First Down Kentucky: Keep Pushing

The Kentucky offense has been anemic. You can see glimmers of hope. They’re efficient in between the 20s. A little trickeration can create an eye-opening explosive. Those flashes are just that. There is not enough consistency to score enough points to win in the SEC.

The results aren’t there, so Bush Hamdan is keeping his focus on the process.

“The message is we gotta keep pushing, figuring this thing out. All we know is to shrink the circle, if you will. Go back to work. Sometimes you feel like you have the exact pulse on it and it doesn’t work out exactly how you think it will,” said the Kentucky offensive coordinator.

“We gotta put our guys in the best position to be successful and the focus has gotta be staying 1-0 and just winning one game at a time. I certainly understand what everybody wants it to look like, to play with tempo and throw it and all those things. At times, we want it to look like that, we really do, but we gotta do what’s best for us with the situation we’re presented with to put ourselves in a position to win football games.”

Like anybody in this business, there are ebbs and flows, peaks and valleys. Right now they’re in a valley and to get out Hamdan is staying the course during the week in hopes that it will lead to better results on Saturdays.

“Sometimes we’re at fault for this, just shutting our door and being in the office 24/7. You just gotta stay processed-driven. I really believe that,” he said.

“Sometimes after wins, you think you have it all figured out. And after losses, you think you’re doing everything wrong. You just gotta stay the course. I think it’s important for the players to understand that. That’s what we’re preaching to them every week, trying to take that next step, move certain guys around, how can we get better at certain spots to put these guys in a better position? That’s always the focus.”

Finding the Right Recipe at Running Back

The Kentucky offense has had some success in the running game (No. 5 in success rate) but has struggled to generate explosive plays (zero runs of 30+ yards). Demie Sumo-Karngbaye has been the primary ball carrier, while they change things up with jet sweeps and the QB run game. Now Hamdan is trying to fit Chip Trayanum into the equation.

“It’s never perfect. We’re in a situation where different guys have been healthy at different points. Certain guys are better than other guys at certain things. We’re still in the situation now too where you look at gameplans and you try to simply them as much as you can, but you’ve got young guys out there where if they’re out there for every single play, their chances of being successful could decrease,” said Hamdan.

That applies to Jamarion Wilcox. He’s the most explosive running back in the group, but he’s been limited to three carries apiece over the last two games.

“We want to get a guy like Jamarion Wilcox knowing exactly what plays he’s going to be in there for, for the most part. At times, it has a little bit to do with what gets called and what doesn’t. But it’s been a work in progress for sure.”

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Cutter Boley Receives Counsel from a Kentucky Legend

Cutter Boley threw his first pass as a Kentucky Wildcat. Florida picked it off and returned it for a touchdown.

“That’ll definitely be a throw I always will wish I got back,” Boley laughed. “It’s taught me a lot. Those reps I got down there are invaluable. There’s few places that match the energy and the environment of The Swamp.”

The highly-touted quarterback isn’t hanging his head. He got a little extra reassurance from one of the best quarterbacks to ever play for Kentucky, Tim Couch. Boley was teammates with Couch’s son at LCA and the two gunslingers are close. Boley was happy to take the call and hear a few kind words after the rocky start.

“Getting advice from a person like him, it really means a lot,” he said.

Wide receiver Dane Key believes Boley has a bright future. “Cutter’s going to come out here and do his best every day. He’s young, but he still has a lot to learn. He’s right where he needs to be.”