Regular Season Review: The Wide Receivers
Cats Illustrated's review of Kentucky's regular season now continues with an overview of the wide receivers.
How did Lamar Thomas' unit perform in 2017?
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Statistical Overview: Senior Garrett Johnson was far and away Kentucky's top producer at the receiver position. His 46 reception were more than twice as many as the player with the second-most catches (Tavin Richardson with 22). Johnson had 500 yards and two touchdowns. Richardson had 282 yards on his receptions (one TD).
Blake Bone had 13 receptions for 234 yards (18 yards per reception) with two touchdowns and Kayaune Ross caught 16 passes for 219 yards. Lynn Bowden was the top-producing freshman receiver with 15 catches for 210 yards and senior Charles Walker had 13 catches for 153 yards.
Standout Performer: Garrett Johnson and it wasn't close. He wasn't exactly a big play receiver. Johnson averaged less than 11 yards per reception and only scored twice. But he had four or more receptions in more than half of Kentucky's games. His best stretch of the year came in September and October. Johnson's 46 catches came on 67 targets (Richardson was the next most targeted receiver with 42). He averaged 7.5 yards per target.
Top Performance: The best game for any receiver all season came from Johnson against Missouri. "Juice" caught seven passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. That was by far his best performance of 2017. His 64 yard touchdown reception broke a 27-27 tie, and he had two more significant catches on Kentucky's last two drives, which resulted in field goals that made up the difference in the final score. Other strong performances included Blake Bone's three catches for 93 yards against Eastern Kentucky and Kayaune Ross' four catches for 77 yards, also against Missouri.
Worst Performance: Although Kentucky defeated Tennessee - a rarity - the wide receivers didn't produce much against the Volunteers. Stephen Johnson completed only seven passes on the day. Tavin Richardson had a strong performance against the Vols, but Johnson was held to a single catch for two yards. UK's air attack was all but grounded.
Most Improved Player: Tavin Richardson has shown glimpses of the potential that scouts and recruiting analysts recognized when he was rated among the top players in South Carolina. He started showing those glimpses last year when he caught nine passes. That total more than doubled this year with those 22 catches for 282 yards and a touchdown. He had at least one catch in every game but one and while he has yet to have a signature, breakout performance, he could be in line for a very solid 2018.
One Who Struggled: Charles Walker was very efficient on punt returns as a senior, and that was one reason for UK's strong special teams ranking. But his receiving production did not improve, and that was in spite of the absence of Jeff Badet and Dorian Baker. There were some big catches early in the season, but Walker has just four receptions over Kentucky's last eight games, and he hasn't caught more than a single pass or totaled 20 receiving yards since Florida showed up at Kroger Field.
Coach Impact: One thing seems clear at Kentucky's receivers under Lamar Thomas: They don't drop as many passes as they did before he arrived. They weren't perfect catching the ball in 2017, but the group has been more sure-handed collectively than in the past. There was no dominant group performance as the one in the road win at Louisville last season. Thomas had to deal with the loss of two top receivers from last year's team, as he tried to turn complementary pass-catchers into leading figures, while acclimating freshmen like Bowden, Isaiah Epps and Josh Ali.
Future Forecast: Kentucky will get Dorian Baker back next year, and if he's 100-percent then that would really bolster the unit. They will also bring back Richardson, Bowden, Ali, Epps and Clevan Thomas. There's a chance Kayaune Ross could be granted another year of eligibility. We know they will be losing Johnson, Blake Bone and Charles Walker. On paper, the group Kentucky should have going into next season is at least as good as the one they opened 2017 with, and it might be better on paper. Still, for the group to really take it to the next level they need either Baker or Richardson to turn into a bona fide go-to player who can consistently put up bigger numbers than any of Kentucky's WR1's in recent memory.
Recruiting Overview: Kentucky has commitments from wide receivers Marvin Alexander and Meechi Harris as well as slot receiver Akeem Hayes. Alexander is a bigger-bodied wide receiver while Harris is long and rangy with good speed and an excellent vertical leap. Hayes is a player who is more likely to catch the ball around the line of scrimmage and make things happen. The Wildcats are still looking to add help at receiver with Shocky Jacques-Louis a major priority between now and the early signing period.
Overall Position Grade: C+. The group did not put up big numbers and they have to shoulder some of the blame for that, but relative to expectations there were not many glaring miscues or moments when the unit appeared to be the real problem. Still, it's been a long time since Kentucky has had a receiver who could take over a game.