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football Edit

Rating the impact of each recent departure

Over roughly the past week there's been news of four players leaving the Kentucky football program.

Drew Barker, a graduate transfer, will look for a good opportunity somewhere else with just one season of eligibility remaining. Running back Bryant Koback will transfer closer to home because of a family situation. Ja'Quize Cross and Javonte Richardson are academic casualties.

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Drew Barker

Sting Factor: 6

Why it hurts (or doesn't): Barker would have been a real part of the quarterback battle to succeed Stephen Johnson if he had stuck around. Everyone has an opinion on who the starter would have been if Barker had stayed. Some were convinced it would be Terry Wilson from the moment he committed (and even before). Others took Mark Stoops at face value when he implied Barker would have the inside track. At the very least, by far the most experienced, oldest quarterback on the roster left the team. That turned a real three-man race with a rising senior into a two-man race between a pair of guys who have never taken a snap. Even if Barker wouldn't have been the starter, his departure affects the position's depth significantly in 2018.

Bryant Koback

Sting Factor: 5

Why it hurts (or doesn't): Koback drew rave reviews as a recruit and hopes were high for his college career at Kentucky. He probably wasn't going to take too many carries in 2018 although he would have certainly been in the running for the backup spot along with A.J. Rose, Sihiem King and Chris Rodriguez. His departure does knock Kentucky down to four scholarship running backs and makes it a requirement that the Wildcats add another before Signing Day.

Ja'Quize Cross

Sting Factor: 1

Why it hurts (or doesn't): Cross is someone the coaches rarely talked about during media availabilities and our sources hadn't mentioned him as threatening to get on the field much anytime soon. This kind of attrition doesn't hurt Kentucky, as it would have been a big surprise if Cross had become a regular part of the rotation in 2018.

Javonte Richardson

Sting Factor: 4

Why it hurts (or doesn't): It's tough to quantify the significance here because we never saw what Richardson was going to be capable of in college. In hindsight, if Richardson was ill-equipped for the rigorous schedule of an SEC student-athlete he probably was a long way from being prepared to get stuff done on the field. There were a lot of off-field issues that stood between Richardson and where he needed to be football-wise. This hurts because Richardson was a high-ceiling prospect who could have been special if he had put it all together, and because Kentucky lacks depth at receiver.

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