Kentucky players to watch in season opener versus Southern Miss

Kentucky will return to Kroger Field with fans in the stands for a real college football game for the first time since November. The Wildcats are laying nearly four touchdowns in a non-conference matchup with Southern Miss. We have finally reached football time in the Bluegrass.

The expectation is that Kentucky will handle its business and cruise a double-digit victory against a Sun Belt program picked to finish in the bottom of a Group of Five conference that is breaking in two new play-callers. The Wildcats own most — if not all — personnel matchups in the game. But games are not played on paper.

Kentucky should overwhelm Southern Miss on Saturday night. Will that happen? We will find out soon but we do know that some players will need to play well. KSR is taking a closer look at four players who will have a big impact in one way or the other in Week 1.

Brock Vandagriff’s QB1 debut

Quickly after the 2023 regular season ended, Georgia quarterback Brock Vandagriff entered the transfer portal on Dec. 4 and committed to Kentucky two days later. The Wildcats quickly zoned in on their top target. But much has changed since Vandagriff’s commitment.

Kentucky made an offensive coordinator change in February when Liam Coen left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Wildcats added Rutgers transfer Gavin Wimsatt to the roster on May 7. Despite all of that change, Vandagriff is still the guy in Lexington and now we’ll get to see what the former five-star recruit looks like as a starter.

Vandagriff passed the look test in the spring game, seemed to have a good fall training camp, and appears to be a good fit in Bush Hamdan‘s offense that will include the QB in the run game plan. Facing a Southern Miss back seven that has a ton of new pieces, there should be opportunities for a big performance.

Saturday will be much about the look test for Kentucky’s new quarterback. There are tangible reasons to believe that the former five-star recruit can be a good SEC starter but we still need to see it play out on the field.

Jalen Farmer’s first career start

Kentucky’s offensive line has been a hot-button topic surrounding the program this offseason. The Wildcats made strides in 2023 but did not come close to meeting the program’s standard. Two more starters were added via the transfer portal to upgrade the unit and a coaching change was made with Eric Wolford returning to Lexington.

At tackle, Kentucky knows what they are getting in Marques Cox and Gerald Mincey. The same is true at center with Eli Cox. Neither of those positions was the unit’s biggest weakness last year. Kentucky needs better play at guard. Returnee Jager Burton is set to begin a huge season, but Florida transfer Jalen Farmer needs to deliver immediately.

The former three-star recruit out of Covington (Ga.) Eastside picked Florida over Alabama and Kentucky as Wolford pursued the interior offensive line prospect heavily. The two reunited a couple of years later. Farmer played just four games over the last two years in Gainesville and will make his first career start on Saturday.

At 6-foot-5 and 314 pounds, Farmer looks like a potential NFL Draft prospect but will be challenged in Week 1. Southern Miss’ top unit is the defensive line where this Sun Belt team has a bunch of 300-plus pound dudes it can throw at Kentucky’s offensive line. Week 1 could help tell us where Kentucky stands at the guard position.

Keeshawn Silver in year 2

Kentucky’s defensive line enters the season as the program’s top positional unit. Deone Walker is a big reason for that but the depth is what has many excited about this group. Tre’vonn Rybka, Octavious Oxendine, and Kahlil Saunders are all former high school recruits set to play big roles as upperclassmen but a former transfer could determine this group’s ceiling.

Keeshawn Silver is back for year two in Lexington after spending his first two seasons in college football at North Carolina. The redshirt junior immediately became a starter and held his own in the SEC. Now Kentucky needs him to elevate.

With Josaih Hayes ruled out for at least most of the season, Kentucky’s high-quality depth at nose tackle has been evaporated. That means that the Wildcats will need more out of Silver. The former five-star recruit has added more strength and appears to have a lot of confidence. That could mean great things for the defense because Silver is arguably the second most talented defensive lineman on the roster behind Walker.

Facing a Southern Miss offensive line breaking in multiple new starters, Silver has an opportunity to dominate. If he does that, that could be a sign of things to come for the former blue-chip recruit.

Where Kentucky uses Zion Childress

Zion Childress is now on his final ride in college football as a super senior. The fifth-year player has logged over 2,500 career snaps. Kentucky is going to lean into that experience this season.

After playing safety his first two seasons on campus, Kentucky experimented with Childress at nickel. That allows defensive coordinator Brad White to lean into what the staff believes is a very good depth situation at safety. Now we will get to see how Childress fits in this new role.

The veteran’s aggressive nature seems like a good fit close to the box and gives Kentucky another look to throw at teams. Kentucky can also plug Alex Afari Jr. and Tyreese Fearbry into the Sam spot that Childress would fill as a nickel defender.

Kentucky wants to be more versatile on defense. Childress could allow them to be more multiple. How often will UK use the defensive back as an overhang defender near the line of scrimmage? We should have a better understanding of the long-term plan on Saturday night as Kentucky looks alleviate the lack of outside linebacker depth and get more coverage players on the field.

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