Potential Breakout Players at Kentucky Football Fall Camp

Hope springs eternal in the college football preseason. That optimism is often met by a harsh reality in September, but throughout the Mark Stoops era there’s typically been a surprise playmaker that emerges during the course of Kentucky football fall camp.

The most infamous case occurred ahead of the Cats’ breakout 2016 season. Coaches don’t like to give true freshmen too much credit, but Benny Snell forced Eddie Gran’s hand. The rest is history. More recently the hype has come from Vince Marrow’s tight end room. Izayah Cummings switched positions from wide receiver and caught three touchdowns in a specialized role for Liam Coen. The following year Josh Kattus head-hunted his way into the BBN’s hearts. Who’s up next?

WR Shamar Porter

Hype flocks to pass-catchers like a moth is drawn to light. An impressive touchdown catch or two or three goes a long way during fall camp, particularly during scrimmages. While Dane Key takes most of the reps on the outside, true freshman Shamar Porter will get more than enough opportunities to do something spectacular with the twos.

Similar to Cummings, Porter has a long frame that’s a natural mismatch for his opponent. Even though he was the highest-ranked recruit in the Cats’ 2023 recruiting class, his recruitment was light on drama. He also did not produce a ton of big numbers at Nashville Ensworth, which is one of a few reasons folks seem to be sleeping on Shamar Porter. They’ll wake up once he catches a pass on a dude’s head. His jump ball skills can set him apart from the pack and force Liam Coen to carve out a role for the newcomer.

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EDGE Tyreese Fearbry

Keaten Wade was the first of the talented 2022 signees at the EDGE position to have his number called. A disciplined edge-setter in the run game, he was prepared to fill in for JJ Weaver at a moment’s notice. After a year on campus, Tyreese Fearbry can use this fall camp to show the team why he was a top 200 prospect out of high school.

The Pittsburgh native has some pass-rushing juice. His combination of length, athleticism and explosiveness is just what Kentucky needs on the edge of the defense. He has shown brief flashes throughout his limited time in Lexington. If those flashes appear consistently throughout fall camp, Fearbry can become a havoc-producer that Kentucky cannot afford to keep off the field in obvious passing situations.

DL Keeshawn Silver

The success of transfer portal additions can sometimes feel like a roll of the dice. If a player is in the portal there’s a good chance they’re looking for a situation with more playing time. Is it because of the player, or the former school? Finding a solution to that calculus is why Mark Stoops and his Kentucky football coaching staff get paid the big bucks. They’re taking a gamble that Keeshawn Silver can live up to his five-star pedigree.

The defensive lineman earned that recruiting hype despite COVID-19 wrecking his final years of prep football. Upon arriving at North Carolina, the enormous athlete with fast feet was out of shape. Once he got into shape, he suffered minor injuries, then underwent a defensive scheme change. Kentucky is Silver’s second chance to find stability at nose guard in an exceptional 3/4 defense. If this is just what he needs, Silver can sharpen his tools during fall camp and become a consistent presence on Brad White’s defense this fall.

Other Potential Fall Camp Breakout Candidates

Kahlil Saunders: I can hear the quotes from the OTs already. “He’s so big and long, it’s just hard to block guys like that on the outside.” Saunders is the size of a DT and he’s playing DE. That will cause problems for any offensive lineman. Hopefully he’s healthy enough to flash in pass rush drills, potentially playing his way into a starting role.

Maxwell Hairston: Similar to the wide receiver that drops jaws on the sideline with big catches, cornerbacks can win the day by forcing turnovers at fall camp. In the midst of an open competition at the position, the coaches would prefer to keep things quiet. However, Max Hairston showed off his ball skills early and often during spring practice. There’s a good chance he makes a highlight or two or three for the UK Football Twitter feed en route to a starting spot at cornerback.

Loaded Running Back Room: Ray Davis is leading the way, but there are a bunch of guys behind him pushing for carries. JuTahn McClain and Demie Sumo-Karngbaye each have pass-catching pedigree. People forget that Ramon Jefferson was incredibly productive at the FCS level before he suffered a season-ending injury in his first game at UK. Liam Coen was a big La’Vell Wright back in 2021 and Jamarion Wilcox has bonafide home run hitting ability. Surely, at least one of those guys will consistently pop during fall camp, the question is, which one? We discussed it on the KSR Football Podcast.

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