Ranking Kentucky’s five greatest impact players through two weeks

The Kentucky Wildcats are off to a hot start in 2014, winning each of their first two games of the season by an average of 31 points per game. UK has received contributions from a number of players on both sides of the ball, some of whom were expected to make a mark on this season, and others who have pleasantly surprised the Big Blue Nation.

Here are the Cats’ five greatest impact players during their 2-0 start to the season:

1. Patrick Towles: A big shocker here, listing the team’s starting quarterback as its most impactful player so far this season. But Towles really has been the biggest difference-maker on the Kentucky offense in 2014, throwing for 547 yards and two touchdowns without an interception in his first season as the starter. The Cats entered last week’s game against Ohio without their top rusher and top receiver in Braylon Heard and Javess Blue, and still managed to march right down the field for 14 points on their first two drives. Towles has done a tremendous job of spreading the ball around and getting plenty of different weapons involved, completing passes to 11 different players through two weeks. He’s also established the threat of the run by rushing for 89 yards and a touchdown so far this season. But most importantly, Towles has remained turnover-free at the helm of the UK offense, which will help the Cats stick around in difficult contests against SEC opponents. The competition was far below what he’ll face in conference play, but the Cats couldn’t have asked for much more out of Towles in the first two starts of his career.
2. A.J. Stamps: Stamps wasted no time making an impact on the Kentucky defense after transferring into the program this season from East Mississippi Community College. His statement play came in Week 1, when he flew through the air and pulled in a spectacular one-handed interception thrown by UT Martin’s Dylan Favre. However, the Cats’ star safety has done a lot more than make one highlight reel play. He leads the team with 14 tackles, including a tackle for loss, and has made an impact against both the run and the pass through UK’s first two games. Stamps has a quarterback hurry, a pass breakup and two passes defended this season, proving his versatility in Kentucky’s pass defense. He can also play up in the box and is a sure-tackler who is more than capable of stopping the run. Stamps seems to have his nose in every play when he’s on the field, providing energy to a defense that’s allowed just 17 points through two weeks.
3. Mikel Horton/Jojo Kemp: Kentucky’s tailback tandem of Horton and Kemp have done their part to keep the UK rushing attack alive without Heard in the lineup. Heard remains UK’s leading rusher with 116 yards and two touchdowns this season, which is impressive considering it all came on two plays in the first half of the Cats’ season opener two weeks ago. He hasn’t seen the field once since injuring his ankle on his second and final carry against UT Martin, but Horton and Kemp have stepped up nicely to fill the void Heard left behind in the UK offense. Horton has rushed for 90 yards in two games, good enough for second on the team. His two touchdowns in 2014 match Heard for the team lead, and his 5.3 yards per carry average has kept defenses honest, opening up the field for Towles to attack through the air. Kemp, a sophomore who gained valuable experience in the backfield last season, has rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown of his own while averaging more than four yards per carry. He has the skill-set of a scat back but typically runs between the tackles, staying low to the ground to earn tough yards for Kentucky. Heard remains the undisputed starter, but Horton and Kemp have maintained the Cats’ rushing attack in his absence.
4. Khalid Henderson: The Cats’ junior linebacker is second on the team with 13 tackles, and has shown a great nose for the football by recovering two fumbles in UK’s first two games. Henderson had the presence of mind to pick up a loose ball and run it back 89 yards for a touchdown in the win over UTM, a play that epitomized his football-IQ and natural instincts on the field. A UT Martin player was tackled by a crowd of Wildcats on the play, and lost control of the ball in the process. Because the tackle involved such a large pile of players, it took a few seconds for the loose ball to squirt out of the pileup and onto the open field. By the time it did, most of the other 21 players on the field assumed the play was already dead. But Henderson, having never heard a whistle at the end of the play, reacted quickly, scooping up the ball and running the other way for an uncontested score. He’s used those same instincts all season in limiting opposing rushers to fewer than 3.5 yards per carry, and registered a huge fourth down pass breakup against Ohio last week to give the ball back to his offense. Kentucky has a long line of successful linebackers reaching the NFL, including the Broncos’ Danny Trevathan and Titans’ team captain Wesley Woodyard. Henderson’s play in 2014 indicates he may be next in line.
5. Ryan Timmons: Timmons may be the most versatile weapon in Kentucky’s offense as a traditional receiver who can also carry the ball out of the backfield and return both kickoffs and punts. At 13 catches in two games, he has nearly three-times more receptions than any other player in Kentucky’s offense, amassing 170 yards through the air in just two games. Towles loves the sophomore wideout, and the two have already established a strong connection in timing routes in the Air Raid, making Timmons a focus of opposing defenses whenever he steps on the field. He has yet to score a touchdown in 2014, and his two rushing attempts thus far did not go for big gains, but the more Kentucky tries to find creative ways to get him the ball, the more opposing defensive coordinators will have to sweat when game-planning against the UK offense. Timmons is fast, quick, experienced and has impeccable timing with his quarterback. That should make for a deadly combination going forward in 2014.

Ethan Levine

A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.