Someone asked the question in one of the comment sections, as to which true freshmen would be seeing playing time this season for UK.
The answer seems to at least include this players:
Jerrell Priester--his speed and playmaking ability might get him there this year. He will be playing CB, WR and Wildcat
Raymond Sanders--his speed and playmaking ability should put him on the field as a PR and KR. This would allow the team to rest other skill players (D Locke and R Cobb) and get him some game experience.
Alex Smith--he plays a position that we are desperate at IE TE. He has playmaking ability, but might be eased onto the field gradually since he will have had minimal practice time and will need to be comfortable with the playbook.
Justin Henderson--will almost definitely see the field. He has been at school since January and plays a position that we need an impact player IE DE (to rest D Evans, although Tristan Johnson is listed ahead of him for now). He will be a 2 or 3 deep player, but he has tremendous potential. He should be far ahead of other rookies as far as conditioning, strength and knowledge of the playbook. I look for him to put a death grip on a starting DE position in the 2011.
Brice Laughlin--Like A Smith and J Henderson, he plays a position that we are desperate at for playmakers. He got to school in June and is picking up things fairly rapidly. He was benching over 300 some time ago and there are no other DTs in this class. It would not surprise me to see him in the 2 deep from the get go. We are desperate for playmakers at his position (oops, I said that already).
Nermin Delic--His name has been mentioned by others as a player for this year, but to be honest I am not sure. The staff will play him when he is ready.
Joe Mansour--Kicker, I am sure the staff will get him on the field. According to all accounts, he can boom it!
Wildcards:
Avery Williamson--The staff has already told him that he is already as strong as the rest of the LBs on the team. His greatest deficiency would be knowing the playbook at this time, but when he gets it down, he might be one of the more underrated players in the class.
Dale Trimble--Again, Dale might be one of the underrated members of the class. He is not quite as big as I thought that he would be, but he brings the swagger and can back it up. The issue with Dale is also that he plays a position in which we have great depth (CB), so he might not see the field until 2011.
There may be others which also get substantial playing time, but I think that these are the ones that stick out.
Thanks for your input...from everything I have heard and read those do seem to be the possible rookie contributors for this year. It is, however,very difficult for OL or DL to step right in and compete for playing time with college athletes who are older and have also been in collegiate speed and strength programs for a year or more. Do you think there are more potential freshman that may see playing time now than in years past? And if so, is this a sign or indicator of recruiting better players who need less development than in years past or can we simply assume it's just about the roster attrition for certain positions and nothing else?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Bill's post.
ReplyDeleteJerrell Priester is the most versitile athlete in the freshman class. He is a speedster and could play a variety of positions. He hopes to get a few looks this fall on offense, but is afraid he will end up at CB.
Raymond Sanders can play, but the staff needs to decide if they man to burn a year on him (think Mister Cobble). I can't see UK redshirting all three RB's. One will play between Sanders, Gainer and Simpson.
Dale Trimble could play too, but if the staff plays Priester they likely redshirt Dale. Consdering Dale had trouble qualifying a redshirt year may be the best route for him.
Brice Laughlin could play (again think Mister Cobble). This is the one area the Cats don't have a ton of depth and Brice could play for that reason. He has a huge upside and I think a redshirt year would be best for him. However, the team has needs so I look for Brice to see some action. Mansour.
Alex Smith will have every opportunity to earn a job this fall. I continue to hear mixed reviews on Alex. He is a big body that has the ability. He has to learn the offense. Nick Melillo will start at one TE spot.
I think Delic redshirts. The Cats are pretty deep at DE and Justin Henderson is way ahead of him by enrolling early.
Most all of the other frosh will redshirt. There could be a surprise or two, but generally speaking why burn a year of eligibility.
To address Anon #1, playing a lot of freshman is USUALLY not indicative of improved recruiting. Rather, it is usually indicative of a team with some serious deficiencies that need to be addressed immediately. That is why UK played so many freshman under Mumme. We had no choice but to do so.
ReplyDeleteIdeally, you would like to red shirt each and every one of your freshman. Of course, that NEVER happens, even on the very best of teams. But, the more guys you can red shirt, the better off you are in the long run.