2022 Kentucky Wildcats Football: 2022 Year in Review

[Ezaco]

 

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. After an undefeated regular season in 2021 under Coach rabidsnowman, and a trip to the College Football Playoff Semifinals, Coach Ezaco took over a team with a lot of promise, talent, and expectations... and sort of ran it into the ground. A 5-7 season, capped off by losing to main rival Louisville (who themselves ended up in the playoff this season), saw the Wildcats missing postseason play. There's still some reason for hope for 2023, but things seem to be hanging by a thread in Lexington.

 

The Season

Week	Opponent	Result	Score
0	Wake Forest	W	38-10
1	BYE

2

Oklahoma

W

32-14

3

BYE

4

@ Missouri

L

20-27

5

Vanderbilt

W

26-7

6

South Carolina

L

31-40

7

@ Florida

L

20-8

8

Georgia

W

21-3

9

Mississippi State

W

28-3

10

@ Tulsa

L

19-33

11

@ Ole Miss

L

10-14

12

@ Tennessee

L

10-37

13

BYE

14

@ Louisville

L

7-18

 

To be fair, it is not the most favorable schedule in the world. With the final four games of the season all on the road, including the two biggest rivals (both of whom ended up in the College Football Playoff) it's frankly amazing that some of these were as close as they were. The season started strong, defeating Wake Forest (who was a CFP contender as well) and Oklahoma, before stumbling against a really good Missouri team (who also had a chance at the CFP). The Wildcats regrouped against Vanderbilt, but the wheels truly fell off against South Carolina, who were the only team to defeat the Cats in Lexington this season. A loss against rival Florida in the Swamp before two straight wins against rivals Georgia and Mississippi State before losing all momentum and dropping the final four games of the season, all on the road.

 

Biggest Win

38-10 over Wake Forest

Kentucky's first win of the season was not only their largest margin of victory, but also the best one of the season. Michael Oliveros jumped straight out of the gate in his career debut to take the starter job by the horns, passing for 291 yards and 3 touchdowns (though, perhaps a sign of things to come, also 3 interceptions). Kelvin Dupree showed he still had what it took with 124 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns, as well as 103 receiving yards and another 2 touchdowns. The Kentucky defense also played great, taking away 3 interceptions and forcing 2 fumbles. Against a Wake Forest team that ended the regular season 9-3 and was only a loss to Louisville away from winning the ACC Atlantic, this was a great win. Had the Cats been able to sustain this work the rest of the season they would have added a couple more trophies to the cabinet.

 

Biggest Loss

10-37 against Tennessee

Well... at least it wasn't against the biggest rival? A 27 point loss against your second-biggest (and main SEC) rival is pretty tough still though. The only thing that makes this easier is that Tennessee went on to win the SEC East and reach the College Football Playoff Semifinals (and should have advanced to the Championship). But this game rolled together all of Kentucky's woes for the entire season. A change at quarterback saw second-string senior Casey Williams starting, while Michael Oliveros was moved to running back. But Oliveros and Dupree still performed in the way they do during big games in 2022 by completely disappearing. Dupree had 15 carries for 77 yards, while Oliveros had 11 carries for 41 yards. Neither scored a rushing touchdown. Williams showed promise in the pocket, throwing for 325 yards, no interceptions, and connecting with Dupree for a single touchdown. Unfortunately he also took 3 sacks, thus forsaken by both his offensive line and defense.

 

Postseason

Deservedly, Kentucky failed to qualify for bowl season in 2022. There were some bright spots and surprises, though, and a few players saw their name selected to the All-SEC team.

 

All-SEC First Team

OT Rubby Stewart

 

All-SEC Second Team

RB Kelvin Dupree

ILB Yohan Moore

 

All-SEC Third Team

OG Georges Skinner

FS Justin Marsh

 

The Recruits

 

Recruiting was another sour point for the Kentucky coaching staff this season. However, at the risk of giving excuses, this staff did not start recruiting until Week 4, putting them squarely behind the 8-ball in comparison to their peers and rivals. The Cats finished with 18 recruits, and placed 46th in the country in the sSEC Weekly Recruiting Rankings, 6th in the SEC. Among coached SEC teams that's 6/10, and last in the SEC East. Compared to Florida (#1), Georgia (#11), and Tennessee (#21) it draws a dour picture. One bad recruiting season is not usually enough to derail an entire team, but the coaching staff is going to have to work overtime in 2023 to make up for it and keep the program on track.

 

There were some good signings, despite that bleak outlook. Landing one of the top running backs in 4* Brian Doughty in the country started off a decent run around the rest of the country for a wide spread of players and their background. Despite no five stars and only two four stars, there's enough to like in this class. Keeping 4* C Matthew Pritchard was an important pickup for the Cats, and two other big local pickups in 3* OLB Neal Benney and 3* QB David Smith hope to keep the team very competitive in the future.

 

Position	Name	Stars	Overall	Potential	Home State
RB	Brian Doughty	4	B	B-	New Jersey
C	Matthew Pritchard	4	C	C+	Kentucky
OLB	Alfred Cox	3	C	A	Missouri
WR	Vernon Rouse	3	C	C+	Tennessee
CB	Manuel Juarez	3	C	C+	Hawai'i
DE	Robert Hill	3	C	B-	California
QB	Neal Mcilhenny	3	C	C+	Ohio
QB	Edgar Ritchey	3	C	C+	Florida
CB	Mark Clemmer	3	C	C+	Alabama
CB	Andrew Duncan	3	C	C+	Georgia
DE	Alan Montenegro	3	C	B+	Florida
TE	George Wolfe	3	C	A	Tennessee
CB	Lenny Roemer	3	C	C+	Massachusetts
CB	Mark Scherer	3	C	C+	Maryland
OLB	Neal Benney	3	C	B	Kentucky
QB	David Smith	3	C	B	Kentucky
WR	Mario Rojas	2	C	B-	Texas

 

Eighteen recruits, eight on the offense and ten on the defense. It's clear the coaching staff believes the defense needs the most help (just look at those scores above!) especially with a number of defensive ends and cornerbacks graduating after 2022. It's just as clear they're not quite confident in any of them, given the spread of recruitment (5 cornerbacks). Offensively the staff is obviously looking at the future, given Oliveros will only be a sophomore and Dupree entering his senior season, the staff is preparing for what comes after them. One of the targets that we know they failed to reach, however, was additional offensive line help.

 

Matthew Pritchard is the sole exception to the offensive line question. A 6'5", 290lbs, the Louisville native wasn't even recruited by the local CFP team, and Kentucky beat out Texas A&M for the prize of the young man they're hoping will be the anchor to their offensive line. It's not without some risk, though. Pritchard is extremely skilled, and with the size to back it up. The only question will be his ceiling, and will he work hard enough to elevate his play - and his team - to the next level.

 

Brian Doughty is the crown jewel of this class. The 4* running back from Union, New Jersey comes in at 5'8" and 208 lbs. Some might call that undersized, but the little guy can catch the ball and run like crazy. After beating out Washington State for the commitment, Kentucky is looking to place its running back corps on the shoulders of this tiny little man, and they have a lot of faith.

 

Alfred Cox is another player the Cats are going to look to rely on in the future. A product of St. Louis, the 3* OLB stands as an imposing 6'4", 250 lbs. This is a guy Kentucky beat out their main rival on, and they are really excited to have him. Don't let that 3* rating fool you, this staff believes this guy can be an absolute star, and maybe even play on Sundays after he gets done terrorizing the SEC.

 

The final exciting point for this staff is George Wolfe out of Nashville. 6'3", 239 lbs, this 3* TE really gets this staff moving. With the size he's also got the hands, and will be a big target for the Kentucky passing game. Nevermind going into rival Tennessee's backyard, and beating out Louisville again, this guy plays right into the scheme this coaching staff wants to get into.

 

The future of Kentucky football still has light. They need to continue to work hard, and work harder than they would have before, but there's still time and still potential.

[tsweezy]

Great writeup! I spent 10 seconds feeling good about the rivalry W before being annoyed about having this class called the #21 class

[Ezaco]

git gud

[tsweezy]

Biggest Loss

10-37 against Tennessee

[Ezaco]