The over/under (O/U): Setting the bar for Stephen Johnson
Cats Illustrated continues to fill your day with plenty of football reading with the season right around the corner. Here, in this new Over/Under series, we'll set some bars for what to expect from Kentucky's position units and top performers going into 2017.
First up, the quarterbacks.
Stephen Johnson starts: O/U 9
Stephen Johnson is Kentucky's starter going into the season. But Kentucky has good quarterback depth and Drew Barker won the job going into last season. The coaches would be confident with either player behind center and that has fueled speculation that Johnson needs to play very well to keep his job. Considering that, and the fact that injuries are a fact of life, it would be foolish to set the over/under at 12. Leave some room for injuries or poor play.
Stephen Johnson touchdown passes: O/U 17
Johnson tossed 13 touchdown passes in 12 games last year so it's not like he consistently found the end zone through the air. Couple that with the fact that the O-Line is being retooled in some areas and both Jeff Badet and Dorian Baker are gone, and it wouldn't seem wise to expect a ton of scoring strikes through the air. Still, expect the number to rise.
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Stephen Johnson passing yards: O/U 2,400
Johnson passed for 2,037 yards in a dozen games last year and it doesn't seem unreasonable to think he could up his average to 200 per game (2,400) in his senior year, his second as Kentucky's starter.
Stephen Johnson interceptions: O/U 8
If Johnson passes more this year than last it wouldn't be a surprise if he also tosses more picks than he did last season. He threw only six in 265 attempts last year, which isn't a bad ratio. Expect a couple more than last season but balanced out by more touchdown passes.
Stephen Johnson rushing yards: O/U 350
Johnson rushed for 327 yards last year so it's easy to imagine someone assuming that number will rise if he gets all the starts this year or just as a byproduct of being more comfortable on the field and in the offense. And even if Johnson passes more, more scramble attempts could lead to more yards (though more sacks could hurt the number). One variable, Kentucky could do more running out of the Wildcat rather than have the quarterback run more.
Stephen Johnson fumbles/fumbles lost: O/U 7/5
Quarterbacks are going to fumble the ball and unfortunately for Johnson this is going to be a theme every time it happens, even if his ball security improves. He fumbled 10 times last year, losing six of those muffs. Ball security has been a big emphasis in the offseason so expect improvement from the work in the offseason alone but it's still bound to happen some.