As we all know each game is won and lost at the line of scrimmage. In 2009, UK started four seniors which paved the way Morgan Newton's growth and Derrick Locke's rushing game. With spring practice around the corner, it's time to start considering who will start on the offensive line next season. Center: Look for Matt Smith and Sam Simpson to go head to head through spring and into the fall for the starting job. Due to experience, I believe Smith wins the starting job. Smith backed up Jorge Gonzalez last year and saw some action at guard too.
Guards: Stuart Hines, Jake Lanefski, Larry Warford and Matt Smith are the projected returning players to compete for the starting job. Hines started last season, so there is no reason to assume he won't in 2010. That leaves Lanefski, Warford and Smith competing for the other starting spot. Lanefski has the most experience so he likely has the inside track, however Warford really impressed the coaches as a true freshman last year. UK also returns Osaze Idumwonyi and Sean Stackhouse. The Cats signed Tim McAdoo in the 2010 class and most project him to play guard (similar to Warford).
Tackle: Brad Durham and Billy Joe Murphy are the likely starters for 2010, however expect a big push from Dave Ullinski. The coaching staff has raved about Ullinski's run blocking ability in the past. The Cats also return Trevino Woods and Keivn Mitchell. The Cats signed Teven Eatmon in the 2010 class and many people feel Eatmon will likely make the switch to tackle.
The offensive line has to be one of the biggest concerns heading into spring practice. UK lost a ton of experience from 2009. The staff, mainly new coach Mike Summers, has to determine which five guys work best together. The offensive line has to work as a unit and is crucial to UK's success. The Cats have some depth which they haven't had in a long time, but they need repetitions and experience.
2011 Recruiting Outlook: The Cats already have a commitment from Darrian Miller (4-star OL) and actively recruiting Zach West (Lexington, KY), Nick Martin (Indianapolis, IN), Garret Clark (Mainland, FL) and Kiaro Holts (Indanapolis, IN). Most people feel UK will take 3-4 offensive lineman in the 2011 class.
Some other names to remember for 2011: Tarik Cook (Stephenson HS, GA), Kody Woods (Pike HS, IN), Dylan Richardson (Warren East HS, KY), Brandon Shell (Goose Creek HS, SC), Antonio Richardson (Ensworth HS, TN), Brad Carrico (Dublin HS, OH), Kyler Kerbyson (Knoxville Catholic HS, TN) and Mitch Smothers (Springdale HS, AR).
While this group will certainly be young, weren't many of them very highly recruited out of HS? I'm hoping that superior talent/upside will be replacing our graduating experience.
ReplyDeleteI thought we had more numbers than this. I feel pretty confident we will put a good starting five on the field in September, but depth could really be an issue unless omse of the young guys really step up -- such as Woods, Mitchell and Stackhouse.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget that Zipp Duncan used to be a Guard before '09. In other words, Hines could very well be moving to LT. The Center battle is well documented & will be an interesting one this spring. Also, don't sleep on Warford. Talent-wise, he's as good an O-Lineman as UK has. Durham should be able to lock down the RT spot. Lanefski, Ulinski, Mitchell & Murphy will all fight to get a Guard spot / force Durham to move inside a get a Tackle spot. Should be an interesting spring. I look for Summers to 1) Find his 5 best O-Linemen & come up w/ the best possible line-up he can field 2) Cross train them (teach some of them more than one position) & 3) Find who his back-ups are that are capable of playing in '10.
ReplyDeleteTalent wise this group will be fine. I'm concered about depth and experience. They have to play as a unit. UK also had a walk-on the staff really liked last year who could receive some playing time.
ReplyDeleteNone of these guys were huge recruits out of high school. Durham, Hines, Murphy, Ullinski, Osaze, Simpson and Warford were all three star recruits, while Lanefski, Smith, Stackhouse, Mitchell and Woods were two star recruits.
For what it's worth, Zipp Duncan was a two star recruit coming out of high school.
I had always heard that both Warford and Simpson were rated so low because they shut down their recruitment fairly early with their decisions for UK. As we've seen (Farrington Huguenin got two stars as soon as he committed), star rankings seem to be fairly arbitrary and are many times based on recruitment buzz.
ReplyDeleteSimpson may have been a 3 star, but he had offers from Tennessee and Auburn. Seemed like he was trained to be a center...might he push Smith to guard? I bet Rock Oliver will have something to say about who makes the final 5!
ReplyDeleteThe Rock is going to beef them up and make them stronger. Also, Summers will have the final say. He is solid!
ReplyDeleteSimpson and Warford will be special at UK. Star rankings are a joke for the most part. I always consider who is recruiting a player. There are so many factors that come into play.
I've been told that Rivals biggest subscription comes from Note Dame fans. Therefore, kids being recruited by Notre Dame get the "bump" in ratings. In some cases it's about making money.
It's easier to hide star rankings in football than basketball. Stop and look at the rankings of some of UK's basketball recruits over the past few years and ask yourself if they have played like their star ranking suggested.
Thank for sharing good and useful information. This information is very valuable.
ReplyDeleteRegards.
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