Leading up to Kentucky’s season-opener against Western Kentucky in Nashville, Tenn., on Sept. 1, Cat Scratches presents an exclusive series of positional previews to prepare you for the football season. Every day before kickoff, Metz Camfield and Guy Ramsey will bring you Joker Phillips’ philosophy for each positional group, a spotlight feature on a selected member of the group and rundown of other projected contributors. Today is a unit with many question marks but still a lot of potential: the wide receivers.Joker Phillips’ philosophy“We’re looking for athleticism. A wide receiver has to be athletic, he has to be a guy that can get off the ground, jump and rebound for balls. He has to be a guy that can transition from being a wide receiver to being a running back as soon as the ball touches his hands.”Spotlight: King, receivers look to make themselves heardIn 2010, the University of Kentucky football team was set at wide receiver. Randall Cobb entered the season as the poster child of what the program was looking for in its student-athletes, and Chris Matthews had a world of positivity surrounding him as he entered his second year in the Wildcats’ system. Well, in 2011, with Cobb and Matthews gone to the NFL, the Kentucky wide receiving corps will be looking to make a new name for itself.The guy many people are looking at to help fill the role of Cobb and Matthews is junior wideout La’Rod King. The Radcliff, Ky., native enters the year as Kentucky’s top returning receiver with 478 yards receiving one year ago. While those number aren’t too eye-opening, the fact that Kentucky’s second leading returning “receiver” is sophomore tight end Jordan Aumiller with just 193 yards, and that King is the only returning wide receiver with a touchdown in his collegiate career, shows that the Wildcats will have to have a few players step forward this season.”It’s not so much as being the man, as it is being the leader,” King said. “My biggest thing is making sure everybody’s on the same page as far as what our goals are as a receiving corps, lining up, doing the extra work with the quarterbacks, pretty much just doing your individual job to help the team out. Really, what I learned from Randall and Chris was just that, being a leader and knowing what to do. What makes a pro is knowing what to do at all times, even when the coaches aren’t looking, and completing your assignment.”It’s that attitude that has wide receivers coach Tee Martin so excited about King entering the 2011 season. When spring practice concluded, Martin wasn’t happy with King. He didn’t know what the problem was, if it was the pressure or what, but King was not playing the way he wanted him to play or how he thought he could play.”He’s a guy who’s played, a guy who’s got experience,” Martin said. “Sometimes you have a guy like that and spring ball is kind of like ‘ehh, whatever.’ “As the months on the calendar turned, so too did King’s play.”Talk about playmaking ability,” Martin said. “He made some plays in summer camp that he didn’t make in the spring; plays that I wanted him to make in the spring, wanted him to be successful in the spring, and didn’t make it.”King has shown glimpses of that playmaking ability in each of his first two seasons. What the Wildcats need is for those glimpses to change to a week in, week out appearance. King says when Kentucky needs a big play, he wants to be that guy.When asked what King should expect out of himself this year, Martin was quick to say, “Nothing but the best.” A year ago, Martin said, he told Cobb that, yeah, Alabama receiver Julio Jones and Georgia receiver A.J. Green were good players, but there was no reason for him to be second or third to them. Now, Martin says, it’s time for King to develop that attitude.”I want them to be on that borderline of almost cockiness because that’s the type of swagger you have to have to be a great player, a quiet confident kind of thing,” Martin said. “That’s where I want them. Hopefully they feel that way. I don’t ask them how they feel. But, the way (La’Rod’s) been going about his business, he’s been practicing like he wants to be one of the top guys.”While King may want to be one of those top guys, he and the rest of the Kentucky receiving corps are not getting the publicity and the hype that the rest of the top guys have been getting in the Southeastern Conference. King said he enjoys the underdog role, though, and plays with a chip on his shoulder. Now, the 6-foot-4 receiver says, is the time to make a name for themselves and be heard.”We haven’t really made a mark yet,” King said. “This is our time to make that mark. We lost both our guys who made most of our big plays last year so really it’s all up for grabs. I might not be that guy. It might be Brian (Adams), it might be Matt Roark, I don’t know who – hopefully it’s all of us. Really, it’s just coming out and making a statement. We have to make ourselves heard.”Other contributorsSophomore Brian Adams – Brian Adams is still somewhat of an enigma on the football field. While he has made some impressive catches on the baseball diamond, Adams has just one start and three receptions under his belt on the gridiron. Adams’ speed and playmaking ability are enticing though, and the sophomore from Gainesville, Ga., should see a lot of playing time this year.Freshman Daryl Collins – Mention Daryl Collins’ name around wide receivers coach Tee Martin and his face lights up as if he just got a brilliant idea. If you’re compiling a list of players who could have a breakout year as a freshman, Collins has to be at or near the top. Recruited – and offered – by many of the top programs in the SEC, Collins is a very athletic receiver who “can do it all” and “has it all,” as Martin said. Junior Gene McCaskill – Before sustaining a season-ending knee injury in August 2010, Gene McCaskill was being looked at by the coaches as someone who would be a major contributor in the receiving game. Now, one year later, that sentiment hasn’t changed a lick. McCaskill has started 10 games for the Wildcats and provides the receiving corps with some leadership and experience. His speed will be utilized in a number of different packages for UK.Senior Matt Roark – Similar to King and McCaskill, Matt Roark will be asked to take on a leadership role this year. Roark has improved his hand-eye coordination this summer, Martin says, and instead of thinking about running before he’s gotten the ball, Roark is now “finishing the deal first.” Roark is one of the bigger receivers on Kentucky’s roster, and one of the better blocking wide receivers. He, along with King, will be looked to stretch the field vertically.Freshman Demarco Robinson – Based on Joker Phillips’ philosophy of what he’s looking for in a wide receiver (see above), Demarco Robinson has to at least appear to have a bright future with the Wildcats. Robinson, along with senior cornerback Randall Burden, is widely believed to be one of the players Phillips and Co., have been working out with the special teams unit in returning kicks. If Robinson has enough ability in the open field to have the coaches want him returning kicks, he should prove to be a dangerous weapon after the catch. Tee Martin has said that Robinson has come on and done some things as a freshman that “make you raise your eyebrows a bit.”LinksFreshmen could make impact at WR, but don’t forget veterans, McCaskill (Eric Lindsey, UK Athletics)Wide receivers unit gets a jolt of youth (Jen Smith, Lexington Herald-Leader)La’Rod King gets a grip on things (Kyle Tucker, Louisville Courier Journal)