3 Lessons Learned from the First 3 Days of Kentucky Football Fall Camp

Kentucky football fall camp did not beat the heat on Saturday. The first practice featuring shoulder pads was in the middle of the hottest, muggiest part of the August afternoon. Will Stein‘s team needs it. They’ll be playing in it this fall. The Kentucky head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator all spoke with the media on Saturday evening to share what they’ve seen from the Wildcats so far. Jay Bateman has a very important reminder for BBN: “Three practices — one with shoulder pads and two with helmets — those aren’t big indicators of success or not success.” It’s still very early in the preseason process, but we can still share a few things from the first three practices. No Knuckleheads in Shoulder Pads Juices were flowing for the first practice in shoulder pads. It’s the first time in a long time that they’ve been able to hit somebody. Bateman appreciated that there was plenty of physicality, but nobody went overboard. “We’ve got kids that like football. I think it was physical practice, but it was smart football. Sometimes, if you got a bunch of knuckleheads, you go out there for the first day of shoulder pads, and there’s guys all over the place, guys getting tackled. I think one of my knuckleheads tackled a guy one time, but other that it was pretty good,” said the Kentucky defensive coordinator. “We’ve got some veteran guys that have a lot of weight in the locker room that know how to practice, and I think there’s a physical component to our practice, but a smart component to our practice.” On the other side of the line of scrimmage, Joe Sloan saw the offensive line creating running lanes. This coaching staff has plenty of confidence in the trenches. What may have been unexpected is the pop produced by the pass-catchers. “When we went out there in pads, I thought the O-line moved people, and I thought (the running backs) ran hard, and I thought we had a couple receivers really step and put their face in there,” said Sloan. “Shane (Carr) and Brock (Coffman), I thought, really came down and cracked a couple folks.” Dig Deeper in the Kentucky Football Fall Camp Notebook on the House of Blue Good Day for the Running Backs Running back might be the biggest question mark on this Kentucky football roster. CJ Baxter and Jovantae Barnes brought a lengthy injury history with them from the transfer portal. A few late JUCO additions raised red flags for some fans. It’s still early, and they aren’t breaking tackles to the ground, but Stein likes what he’s seen from the young guys, particularly one player you may have forgotten about, Tovani Mizell. A one-time Georgia commit who was one of the highest-ranked running backs in his class, he’s showing the coaches why now that he’s finally healthy. “We’ve pushed all those kids, and Tovani’s had a strong showing in the first three days,” said Stein. “Shoot, Jason Patterson today looked the best I’ve seen him. I was very happy to see him run like that, just run hard, and not pitter-patter your feet in the hole, like hit it. The more competition you can get — Martels (Carter) look good today — the more competition, it just brings the best out of people. That was exciting to see from the backs.” Stein also noted that Carter had a big play during Friday’s practice. The former safety made another safety miss in the open-field to create an explosive play. Versatile Player on the Kentucky O-Line Kentucky brought in three veteran starters from the Power Conference ranks to rebuild the Big Blue Wall. But what about the other guys? When the Big Blue Wall was at its best, John Schlarman wasn’t just deploying five guys for an entire game. There was a healthy rotation. It appears that Kentucky is creating one, at least in the interior. A minor procedure is limiting Tegra Tshabola in practice, paving the way for Jordan Knox. The interior offensive line actually logged a couple of starts at Northwestern before going the JUCO route. He’s forcing the coaches to make him a part of the regular rotation. “I love Jordan. I think he’s a baller,” said Sloan. “One, he’s got position flex, which is so, so important. He can play guard. He can play center. Sometimes guys are just centers, but he has the athletic ability and the power to play guard. He’s not just going to be in there to snap the football and communicate. “So now he can move in and play center, and you’ve got a really powerful, athletic guy who can move his feet. Now, obviously, we have a really good center, so that helps, right? But Jordan’s gonna play. If he continues to play the way that he has, he’s gonna definitely help us a ton this fall.” Want more from Fall Camp? Take advantage of our KSR+ FALL CAMP SALE. Annual subscriptions are 75% off for a limited time — that’s ONLY $30 for your first year of scoop.