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WILDCATS

What to watch for as Kentucky starts spring football

Kyle Tucker
LCJ

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Mark Stoops and his staff will put a 2-10 debut season behind them Friday and turn their attention to 2014 with the start of spring football at the University of Kentucky. The Wildcats will hold the first of 15 practices Friday morning and conclude on April 26 with the Blue-White Game.

That scrimmage at 3:30 p.m. on April 26 in Commonwealth Stadium — with a reduced capacity of 42,500 due to ongoing renovations — will be the only spring practice open to the public. Fans must get tickets, which are free other than a small service charge, by calling Ticketmaster (800-745-3000) or online at ticketmaster.com.

Any tickets still available on game day can be picked up at the stadium. Due to construction, seating in the south lower level and south upper level sideline areas will not be available. The Cats hope to answer several key questions and evaluate some talented newcomers between now and then.

Here are four things to watch as spring practice unfolds:

• The quarterback competition. Freshman Drew Barker, a high school All-American who enrolled in January, will challenge a quartet of returning QBs for the job.

Juniors Max Smith, a pocket passer, and Jalen Whitlow, a dual threat, both started games last season. Smith will sit out spring drills after offseason surgery on his throwing shoulder.

Redshirt freshman Reese Phillips was so sharp in practice last fall the coaches nearly used a year of his eligibility late in the season.

• Improving the secondary. Kentucky tied for last nationally with just three interceptions last season. No Cats cornerback had a single pick, and only one defensive back had an interception. That was senior safety Ashely Lowery in the last game of the year.

UK needs corners Cody Quinn, Fred Tiller and Nate Willis to be much better and will give junior-college transfer A.J. Stamps a hard look this spring.

• Fresh faces. A decent chunk of UK’s top-20 recruiting class is already on campus, including Stamps and defensive tackle Cory Johnson from the JUCO ranks. Johnson is key after the departures of starters Donte Rumph and Mister Cobble.

Five freshmen will also participate in spring drills: Barker, linebacker Dorian Hendrix, running back Mikel Horton and receivers Thaddeus Snodgrass and T.V. Williams. Nebraska transfer Braylon Heard, a tailback who sat out last season, and new safeties and special teams coach Craig Naivar will also debut this spring.

• Replacing Avery Williamson. He was more than the Cats’ middle linebacker and tackling machine. Williamson, who’ll soon be selected in the NFL draft, was also the team’s emotional leader.

Look for senior defensive end Bud Dupree, who has added 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason, to become UK’s go-to guy both on and off the field now. Defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot says Dupree is primed for a monster season.

Kyle Tucker can be reached at (502) 582-4361. Follow him on Twitter @KyleTucker_CJ