First Down Kentucky: Offensive Optimism

Kentucky got a week to exhale following its Top 10 win at Ole Miss. They had three padded practices to put the win in the rearview and begin early preparation for Vanderbilt, who secured the biggest win in program history on Saturday when the Commodores knocked off top-ranked Alabama.

“Looking at scores across the league, every week it’s not always what you expect them to be,” said offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan. “Limiting turnovers, creating explosives are going to be critical things as we know and that’s what we need to do.”

Vanderbilt’s victory over Alabama provided a reminder for the Wildcats.

“If you’re feeling yourself one week, you could get hit in the mouth,” said Hamdan. “And when you’re coming off South Carolina and the world’s crashing, you get right back to work. That’s the message, a constant state of improvement, one week at a time, and these players have done a hell of a job with that.”

Let’s take a closer look at how the Kentucky offense is preparing for Vanderbilt.

The Vanderbilt Head Coach Calls the Defense

It’s become a common practice, particularly in the NFL, for the head coach to call plays on offense. It’s rare to see the head coach calling the defense. Mark Stoops briefly took over play-calling duties for DJ Eliot a decade ago, but this isn’t the norm and it’s what Clark Lea is doing this year for Vanderbilt. He got the job by creating a stout unit at Notre Dame and Hamdan is impressed with the product Vandy has put on the field this fall.

“The amount of defense he has, this is a group that knows who it wants to be and this is a defensive coordinator that does an outstanding job of mixing a lot of different things,” said Hamdan.

Any Wrinkles to the Gavin Wimsatt Package?

Gavin Wimsatt played a significant role in the game plan at Ole Miss. He was used early and often, toting the rock nine times. His number was called in the red zone in the fourth quarter, and despite a fumble, the play resulted in a touchdown.

Even though he did not throw a pass at Ole Miss, he had 10 attempts in two other games. That’s been enough to make sure defenses are playing him honestly.

“Gavin Wimsatt is not a Wildcat quarterback. This is a guy that can throw it. You saw that against Ohio and I think that’s unique. The defensive looks we’re getting are not looks to stop him from running the ball. They’re certainly respecting his passing ability, so we just gotta continue to build that,” said Hamdan.

The key is striking a balance between using the change-of-pace quarterback without throwing off Brock Vandagriff‘s rhythm.

“Gavin’s done a tremendous job. In a lot of ways, nobody’s as fired up for it as Brock because 8-10 runs a game Gavin’s taking some hits for him. Certainly want to continue to grow that package.”

Optimism from Kentucky WR Barion Brown

“It felt great, you can’t even imagine,” said the Kentucky wide receiver.

He had not caught a pass for more than 20 yards all season when he ripped one off for 60+ to set up the Wildcats’ game-winning score at Ole Miss. That play injected optimism into Barion Brown‘s game. After watching chaos breakout in the sport during the bye week from his home in Nashville, he knows these Wildcats can still achieve all of their goals.

“Everything we want is still in front of us,” said Brown. “We got to keep working hard and trust the process, come out here every day looking to be better, put the losses behind us, and worry about the future.”

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