jeff Drummond, Managing Editor: I like Lynn Bowden as UK's breakout player of the year. He's a guy who came to the program as a highly-regarded athlete, but nobody was really sure how he would make the transition from a raw athlete to a wide receiver. After having a year to get acclimated to playing the position full time as a freshman, he developed into a legit star as a sophomore, culminating with a fantastic Citrus Bowl performance (5 catches, 84 yards, 58-yard punt return for a TD) that may have earned him MVP honors if not for big days from fellow UK stars Benny Snell and Josh Allen. Bowden accounted for 35 percent of the Cats' receptions this season (67 of 194), the highest percentage of the team's total by a player in school history. He also became one of only five players to ever return multiple punts for touchdowns in a season for UK.
Travis Graf, Special Contributor: Lynn Bowden. Bowden had a good all-purpose season for a freshman, playing the receiver spot exclusively. Last season, the Kentucky staff had to run gimmick plays to get him the ball in space. This year, you saw the light come on for him at wide receiver. His routes were more crisp, he understood stacking the DB on deep routes and he understood when and where to break off routes against certain coverages. He had the most receptions for a sophomore at Kentucky since Derek Abney.
Warren Taylor, Staff Writer: A.J. Rose. I know that several players had a bigger impact on the field and in the stats department, but Rose demonstrated just how talented a football player he is in a limited role this season. It should alleviate fears about there being a substantial drop off in production at the running back position in the wake of Benny Snell's impending exit to the NFL. More importantly, he flashed a skill set that will potentially alter the way the Cats' play on the offensive side of the ball.
Justin Rowland, Publisher: Lynn Bowden, Calvin Taylor and Bunchy Stallings are all very tempting picks here but I'm going to go with Derrick Baity. Through three seasons in Lexington, Baity had pretty much been a serviceable if unspectacular Power Five quality cornerback. As a junior he had some struggles and he would even admit to that. What he did as a senior was really remarkable. By whatever advanced numbers you use as a reference, Baity was one of the best cornerbacks in the Southeastern Conference. He and the rest of UK's secondary surely benefited from an improved pass rush but that doesn't explain the incredible rise in pass efficiency defense. Baity was a major part of that, often locking down the opposition's top receiver.
