16-in-16 2024: Kentucky Wildcats
Can the Wildcats get out of neutral? Back-to-back 7-6 seasons have Cats faithful clamoring for a return to the 10-win ways of 2021 and 2018.
By: Waco Kid
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The Bluegrass state has never been known for blue-blood football. In decades past the Kentucky Wildcats were constantly competing with Vanderbilt to be at the bottom of the conference. Enter Mark Stoops. Stoops took a bottom-tier program and has turned it into a yearly competitor since he arrived in Lexington in 2013. Especially if you take SEC play out of the equation, the Wildcats may have one of the best non-conference records over the past seven years. But as we know that means nothing when you play in the beast of the SEC.
Even with recent mediocre seasons, there is still hope that the Wildcats can take that final leap and break through to the upper echelon of the conference. If the Wildcats can pull off a long shot bid and get to Atlanta, a playoff berth is likely the next destination, win or lose. Though he is unproven, Kentucky is excited to break in former Georgia quarterback Brock Vandagriff, a former 5-star recruit, who transferred in during the offseason. If Stoops knows how to do one thing, it is stealing quarterbacks from across the nation and luring them in with that Kentucky moonshine.
State of the Program: 7/12 biscuits. Ascending...the program has hope and momentum and has a shot to take a step up; There’s not much fast food around, so Burger King will have to do. It strives for the best, and with a few tweaks, it can compete with the best.
Grandma and Mom aren’t home so your sister has to make the Saturday mornin' biscuits. They are good but halfway through the batch she burns the rest, so you eat what you can but leave not fully satisfied. If that description doesn’t directly correlate to Kentucky football, I am not sure what does.
Blue and white runs deep throughout the hills and hollers, but the colors have brought a hard time for fans who finally got a taste of success and only want more. The addition of transfer quarterback Devin Leary last year was supposed to be a sign of things going in an upward trajectory. But the ‘Cats still found themselves sitting at a mediocre 7-6 record at the end of the season. Bowl eligible, but still a disappointment.
UK found themselves in an all too familiar predicament when five out of their six losses came in conference play. Stoops is returning some explosive players on the offensive side of the ball that could give Vandagriff the boost he needs to be a top-tier quarterback in the SEC. They also have some key components on the defensive side who are making their way back to Lexington for one more hoorah.
On the offensive side, they are returning three dynamic wide receivers that could make for the best and most complete receiving core in the conference. Former North Texas leading receiver Ja’Mori Maclin is heading to the blue and white after recording over 1,000 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns in 2023. Pair that with a dynamic duo of Dane Key and Barion Brown, and defenses might be in trouble. Both Key and Brown have previously been season-leading receivers for the Wildcats. Think about that: three pass catchers, all who have led their teams in regular season statistics over the past few years. Add quarterback Brock Vandagriff’s background at Georgia and we could be looking at a scary good offense. The Wildcats also added 4-star transfer RB Chip Trayanum from Ohio State, who should help replace some of the production of Ray Davis, now with the Buffalo Bills.
Defensively, Kentucky has posted solid numbers over the past few years and return top defensive tackle Deone Walker. Walker is considered to be one of the nation’s best and will most likely be a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. J.J. Weaver will also add to this front by rushing off the edge, while returning linebackers D’Eryck Jackson and Jamon Dumas-Johnson should solidify the middle. Jackson has led the team in tackles the past two seasons while Dumas-Johnson was a First-Team All-American in 2022 at Georgia. If the ‘Cats can produce at a high level on the back end and against the air attack this could be one of the better defenses Stoops has put together.
What went right in 2023?
Mark Stoops not taking the Texas A&M job and deciding to stay in Lexington was probably the highlight of the program’s year. The team was also able to notch conference wins over Florida, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt. It was a disappointing season that ended with a three-point loss to Clemson in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. Though it was not the year that Kentucky hoped for, the wins, and even the three point loss to Clemson, are evidence that this team is going in the right direction, but much needs to fall into place in 2024 for the Wildcats to be considered a top team in the SEC.
What went wrong in 2023?
Losses all over the board. Let’s see…Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, and probably the most crushing of all, South Carolina. At times it looked like they were almost there barely losing to Tennessee and South Carolina. But they did not show up to the big games and were unable to finish teams off. Devin Leary turned out to be just alright instead of the savior Kentucky fans were hoping for.
What the Wildcats need in 2024
Brock Vandagriff establishing a repertoire with that trio of receivers is key to a better-than-normal season for Stoops. If they can get on the same page and be able to air out the ball, then don’t be surprised if we see them in contention come November. The defense has played at a high level for years, with some black eyes in there (see: Alabama 2023), and just needs to keep that pace and utilize their star players to stop the run and force teams to throw on them. This is difficult because it seems like the pieces are in place, but they just cannot get over that old bluegrass hurdle of mediocrity.
The Cats schedule is a little more favorable this year, losing Alabama from the slate but they will still have to play the mean machine in red and black. They do start the year with four straight home games before finally heading to Ole Miss in late September. The real moment of truth will come later in the year when they head to The Swamp, Jordan-Hare, and Neyland Stadium in successive weeks. And don’t forget that away game in Austin on November 23. Yikes.
How they can earn some extra biscuits
Improve their conference record. The ‘Cats cannot be under .500 in one of the best conferences and expect to be considered a serious competitor. If they can get out of the season with two, maybe three conference losses, then more biscuits will be coming their way.
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South Carolina Gamecocks
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