ROUNDTABLE: Realistic expectations for Lynn Bowden in 2017
With football season inching closer and yesterday's revelation that Lynn Bowden will be good to go for 2017, the CatsIllustrated.com staff goes to the roundtable to discuss UK's heralded incoming freshman.
What are realistic expectations for Lynn Bowden as a freshman at Kentucky?
T.J. Walker, Basketball Recruiting Analyst: I don't think it's crazy to expect him to have a Benny Snell like impact. He probably won't have as many touches as Snell had last season but he will be used in different situations. Maybe Randall Cobb minus the quarterback play? It's tough to predict exactly what Bowden will bring to the table but I imagine UK's coaching staff will want to put him in a position to make plays.
I would expect Bowden to get a decent amount of Wildcat touches. He will receive a good deal of short passes just to get him the ball in space. To compare a freshman to Snell and Cobb are lofty expectations, but Bowden is a one of a kind athlete. He won't put up the best numbers on the offense and he won't lead the Cats in touchdowns, but expect him to have a freshman season that puts him on national watch-lists for the 2018 season.
He's going to be fun to watch.
Derek Terry, Staff Writer: I think Bowden will see his role increase moderately throughout the season. Benny Snell, who had one of the best freshman seasons anyone has had at UK, didn't even record a carry the first two games of the season. It's not realistic to expect Bowden to be clicking on all cylinders right away.
However, he's athletic and dynamic enough to become a big piece of the offense by the end of the season. Whether it's catching passes out of the slot or running out of the Wildcat formation, UK's coaching staff will get him the touches he needs if he's as good as advertised.
Justin Rowland, Publisher: I don't think it's overstating things to say he could get upwards of 10 touches per game. You have to figure that Benny Snell's going to get upwards of 25. Leave 5-10 for A.J. Rose and Sihiem King combined in the backfield and then 25-30 passes per game from whoever the quarterback is, if not a little more.
Between Bowden's potential in the Wildcat formation and in the slot, not to mention potentially as a return man, 10 touches seems realistic. Of course we'll be able to revisit this pretty quickly once fall camp begins, because we'll start to get word on Bowden's readiness (conditioning, physical maturity, picking up the playbook, etc).
It just seems very likely he's going to occupy a significant role in the offense because of Kentucky's need for a playmaker to step up, absent Boom Williams and Jeff Badet, and Bowden's skill set translates well in the areas where UK seems to have a real void.