SEC Football: Spring 2019 storylines for every SEC team

Kentucky: Replacing Benny Snell and Josh Allen

Mark Stoops finally had his breakthrough in year six in Lexington, leading Kentucky to 10 wins for the first time since 1977. The trick now will be to maintain that level of play and keep the Wildcats near the top of the SEC East. That task will be increasingly difficult now that two of the best players in program history – RB Benny Snell and edge-rusher Josh Allen – are off to the NFL.

Snell set numerous program records and Allen is widely expected to be the first Kentucky player selected in the Top-5 of the NFL Draft since Dewayne Robertson in 2003.

There’s not another Snell or Allen waiting in the wings, but years of good recruiting has several talented players waiting for increased roles on the team.

The Wildcats have a couple of veteran running backs, senior Sihiem King and junior AJ Rose, who figure to top the depth chart during the spring. King is widely expected to transfer as a graduate student following spring practice, though, which will leave Kentucky thin behind Rose.

Rose rushed for 442 yards last season on a 6.2 yards-per-carry clip. He eclipsed 100-yards twice, going over the century mark in wins over Central Michigan and Louisville.

Behind him, Kavosiey Smoke and Chris Rodriguez played sparingly as true freshmen to maintain redshirt seasons. Three-star RB Travis Tisdale was the lone running back signee in the ‘Cats recruiting class, but he won’t arrive until the summer.

Part of the way to replace the production left behind by Snell would be for more QB-runs for Terry Wilson, and increased touches for dynamic wide receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. Bowden led the team in receiving yards, and had nine carries in 2018, a number I would expect to go up significantly in 2019 as the coaching staff looks to find creative ways to put the ball in the hands of its top offensive weapon.

It will be a by-committee approach to replacing Allen’s pass rushing productivity as well. He was one of the nation’s most feared edge rushers as a senior, and replacing him will arguably be a more difficult task than that of replacing Snell. Allen led the team in tackles and sacks by a healthy margin. His 17 sacks was 12 more than the next player on the roster.

Junior Boogie Watson flashed some potential as a sophomore, finishing second on the team with five sacks. He’s likely to be counted on to step into Allen’s role, although expecting him to mirror that production would be foolish.

Sophomore DeAndre Square is another player to keep an eye on after a strong freshman season saw him named to the SEC’s All-Freshman team. He saved his best for last, too, putting together a strong overall performance in Kentucky’s Citrus Bowl win over Penn State.

Expecting a second straight 10-win season in Lexington next season is likely to leave you disappointed with the caliber of players they have to replace; the Wildcats seem to be set for at least some regression in 2019.