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Preseason Roundtable: How much of a workload will Benny Snell carry in '18?

Every day brings us one step closer to the start of Kentucky's football season and Cats Illustrated is tackling many of the big questions heading into the start of fall camp.

Here's what the crew has to say about Benny Snell's role in the offense in 2018.

Benny Snell (UK Athletics)
Benny Snell (UK Athletics)

QUESTION: How much of a load is Benny Snell going to carry this year and will the offense be more balanced than over the last two seasons?

Jeff Drummond, Managing Editor: With quarterback being a complete mystery at this point, I could see Benny Snell meeting or exceeding his workload from last season. Whether that's a good thing is debatable. Ideally, a second and third option will emerge that Eddie Gran can trust and give him an opportunity to rest Snell a few snaps each game. I love what we saw from A.J. Rose this spring. I think he's ready to break out. I also have high expectations for veteran Sihiem King and freshman Kavosiey Smoke as "change of pace" backs. Both QBs are expected throw the ball more consistently than Stephen Johnson did, so that should give the Cats an opportunity to achieve more of the 50/50 balance that Mark Stoops wants. When the dust settles, expect slightly fewer carries for Benny Snell and maybe a few more throws to him out of the backfield rather than the "Wildcat" package.

Adam Luckett, Special Contributor: The talk of Benny Snell getting too many carries is being overblown. Last year he was 16th in the FBS in carries per game with barely over 20 attempts per game. I think that number will be about the same this fall as he’s built to be a workhorse back. We must remember that with UK’s plodding style on offense (117th in pace per S&P+) it would be very hard for Snell to even get to the 30-carry mark.

When it comes to balance, UK will still be run heavy. Snell needs his touches, expectations are high for A.J. Rose, and Wilson will get between 8-10 carries per game. Expect the Wildcat to be a very regular and effective package.

Justin Rowland, Publisher: I think the workload will be roughly similar to last season, maybe a little bit less. Kentucky is more confident in A.J. Rose right now than they were at this time last year, so I think it's more likely you see Snell, Sihiem King and Rose all logging carries as opposed to the two-man splits (Snell, King) last year. It won't be like 2016, when Snell and Boom Williams split carries evenly, but King will play and Rose will, too.

Don't be surprised to see Snell start to catch the ball a little more. Kentucky's coaches will want, when they can, to showcase him as an all-around back for NFL squads because this is an important year for his future.

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