With the depart of Randall Cobb and Chris Matthews from last season, there are many questions concerning UK's wide receiving corp; Is there enough talent at receiver position to compete in the SEC? Who is going to step up this season? Who will "get loose" against Louisville?
With a veteran SEC caliber O-line, Morgan Newton has a great opportunity to have a successful season given his reputation as a dual-threat quarterback (and the ability of dual-threat quarterbacks to dominate in the SEC, think Tim Tebow and Cam Newton), but a lot of that depends on the ability of receivers to get open and make plays. Lets take a look at some of his targets this season:
Projected Depth Chart:
WIDE RECEIVER
16 La’Rod King, 6-4, 194, Jr-2L 36 receptions for 478 yards, 5 TD
19 E.J. Fields, 6-1, 196, Jr-1L
17 Nik Brazley, 5-9, 170, Sr-1L
34 Ed Berry, 6-0, 157, So-Sq
WIDE RECEIVER
3 Matt Roark, 6-5, 214, Sr-3L 12 receptions for 170 yards
13 Gene McCaskill, 6-0, 206, Jr-2L inj. 2010, return Aug.; 32 career rec.
87 Brian Adams, 6-4, 221, So-1L three receptions for 23 yards
27 Aaron Boyd, 6-4, 217, Jr-1L
WIDE RECEIVER
87 Brian Adams, 6-4, 221, So-1L three receptions for 23 yards
35 William Tanner, 6-0, 188, Fr-RS
La'Rad King and Gene McCaskill are UK's leading returning receivers and are expected to play major roles in UK's offense. Two other Juniors, Aaron Boyd and E.J. Fields, are not as high on the depth chart but will have opportunities to have breakout seasons.
Aaron Boyd:
Aaron came to UK with a lot of expectations. He was rated by both Rivals and Scout as the top prospect in Kentucky and was the highest rated player to sign with UK in his class. On top of this, his brother Shane Boyd was a former star QB for UK. He played some his freshmen year and recorded a couple catches, but redshirted his sophomore year. Last year he played in four games, but hasn't been able to live up to his lofty expectations. Hopefully he can get it all together his junior year and play to his great potential.
E.J. Fields:
E.J. starred at Frankfort High both offensively and defensively in football and also excelled in track. He was recruited by UK as a receiver with great athletic ability and foot speed. E.J. redshirted his freshman season and sustained a foot injury the next season causing him to miss the entire season. He mainly saw action on special teams his sophomore year, but recorded 8 tackles in kick coverage. With his speed, size, and athletic ability, E.J. has all the tools necessary to become an SEC caliber playmaker.
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