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Kentucky’s 2015 recruiting class was ranked 38th nationally and 13th in the SEC, so it’s not surprising that there weren’t more contributions from the newcomers for the Wildcats last season.
What the group lacked in quantity it made up for with quality, as several first-year players wound up being a big part of the team’s plans last season. Here’s a look at how the true freshmen on the roster fared for the Wildcats last season:
| PLAYER | POS | STARTS | GAMES PLAYED |
| Josh Allen | LB | 0 | 12 |
| George Asafo-Adjei | T | 3 | 11 |
| Derrick Baity | CB | 4 | 12 |
| C.J. Conrad | TE | 11 | 12 |
| Kengera Daniel | DE | 0 | 3 |
| Jordan Jones | LB | 0 | 9 |
| Sihiem King | RB | 0 | 12 |
| Chris Westry | CB | 12 | 12 |
Cornerback Chris Westry started every game and TE C.J. Conrad made 11 starts of his own. In all, true freshmen made 30 starts and played in 83 games. It should also be noted that junior-college transfer Courtney Miggins played in 11 games and redshirt freshman Denzil Ware (39 tackles, 1 sack) made 11 starts in 2015.
OFFENSIVE IMPACT
Conrad finished as the team’s fifth-leading receiver with 15 catches for 149 yards and a touchdown, while Asafo-Adjei started the first three games of the season at right tackle. Sihiem King rushed for 11.6 yards per carry in limited action and served as the team’s primary kickoff returner. Conrad will certainly start again in 2016 and Asafo-Adjei will get the chance to win back a starting job at either center or tackle.
King will have to make an impression in spring ball to get more work in a crowded backfield situation (all three leading rushers are slated to return in 2016).
DEFENSIVE IMPACT
Westry (36 tackles, 2 interceptions) was only a three-star recruit out of Orange Park, Fla., but impressed enough in the summer to win the starting job at corner for the season opener — and never let it go. Baity (19 tackles) forced his way into the lineup late in the season, and it will be a surprise if those two aren’t the starting corners next fall.
Allen, Daniel and Jones all saw action last season, and will try to carve out bigger roles for themselves in 2016.
REDSHIRTS
Linebacker Eli Brown, a four-star recruit out of Bowling Green, Ky., never quite recovered from a knee injury he suffered as a senior in high school and ended up using a redshirt.
Jabari Greenwood and Tavin Richardson — a pair of 6-foot-3 wide receivers — redshirted last season and will fight for playing time in 2016.
OVERVIEW
Despite a small number of highly touted recruits in the Class of 2015, Kentucky got two full-time starters and two other players that made starts and added depth on both sides of the ball.
Allen, Jones and Brown will each figure prominently into the linebacker rotation in 2016 with two starting positions up for grabs.
If a few of the redshirts match the production of the players that saw time in 2015, this could end up being one of those classes that’s better on the field than it was on paper.
Randy Capps is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, South Carolina and Georgia.
