The big question going forward with the Kentucky Wildcats is what is their ceiling? They finished second in the SEC East in 2021 with a 10-3 record and a Citrus Bowl win over No. 15 Iowa. What can Mark Stoops do with his squad in 2022?
By Steve Wright
Here are the three keys to 2022 football success for Kentucky:
More Transfer Portal Success
You can argue no team got more out of the transfer portal in 2021 than Kentucky. Wan’Dale Robinson was doing nothing at Nebraska. At Kentucky, he caught passes for 1,334 yards and seven touchdowns and was a second-round NFL draft pick. Quarterback Will Levis was a career backup at Penn State who flourished at Kentucky. This year the transfer focus has been in the defensive backfield. Expect to see transfers such as Zion Childress and Keidron Smith play big roles in 2022. Stoops knows what he is doing when it comes to recruiting in this way.
Levis passed for just over 2,800 yards in 2021. Robinson accounted for almost half of that total as the only legit SEC-level receiver on the roster. Kentucky has been a run-focused team for years under Stoops but in Levis, he has an NFL-caliber arm at the quarterback position. More transfers – Tayvion Robinson from Virginia Tech and Javon Baker from Alabama – give Levis a couple of readymade Power 5 targets. Expect Levis to have the constraints removed to the point he goes for over 3,000 yards this fall and winds up as an NFL first-rounder.
Beat Florida
The Wildcats have a schedule with a season-defining game in Week 2. After a tune-up against Miami (Ohio) the Wildcats travel to The Swamp to take on a Florida team that was brutal in 2021, but that expects big things out of new head coach Billy Napier.
A win in Week 2 sets Kentucky up for a potential 7-0 start before traveling to Tennessee. There is just a Week 5 clash with Ole Miss that looks tricky. A loss to Florida could have lingering effects into Week 5 and a team with a legit shot at a two-loss season could have those two losses in the first five games.
The Kentucky Wildcats open their 2022 football season on September 3 when they host Miami (Ohio) in Lexington.
Kentucky Football Schedules
Be the first to comment