{"id":14701,"date":"2018-05-12T05:43:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-12T09:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosoncfb.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=14701"},"modified":"2018-05-12T01:33:28","modified_gmt":"2018-05-12T05:33:28","slug":"looking-at-a-busy-post-spring-football-for-kentucky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2018\/05\/12\/looking-at-a-busy-post-spring-football-for-kentucky\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking At A Busy Post Spring Football For Kentucky"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>Looking At A Busy Post Spring Football For Kentucky<\/h4>\n<p>Generally the time following spring practice is pretty slow for most football programs. However in Kentucky&#8217;s case it has been anything but. From the NFL Draft to surprise departures to new additions a lot has been happening for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/mark-stoops-2.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mark Stoops<\/a> and the Cats. We are going to get you caught up as we begin Looking At A Busy Post Spring Football For Kentucky.<\/p>\n<h4>No Wildcats Taken In The NFL Draft<\/h4>\n<p>For a second straight season no Kentucky player was taken in the NFL Draft. In fact the Cats were one of only eight Power Five teams not to have a player chosen.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Gophers &amp; Iowa State are 2 of only 8 Power Five schools without a player selected in the 2018 NFL draft. (The others are Baylor, Duke, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Kentucky &amp; Oregon State.) \ud83e\udd14\ud83e\udd14\ud83e\udd14<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Twin Cities Iowa Club (@TCiowaClub) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TCiowaClub\/status\/990910924029681664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 30, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Going back to 2016 <strong>Duke, Iowa State and Kentucky<\/strong> are the only teams not to have a player taken in either draft.<\/p>\n<p>However looking to 2019 that will change for the Wildcats. Linebacker <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=josh-allen-3,josh-allen-4,josh-allen-6,josh-allen-7,josh-allen-8,josh-allen-9,josh-allen-1,josh-allen-2&amp;search=Josh+Allen&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Josh Allen<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/nfl\/draft\/news\/2019-nfl-draft-heres-a-super-early-look-at-the-top-100-prospects\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ranks as the sixth best prospect <\/a>in next year&#8217;s draft. In addition to Allen, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=jordan-jones-1,jordan-jones-2&amp;search=Jordan+Jones&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jordan Jones<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/cj-conrad-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">C.J. Conrad<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/mike-edwards-8.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mike Edwards<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/benjamin-snell-jr-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Benjamin Snell Jr.<\/a> if he leaves early should all hear their names next season. If all goes as planned the 2019 draft will be the best in Kentucky school history.<\/p>\n<h4>A Surprising Departure<\/h4>\n<p>One player who won&#8217;t be hearing his name called as a Kentucky Wildcat is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/denzil-ware-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Denzil Ware<\/a>. The multi-year starter shocked many by announcing his transfer. In his career the outside linebacker played in 37 games with 156 tackles, 26.5 for loss and 13 sacks. As a graduate transfer Ware is eligible to play immediately. On Friday morning Ware announced he is transferring to <strong>Jacksonville State.<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Denzil Ware transferring to Jacksonville State for his final season. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EqXxkrSN83\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/EqXxkrSN83<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Derek Terry (@DerekSTerry) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DerekSTerry\/status\/994948704691015680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 11, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Dubbed the &#8220;Blitz Brothers&#8221; Ware and Allen decided to return for their senior seasons rather than declare for the draft. As a result defensive coordinator <strong>Matt<\/strong> <strong>House\u00a0<\/strong>first priority is finding a replacement. <strong>Joshua Paschal,<\/strong> who played outside linebacker last season before moving to the line in 2018, tops the list. In addition to Paschal <strong>Boogie<\/strong> <strong>Watson<\/strong> or <strong>Kengera Daniel<\/strong> will be in the mix.<\/p>\n<p>No matter how you look at it this is a huge blow for Stoops and the Cats. Furthermore this is the second consecutive season an impact player has transferred. Wide receiver <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/jeff-badet-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jeff Badet<\/a> left Lexington and ended up at <strong>Oklahoma<\/strong> for the 2017 season.<\/p>\n<h4>Two Additions To The Football Staff<\/h4>\n<p>Following the 2017 season Stoops added\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordoncollegefootball.com\/2018\/03\/01\/looking-at-the-kentucky-football-coaching-changes\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">two coaches to the staff <\/a> in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=michael-smith-9,michael-smith-10,michael-smith-2&amp;search=Michael+Smith&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Smith<\/a> and <strong>Brad White.<\/strong>\u00a0 Fast forward a couple of months and Stoops has added two more to the support staff.<\/p>\n<p>Former Wildcat quarterback <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/freddie-maggard-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Freddie Maggard<\/a> comes aboard as Director of Player Development. Maggard played quarterback from 1988-1991 racking up 2,566 yards during his career. He was a two year starter and ranks No. 15 on Kentucky\u2019s all-time passing list.<\/p>\n<p>Before joining the staff Maggard hosted the pregame show for the UK Sports Network and wrote for <a href=\"http:\/\/kentuckysportsradio.com\/football-2\/thank-you-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kentucky Sports Radio <\/a>and also appeared\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.heykentucky.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">on Hey Kentucky.\u00a0<\/a>His new position is similar to one he held for 13 years with the National Guard.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to social media usage Maggard is responsible for helping with character development and community engagement. He will also act as a liaison between former players and the current players and staff.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/UKPlayerDevelop\/status\/993602955344478208<\/p>\n<p>To many True Blue Fans Maggard is Kentucky football. Stoops couldn\u2019t have found a better person for this job.<\/p>\n<p>The second name coming to Lexington as we continue Looking At A Busy Post Spring Football For Kentucky is <strong>E.K. Franks<\/strong>. The former Director of Player Personnel at <strong>Florida<\/strong> is the new recruiting coordinator for the Cats. Franks previously served as recruiting director under <strong>Bret Bielema<\/strong> at<strong> Arkansas<\/strong>. In addition he worked with Smith in Fayetteville.<\/p>\n<p>The hiring of Franks and Smith shows Kentucky is going to try to recruit in areas they never have before. These include <strong>Arkansas, Louisiana<\/strong> and <strong>Texas<\/strong> which are home to some of the nation&#8217;s best players year after year.<\/p>\n<p>In what is usually a quiet time for schools the Wildcat program has been just the opposite. Thanks for Looking At A Busy Post Spring Football For Kentucky with us here as Last Word On College Football.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Looking At A Busy Post Spring Football For Kentucky Generally the time following spring practice is pretty slow for most football programs. However in Kentucky&#8217;s case it has been anything but. From the NFL Draft to surprise departures to new additions a lot has been happening for Mark Stoops and the Cats. We are going [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":877,"featured_media":14724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[1853,184,1859,3239,3238,1766,21,126],"class_list":["post-14701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-sec","tag-2018-nfl-draft","tag-cfb","tag-denzil-ware","tag-e-k-franks","tag-freddie-maggard","tag-josh-allen","tag-kentucky-wildcats","tag-ncaa"],"modified_by":"Tony Siracusa, CFB Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/877"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}