Cats Illustrated's partnership with Pro Football Focus allows us to do a lot of unique things.
We can dig deeper with their game and season grades for UK's team, players or opponents. We can preview games with a new angle. We have access to detailed analytics that have never before been available to the public.
And now, PFF has a bit of an historical database stretching back to 2014 . So in addition to the stats that we've had during the Mark Stoops era, we've also got game grades and detailed analytics.
So here's our "All-Half Decade Team", which singles out the best performers at every position for a single season (not their entire careers). We'll pick a quarterback, a running back, three receivers, a tight end, five offensive linemen, four defensive linemen, four linebackers, four defensive backs and two specialists.
We'll start at quarterback.
All-Stoops era quarterback: Stephen Johnson, 2017
While Stephen Johnson was Kentucky's starting quarterback for almost two full seasons, it was his play in 2017 that was the crown jewel of UK quarterback performances over the last five years.
Johnson didn't throw the ball a lot that year. He was 189 of 316 (59.8-percent) for only 10 touchdowns, but Johnson only threw six interceptions and cut down on the fumbling problem that plagued him the year before.
That season wasn't without throwaway games. Johnson was only 6 of 15 for 46 yards against Tennessee, although he made winning plays in that 29-26 rare Wildcat victory over the Volunteers. But his 2,305 yards were spread out over most of the season. Johnson threw for 257 yards in the Music City Bowl against Northwestern, 298 yards in a 40-34 win against Northwestern, and three touchdowns (against zero picks) in a game that should have been a win against Florida. Johnson went five straight games from late October through the end of the regular season without throwing a pick.
Johnson's Pro Football Focus grade in 2017 was 67.8, the highest season mark for any Kentucky quarterback over the past half decade.
Terry Wilson's 2018 regular season performance was the runner up and it would take a masterful showing in the bowl game to surge past Johnson last season.
Wilson this season was easily Kentucky's most accurate passer of the past five seasons but his TD-INT ratio, while in line with what has happened other seasons, was not towards the top of the list.
