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Kentucky was a couple of plays away from a bowl game, but instead posted its second-straight 5-7 record under coach Mark Stoops.
His seat isn’t hot in Lexington, but it’s not cool and comfortable, either.
He may need a winning season in 2016, and here are five players that could help him achieve it:
5. DE/LB Jason Hatcher — A two-game suspension to start the year and a high-ankle sprain suffered in the Auburn game limited his production in 2015, but the rising senior still had 39 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks.
Next season, he’ll be counted on to stay focused (and healthy) and be one of the leaders on the defensive side of the ball.
4. WR Dorian Baker — The Cleveland Heights, Ohio, native led the Wildcats with 55 catches, was second in yardage with 608 and had three touchdown grabs on the season.
The only thing holding him back are his drops (the one in the end zone against Florida was especially costly), and that’s an area of his game he’ll be looking to clean up.
3. CB Chris Westry — Thrust into action as a true freshman, Westry had his ups and downs in 2015. He made 36 tackles while picking off two passes — including one in his first SEC game against South Carolina. In addition, he ranked in the top 12 in the league in both passes defended and passes broken up while starting every game.
Westry, along with fellow rising sophomore Derrick Baity, will be counted on to anchor the secondary next fall.
2. WR Garrett Johnson — The rising junior from Winter Garden, Fla., posted 46 receptions for 694 yards and two TDs this fall. Those numbers might have been even better, but a shoulder sprain against Mississippi State slowed him down a bit late in the season.
He has big play talent, but needs to be more consistent. He was held to two catches or less in five different games in 2015, though four came after his shoulder injury.
1. RB Stanley “Boom” Williams — Williams led the Wildcats in rushing with 855 yards and six TDs despite missing the Eastern Kentucky game for a “personal issue” and the Georgia contest with an elbow injury.
He opened the season with a 75-yard scoring run on the first play from scrimmage, and topped the 100-yard mark on five different occasions in 2015.
A healthy, focused Williams next season would mean the world to the Wildcats’ offense.
Randy Capps is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, South Carolina and Georgia.
