Round Table: Who is Kentucky's most valuable player?
The Cats Illustrated staff goes back to the Round Table to discuss some football topics with the season approaching.
Who is Kentucky's most valuable player going into the 2017 season?
T.J. Walker, Basketball Recruiting Analyst: Kentucky's most valuable player this season is linebacker Jordan Jones. I wouldn't argue if you said Benny Snell, but Kentucky has depth at the running back position and a monster offensive line. UK doesn't have that same type of depth at linebacker and since there's so many questions about UK's defensive line, Jordan Jones is incredibly valuable. He's fast, strong and has the experience needed in the SEC. Remember, this isn't about UK's best player, but instead most valuable player.
Jeff Drummond, Managing Editor: I made a sleeper pick last season by selecting Austin MacGinnis as my UK most valuable player. Predictably, that drew more than its fair share of rolled-eyes emojis and questions regarding my sanity. When the dust settled, I think it was a great choice. One could argue that Stephen Johnson or Benny Snell Jr. -- maybe even Jon Toth -- was the Wildcats' MVP in 2016. But it was MacGinnis who ultimately wound up being the difference in two wins that defined a season. Without his game-winning kicks against Mississippi State and Louisville, we're having an entirely different discussion right now about the program. For that reason, I'm doubling down on the icy-veined senior kicker in 2017. I think the Cats have eight or nine legitimate "toss-up" games this year, and Mac's right leg figures to be the difference in at least a couple of them.
Justin Rowland, Publisher: My pick is Benny Snell. Sure, last year he benefited from a very good offensive line, but he also forced a ton of missed tackles and his yards after contact were a thing of beauty. Going into 2017, if Kentucky's to have a great season, they need Snell to put up big numbers, to keep defenses in the box allowing Stephen Johnson to thrive in the pass game, and to carry a big load. He's especially valuable when you consider there figures to be a dropoff to the second string back. If you took Snell away from this year's team I would substantially downgrade expectations and they might not even look like a bowl team on paper. He, and the running game, are the main reasons for optimism, and he can open everything up for the entire rest of the offense.