Mark Stoops, traditionally, does not rely heavily on true freshmen. The Kentucky head coach is known to make good usage of red-shirts and develop players slowly, no matter how highly ranked they are coming out of high school. One prime example is defensive tackle Justin Rogers, who was a five-star athlete coming out of Oak Park in Detroit. Rogers was one of the highest ranked recruits to ever sign with the Wildcats at the time, yet, he has had to wait his turn and earn his snaps.S
Sure, if a player is good enough, he will see the field in some capacity, however, Stoops rarely rushes an athlete on the field. That is what could make this freshman class an anomaly. There are a few position groups such as wide receiver and the secondary that have made looking into a youth movement a necessity. However, we are going to discuss some true freshmen who may play significant snaps this fall simply because their ability is too good to leave on the sideline.
Deone Walker – Defensive Tackle
Deone Walker is a defensive lineman out of Detroit; the same hometown as previously mentioned Justin Rogers. The motor city has become a prime destination for UK on the recruiting trail over the last few years. Outside of Rogers, the Wildcats also pulled starting linebacker DeAndre Square from this area as well. Kentucky has found tremendous success in Detroit and that momentum looks to continue with Walker.
A product of Cass Technical School, Deone Walker was a four-star prospect entering college. At 6’6” and 330 pounds, Walker is massive. However, he is more than just huge measurables. He is highly athletic for his size, comparable to Jordan Davis, the elite defensive lineman from the University of Georgia now playing in the NFL with the Eagles.
Linemen like this are becoming the future of defensive tackles in football. We are starting to see more young men at 330 plus pounds who are more than just space eating nose tackles, but rather, can move like a three-tech with size, speed, and athleticism. Deone Walker possesses all these traits. It is still early, but Walker has received rave reviews throughout fall camp and could make a major impact as early as this fall for the Wildcats.
Alex Afari – Defensive Back
Alex Afari is a four-star defensive back out of Lakota West High School, which is one of the better programs in Cincinnati Ohio. Lakota West has been another strong pipeline for Vince Marrow and Mark Stoops, producing many players for UK, with the biggest name being offensive lineman George Asofo-Adjei. That tradition should continue with Afari.
The Wildcats took a massive hit this off-season losing starting safety Vito Tisdale for the season to injury. Make no mistake however, Alex Afari is going to be more than just another name on the depth chart. The young freshman is a prototype Mark Stoops defensive back with size and athleticism. Standing at 6’2” and 200 pounds, Afari provides versatility and could see snaps at cornerback as well as safety.
Afari projects very similar to guys like Derrick Baity and Lonnie Johnson who were stars for the blue and white before moving on to the NFL. Afari has made enough headway throughout fall camp to garner confidence from this coaching staff to play serious snaps this season. He may not be an immediate starter, but looks to be a heavy contributor in the Wildcats secondary rotation.
Barion Brown – Wide Receiver
Barion Brown did a little bit of everything for Pearl-Cohn High School in Nashville Tennessee. The former high four-star recruit played receiver, running back, quarterback, and defensive back, as well as returning kicks. This kid is the definition of a football player. Brown will be a versatile weapon at UK similar to Randall Cobb and Lynn Bowden before him.
Brown has short area quickness as well as long speed and will be able to play multiple spots for the Wildcats. As a receiver, the former high school All-American will play snaps in the slot and will push for a possible starting spot at the Z position. Brown is a legitimate playmaker and is a threat to score anytime the ball is in his hands. That ability could put him on the field early and often in 2022.
Dane Key – Wide Receiver
Kentucky only has one sure-fire starter at receiver with substantial experience, that being Tayvion Robinson, the Virginia Tech transfer. From the outside looking in, that could make the receiver room look scarily thin in Lexington. One might even argue that the youth movement in this wide receiver group is an act of desperation.
However, Vince Marrow and this recruiting staff have stopped at no end to bring in serious talent to this position group, and though freshmen will be relied on, they will certainly not be players without merit. The chief of these being Fredreck Douglas product Dane Key.
Key is a physically imposing outside receiver at 6’3” and 194 pounds. He is extremely hard to knock off his routes, can make difficult catches in the middle of traffic and has solid deep speed and excellent leaping and high-point ability. Throughout both spring and fall camps, Dane Key has looked like a future star for Kentucky and has the attributes to leave Kroger Field a legend when his college career is over.
Kiyaunta Goodwin – Offensive Tackle
Last but far from least is the crown jewel of Kentucky’s 2022 recruiting class, Kiyaunta Goodwin. The Charlestown High School product was a top fifty prospect according to most recruiting services. The Louisville native is a mountain of a man at 6’8” and 350 pounds and looks to be a future cornerstone for the ‘big blue wall’ throughout his college career.
With Dare Rosinthal and Darrian Kinnard now off to the NFL, the tackle spots have been in open competition. As of right now, Deondre Buford looks to have the inside track on the starting left tackle position where Goodwin is penciled in to compete. However, Goodwin could see some time in at the very least a rotational role as he waits for his opportunity to take over as a bookend tackle for the Wildcats offensive line.
Larry Spicer will produce a weekly column covering both the University of Kentucky Basketball and Football programs for the L4 Security 13th Region Media Network. He is a resident of Corbin, and is married with two daughters. He is a communications major at Eastern Kentucky University and has covered football from the NFL to College since 2017.
