DeWalt
Banned
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-east-challenge-in-2010-the-kentucky-wildcats
Has it really come to this?
Has Urban Meyer so decimated his rivals in the SEC East that the last team standing could actually be the Kentucky Wildcats?
I know it sounds preposterous, and I realize by now you are either clicking away and dismissing me as a fool, or you are actually reading my opinion on why Kentucky could win their first SEC East title ever in 2010.
Well let's just dive right on in, shall we?
Rich Brooks definitely left the football program at the University of Kentucky in much better shape than he found it.
For years Kentucky formed one-half of the dual-laughing stocks of the SEC along with Vanderbilt.
Now, the Wildcats have seemingly forged a nice little path to bowl eligibility every year since 2006, and the 'Cats actually won each of those bowl games until this season when it lost to Clemson.
One thing Brooks did that other former coaches at Kentucky could not is build a formidable coaching staff.
New head coach Joker Phillips, a former Kentucky wide receiver, is known as one of the more respected offensive minds in the SEC.
Quarterbacks coach Randy Sanders turned Andre Woodson into a top SEC quarterback seemingly overnight. Since then, he's done wonders with Mike Hartline and Randall Cobb. Most recently he helped Morgan Newton develop into a pretty good freshman quarterback.
Sanders held the same position at Tennessee in the late 90s/early 2000s where he coached Tee Martin. Martin just became the wide receivers coach at Kentucky and is considered a top rising star in the college football coaching community.
Under defensive coordinator Steve Brown, the Wildcats scoring defense went from being ranked 88th overall in '06 to No. 35 in '08. On total defense Kentucky settled at No. 53 in '09, but for a team that used to win games 45-42 and lose them 45-17 that's a marked improvement.
So what does that have to do with challenging the mighty Gators in 2010?
Everything.
Kentucky is not one of those SEC schools that gets a ton of publicity for signing the nation's best players—so development of lower-tier prospects is crucial to the 'Cats' success.
The program thrives on getting scraps that the bigger schools overlook. Case in point, Randall Cobb, who was passed over by Phillip Fulmer and Tennessee despite playing his high school ball twenty minutes from Neyland Stadium. He is only one of the top all-purpose athletes in the SEC today.
A junior Cobb and soon-to-be-senior Derrick Locke form the nucleus of this team. They will be surrounded by great young talent on both sides of the ball.
QB Morgan Newton is on the verge of following in Andre Woodson's footsteps as a top pass/run threat in the SEC East.
One of the top tight end prospects in the country, Alex Smith, just signed to be a Wildcat. At 6'5", 255 pounds there's no doubt he'll contribute right away.
There's reason to believe that this team could improve upon that 7-5 regular season mark from 2009.
Another reason to believe they could be Florida's only real challenge is the state of the rest of the current SEC East.
Georgia is on the verge of total collapse. There are daily calls for Mark Richt's job and another 7-5 season is almost assured with a quarterback who has never played a down in college football taking over in 2010.
Tennessee is right in the middle of rebuilding. I know the Vols' hex will seemingly never be broken by the Wildcats, but streaks were meant to be broken—even the ones that have lasted a quarter-century.
South Carolina seems like everyone's early favorite to do some damage in the SEC East next season. Simply put, I'll believe it when I see it.
Vanderbilt is, well, it's still Vanderbilt.
That brings us to Florida.
Many thought that a Tebow-less Gator team would somehow lose its focus and become a rudderless ship overnight.
Wrong.
Despite losing seven pro quality players to the NFL draft, the Gators will reload. That's what teams with potential stars three-deep on the depth chart do.
Throw in potentially one of the greatest signing classes ever, and the recipe for more Gator domination is easily discovered.
Is there any way for the playing field to be leveled between Florida and Kentucky?
Other than the lack of more quality SEC East teams, not really.
The fact remains, however, that we watched the Wildcats dispose of a No. 1 LSU team in 2007. So it can be done.
The Wildcats may be closing the gap on the rest of the SEC, but ultimately Florida has some of the best players in America on its second and third teams.
The rag-tag scraps that Kentucky has to put together on a yearly basis will come up short every time versus those odds.
But if there's anything we've learned in college football, it's that on any given Saturday, anything can happen.
With the rest of the SEC out of the way, Kentucky just wants that shot to prove themselves. That could be all it needs.
Has it really come to this?
Has Urban Meyer so decimated his rivals in the SEC East that the last team standing could actually be the Kentucky Wildcats?
I know it sounds preposterous, and I realize by now you are either clicking away and dismissing me as a fool, or you are actually reading my opinion on why Kentucky could win their first SEC East title ever in 2010.
Well let's just dive right on in, shall we?
Rich Brooks definitely left the football program at the University of Kentucky in much better shape than he found it.
For years Kentucky formed one-half of the dual-laughing stocks of the SEC along with Vanderbilt.
Now, the Wildcats have seemingly forged a nice little path to bowl eligibility every year since 2006, and the 'Cats actually won each of those bowl games until this season when it lost to Clemson.
One thing Brooks did that other former coaches at Kentucky could not is build a formidable coaching staff.
New head coach Joker Phillips, a former Kentucky wide receiver, is known as one of the more respected offensive minds in the SEC.
Quarterbacks coach Randy Sanders turned Andre Woodson into a top SEC quarterback seemingly overnight. Since then, he's done wonders with Mike Hartline and Randall Cobb. Most recently he helped Morgan Newton develop into a pretty good freshman quarterback.
Sanders held the same position at Tennessee in the late 90s/early 2000s where he coached Tee Martin. Martin just became the wide receivers coach at Kentucky and is considered a top rising star in the college football coaching community.
Under defensive coordinator Steve Brown, the Wildcats scoring defense went from being ranked 88th overall in '06 to No. 35 in '08. On total defense Kentucky settled at No. 53 in '09, but for a team that used to win games 45-42 and lose them 45-17 that's a marked improvement.
So what does that have to do with challenging the mighty Gators in 2010?
Everything.
Kentucky is not one of those SEC schools that gets a ton of publicity for signing the nation's best players—so development of lower-tier prospects is crucial to the 'Cats' success.
The program thrives on getting scraps that the bigger schools overlook. Case in point, Randall Cobb, who was passed over by Phillip Fulmer and Tennessee despite playing his high school ball twenty minutes from Neyland Stadium. He is only one of the top all-purpose athletes in the SEC today.
A junior Cobb and soon-to-be-senior Derrick Locke form the nucleus of this team. They will be surrounded by great young talent on both sides of the ball.
QB Morgan Newton is on the verge of following in Andre Woodson's footsteps as a top pass/run threat in the SEC East.
One of the top tight end prospects in the country, Alex Smith, just signed to be a Wildcat. At 6'5", 255 pounds there's no doubt he'll contribute right away.
There's reason to believe that this team could improve upon that 7-5 regular season mark from 2009.
Another reason to believe they could be Florida's only real challenge is the state of the rest of the current SEC East.
Georgia is on the verge of total collapse. There are daily calls for Mark Richt's job and another 7-5 season is almost assured with a quarterback who has never played a down in college football taking over in 2010.
Tennessee is right in the middle of rebuilding. I know the Vols' hex will seemingly never be broken by the Wildcats, but streaks were meant to be broken—even the ones that have lasted a quarter-century.
South Carolina seems like everyone's early favorite to do some damage in the SEC East next season. Simply put, I'll believe it when I see it.
Vanderbilt is, well, it's still Vanderbilt.
That brings us to Florida.
Many thought that a Tebow-less Gator team would somehow lose its focus and become a rudderless ship overnight.
Wrong.
Despite losing seven pro quality players to the NFL draft, the Gators will reload. That's what teams with potential stars three-deep on the depth chart do.
Throw in potentially one of the greatest signing classes ever, and the recipe for more Gator domination is easily discovered.
Is there any way for the playing field to be leveled between Florida and Kentucky?
Other than the lack of more quality SEC East teams, not really.
The fact remains, however, that we watched the Wildcats dispose of a No. 1 LSU team in 2007. So it can be done.
The Wildcats may be closing the gap on the rest of the SEC, but ultimately Florida has some of the best players in America on its second and third teams.
The rag-tag scraps that Kentucky has to put together on a yearly basis will come up short every time versus those odds.
But if there's anything we've learned in college football, it's that on any given Saturday, anything can happen.
With the rest of the SEC out of the way, Kentucky just wants that shot to prove themselves. That could be all it needs.
