As the 2023 college football season approaches, VolReport previews all 12 of Tennessee's opponents.
Tennessee turned in arguably its most complete performance against Kentucky at Neyland Stadium last season. The Vols' defense was suffocating and the offense clicked on all cylinders in a 44-6 rout.
Tennessee will face the Wildcats at Kroger Field on Oct. 28, seeking to continue its dominance in the series while Kentucky hopes offseason improvements lead to on-field results.
Here is a closer look at Kentucky.
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
Head coach: Mark Stoops (11th season, 66-59 overall)
2022 record: 7-6
vs. SEC: 3-5
vs. Tennessee all-time: 26-83-9
Kentucky entered last season with relatively high expectations. The Wildcats returned quarterback Will Levis and started the season 4-0 with a road win over Florida but struggled the rest of the way, dropping games against Vanderbilt and South Carolina en route to an underwhelming 7-6 finish. Levis is gone as is running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. but a familiar face returns at offensive coordinator to help a transfer signal caller with an impressive resume.
KEY RETURNERS
Barion Brown, WR
Stats: 50 receptions, 628 yards, 4 touchdowns
Tayvion Robinson, WR
Stats: 40 receptions, 497 yards, 3 touchdowns
JuTahn McClain, RB
Stats: 59 carries, 278 yards
J.J. Weaver, LB
Stats: 47 tackles, 6 TFL, 3 sacks
D'Eryk Jackson, LB
Stats: 67 tackles, 4 TFL
Jordan Lovett, DB
Stats: 62 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 2 interceptions
OFFENSE
Despite returning a number of experienced players, Kentucky's offense sputtered last season, finishing last in the SEC in yards per game with 324.7.
To fix that issue, Mark Stoops hired Liam Coen from the Los Angeles Rams for his second stint as the Wildcats' offensive coordinator.
Wide receivers Barion Brown and Tayvion Robinson are back. Brown is the leading returning receiver after catching 50 passes for 628 yards and four touchdowns a year ago while Robinson totaled 40 receptions for nearly 500 yards and three more scores.
Rodriguez was the team's leading rusher and Kentucky will be tasked with replacing his production. JuTahn McClain ran for 278 yards on 59 carries last season and former Vanderbilt running back Ray Davis was added from the transfer portal.
Kentucky's biggest transfer portal haul was quarterback Devin Leary, who went 118-of-193 passing for 1,265 yards, 11 touchdowns and four interceptions at NC State last season. Leary missed the last six games of the season with a torn pectoral muscle but did go through spring practices with Kentucky.
The offensive line was a big liability last season, allowing 47 sacks and hindering the offense from ever establishing a rhythm. A number of starters are back up front and transfer tackle Marques Cox joined the team from Northern Illinois.
DEFENSE
Last season, Kentucky trailed only Georgia in total defense in the league.
The Wildcats have to replace five starters, including linebackers DeAndre Square and Jacquez Jones, but return 2022 Freshman All-SEC tackle Deone Walker, who recorded 40 tackles, 4.5 TFL and five quarterback hurries in 13 games. At defensive end, Tre'vonn Rybka started 12 games and finished with 19 tackles and a sack.
At the second level, Trevin Wallace and D'Eryk Jones head up the group as two of the top returning tacklers and saw the field plenty behind Square and Jones. J.J. Weaver is the returning sack leader with 3.0.
In the secondary where Kentucky limited opponents to just 170.8 passing yards per game, safety Jordan Lovett tied for the most interceptions on the team last season with two and joins fellow safety Zion Childress as the top returners.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Special teams coordinator Jay Boulware was another staff addition during the offseason and he will be working with new pieces both at kicker and punter.
Chance Poore will likely takeover kicking duties after handling kickoffs last season and Wilson Berry started the last four games of the season at punter, totaling 19 punts for 782 yards.
Brown will again provide an edge in the kick return game where he returned 16 kickoffs for 440 yards and a touchdown.
GAME OUTLOOK
Tennessee's last two trips to Lexington haven't been easy.
The Vols needed a goal line stand to win in 2019 and Alontae Taylor's interception return for a touchdown was the difference in a shootout victory two years ago. Kentucky needs Leary to stay healthy and replicate his success at NC State while the offensive line needs to make drastic improvement.
If the Wildcats and get that figured out, it should set up for another interesting game with Tennessee.
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