First Down Kentucky: Insight from the Under Armour All-American Game

by:Nick Roush•01/03/24•

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Hello friends. Welcome to a later edition of First Down Kentucky. This afternoon KSR was locked into the Under Armour All-American Game to watch Brian Robinson and Jerod Smith. The latter’s twin, Jacob Smith, was sidelined by injury and unable to play in the prep showcase the featured the best high school football players from around the country.

It’s difficult to reach sweeping conclusions from an all-star game in any sport. It’s even more difficult when the players you’re watching are getting smoked. The future Wildcats on “Team Fire” lost 39-6 to “Team Ice.” The game also had rules limiting it from getting too nuanced. Defenses were restricted to man defense and the fronts weren’t allowed to stunt. Still, I left impressed with what I saw from the future Kentucky defensive linemen.

Jerod Smith has Juice

Even though Jerod Smith is a large human in the trenches, he fires off the ball violently. Initially, I wasn’t sure how much of that was in his toolbox. Today I learned that’s because I was comparing him to his twitched up brother, Jacob.

Jerod primarily lined up on the edge of a 4-3 defense. Pass rush reps were limited by quick releases from the quarterback. What stood out to me was how Smith pursued the ball when it was ran the opposite direction. He stayed low and stalked until the running back cut right back to him. He also logged a few inside reps. On one fourth quarter snap Smith blew up the double team and forced the running back to bounce it outside where he eventually fumbled the ball. The lesson: Smith doesn’t give up on plays, even late in the fourth quarter of a blowout loss.

Brian Robinson’s Versatility is Staggering

I’ve never seen a football player like Brian Robinson. Vince Marrow said as much about his physicality on Signing Day. The thing is my eyes don’t match what my brain is telling me to expect.

When you see the 6-foot-4, 260-pounder, you envision a player on the outside storming the passer and swatting balls out of the air. He did that, but it was only a small facet of the game. In fact, No. 52 spent most of the game taking on double teams. B-Rob was essentially lining up at Deone Walker‘s 3-technique position and handling his own against All-Americans.

Brian Robinson should not be a 3-technique in college, but it’s abundantly clear that like Walker, he is an unconventional defensive lineman. His versatility is a weapon, one that comes with some play-making. During a 4-play sequence he had a tackle for loss, sack and a QB hurry. This is only the beginning of his development.

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Two plays later B-Rob had another beater on the inside for a sack.

He used a speed rush to hit the QB one player later. pic.twitter.com/TYb60AdpPr
— Nick Roush (@RoushKSR) January 4, 2024

Kentucky Plays Balancing Act in Transfer Portal

The question is, how many moves will Kentucky make in the transfer portal this January? We know the positions of need are offensive tackle and cornerback. They have at least three representatives from the two positions lining up visits for this weekend. Those are just the players we know. There are some other irons in the fire behind the scenes as well.

The second transfer portal wave is the lightest. Kentucky hit it out of the park by landing Keeshawn Silver a year ago. That feels like more of an exception than a norm. The Cats could host multiple players this weekend and not land a commitment. That might be a good thing. There’s a third wave coming after spring games. If Kentucky doesn’t want to take a gamble on a Group of Five product now, they might just gamble on more Power Five players this spring.

Bowl Season’s One Shining Moment

This is what Bowl Season is missing, a montage. Man, I’m gonna miss it.

One Shining Moment but make it about Bowl Season pic.twitter.com/Hy6WPPWqOc
— Nathan Grella (@NathanGrella) January 2, 2024

Will Levis may be done for the Season

Will Levis gave Kentucky fans an excuse to puff out their chest on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the former Wildcat quarterback was still dealing with a foot injury he suffered against the Houston Texans. He did not practice today. It’s probably wise to just stay on the sideline for the season finale, but Levis wants to be on the field against the Jaguars in week 18.

“It means a lot,” Levis said. “We want to win, and I want to win. And I want to have good feelings going into next year.”