Reviewing fall camp: Searching for answers (Part I)
We've been asking questions about Kentucky's 2016 football team for many months. Some seem to have settled answers. On others, we're still wondering how things will play out.
Let's take a look at some key questions or issues confronting the Cats over the course of fall camp.
Kentucky made it through camp without a lot of injuries and attrition
Unfortunately the Wildcats lost Darius West to an injury. That was a blow to depth in the secondary, but that's one part of the field where Kentucky could withstand a loss and keep chugging along.
Regie Meant's indefinite leave from the program is one loss that will be tougher to sustain. The Cats couldn't afford a big loss on the defensive line, and Meant's leave certainly qualifies as a big loss.
There have been other guys who have been banged up but it looks like Kentucky will head into the season with a healthy quarterback, a healthy Boom Williams, a deep and healthy core of skill position players and an offensive line that didn't take any hits. The linebackers stayed healthy and everybody besides West and Meant on defense appears good to go.
Verdict: The Meant loss is a shot to the gut, but in the big picture Kentucky didn't suffer any losses that should, on the surface, drastically alter expectations for the worse.
Is Matt Elam ready to be a big-time SEC defensive lineman?
That's a big question for a player who's always been big but is undoubtedly smaller than he's been at any other point sine his arrival in Lexington.
There's no question Matt Elam has put in a tremendous amount of work to reshape his body in a way that will aid his durability, agility and quickness. Sometimes photos lie, but Elam's weight is definitely down. Mark Stoops recently commended Elam for his conditioning progress, so it seems real.
Premium link: Pac-12 defensive line commitment says he'll visit Kentucky and is a fan of the Cats.
But maybe everyone has been too quick to assume that weight loss would be the magic ticket for Elam to reach an elite level of play. He's still "only" in his third year in the SEC -- a true junior -- and he plays a difficult position that amounts to the centerpiece of UK's 3-4 multiple defense. The loss of Meant puts added pressure on Elam to step up at nose guard and the lack of proven depth behind him compounds the need for him to play at a very high level.
Along with Stoops' praise for Elam's conditioning he also seemed to strike a cautious note when it comes to an overall forecast with camp wrapping up. Stoops said that Elam needs to step up his game in other respects, beyond conditioning, and while nobody has definitively said that Elam is struggling, sources have emphasized that he's got to push himself to break through to a higher level of play.
Verdict: We're about to find out just where Matt Elam is. As is always said, rightfully, don't judge Elam by sacks or tackles for loss. There are reasons to believe he'll be able to play more snaps this year, but it's not yet a given that he's ready to go from an average defensive lineman to a very good one. We won't have to wait long now.
Will Drew Barker be good enough to lead Kentucky's offense to significant improvement?
All signs are good at this point. Even if Barker hasn't always been spectacular in fall camp the coaches have routinely given him positive reviews in their comments after practices.
We've been hearing for many weeks now that Barker has done what he's needed to do to improve his brand, which, as Darin Hinshaw said, was really a matter of just doing the right thing repeatedly. Barker completed a good percentage of his passes throughout camp, improving his accuracy from those first days when camp opened. He had a strong showing in the first scrimmage but the first string offense wasn't quite as explosive or dominant in the second scrimmage.
Barker has the respect of his teammates and he seems to have coaches believing he's ready to lead the offense.
Verdict: The Southern Miss game will tell us a lot but it's still going to be Barker's first game under offensive coordinators No. 3 and 4, so some patience might be required. Right now there's plenty of room for optimism when it comes to Drew Barker. He doesn't have to be an All-SEC quarterback this year, but he probably does have to be good. In fact, he may need to be Kentucky's best quarterback since at least Mike Hartline in 2010. Camp reviews have been promising.
With Gran and Hinshaw's offense likely to involve more receivers than Shannon Dawson's, what's the rotation at wide out going to look like?
The receivers had a very strong fall camp. Lamar Thomas has been praised by multiple people in the program for bringing a good kind of swagger to a receiver unit that needed a confidence-boost after they were (fairly or unfairly) maligned in 2015.
Thomas has plenty of options to work with. The staff has been cautious with Dorian Baker, who's nursing himself back to health after a minor issue, and the unit should be healthy overall. According to reports, Garrett Johnson bounced back after a sub-par spring and is now on track for a very good junior season.
Jeff Badet is a player who will be in the rotation and it's safe to say the staff will want to get him the ball. Charles Walker, the recent recipient of a new offer, is a reliable player who will give consistent effort. He'll play, too. For the second consecutive year the coaches have been bullish on Ryan Timmons going into a season and he'll be targeted a good amount of times.
Tavin Richardson seems a near lock to break into the rotation, as Cats Illustrated sources have routinely praised the second-year player from South Carolina. His fellow redshirt freshman Jabari Greenwood has had some bright moments, too, but he's probably more of a borderline rotation player at this point.
The X-Factor could be Kayaune Ross. He's not close to realizing his full potential but Ross does some things that others simply can't because he's been blessed with such an abundance of things you can't teach.
Verdict: Lamar Thomas said today that there are "eight to ten" receivers he feels good about. Kentucky has tremendous depth at wide receiver. That will help competition and ensures the Cats will be able to test opponents' less-heralded defensive backs. Drew Barker has to feel good about what he's working with.