‘Harsh Reality’ and Talk Aside, Cats Eager to Face Gators
The reality, as Mark Stoops put it, was harsh.
Kentucky, after Terry Wilson went down with a season-ending knee injury, would be without the quarterback that has led the Wildcats to more wins over the last 15 games than any other school in the Southeastern Conference, save Alabama.
That reality was clearly sinking in as the Cats shuffled into the locker room after a 38-17 win over Eastern Michigan last weekend.
“The coaches and the players, and everybody just understanding that we all feel terrible for Terry,” Stoops said, “and as I told the team afterwards, and I could tell just by being in the locker room after the game on Saturday that guys were disappointed, you know, and flat and really felt for Terry.”
That sympathy won’t fade until Wilson makes the complete recovery from a torn patellar tendon that he’s expected to, but the show goes on. That’s been proven time after time in recent seasons, as UK has absorbed blows ranging from season-ending injuries to other key players and cancer diagnoses for John Schlarman and Josh Paschal.
“It’s a very tough situation,” linebacker Kash Daniel said. “Not only is he a great teammate to me, but he’s also a really friend of mine. You hate to see a player go down, but it’s also really heartbreaking to see the person, when you take the pads off, go through that.”
The close-knit group that they are, the Cats wrap their arms around the family member who is hurting and shift their focus to making them proud in their absence. That begins Saturday evening when the Wildcats (2-0) host the No. 9/8 Florida Gators (2-0) at Kroger Field.
“There’s going to be injuries and that the team is always bigger than any one individual, and I tell them that all the time, starting with me,” Stoops said. “I could be replaced in a heartbeat, and so can anybody on this team, anybody in the organization, and you have to step up and move on.”
He won’t be the only one called on to step up, but Sawyer Smith will certainly see his role change more than anyone as a result of Wilson’s injury. The graduate transfer from Troy was brought to UK to provide an experienced backup for his two remaining years of eligibility. No one wanted it to come to pass, but this exact situation is the reason why his addition was so important.
“Those guys work extremely hard, all of our backups and all of our players,” Stoops said. “Through the course of a game we play many players. I don’t have the exact count, but I know we played a heck of a lot of players this past game. And so, you know, at the quarterback position it’s obviously a little bit different, but the good news is Sawyer’s been through this. Sawyer’s played a lot. He’s had to step in. He stepped in this past week and played very good. So we’re excited about him and we’re confident in him.”
Just as he did last year at Troy in stepping up for an injured starter and leading his team to a 5-2 record, Smith didn’t waste any time making a splash. His first pass in a UK uniform was a long touchdown to Ahmad Wagner.
“Sawyer puts the ball where it needs to be,” Daniel said. “Sometimes it’s not going to be a dart, it’s not going to be an 80-yard pass, but it’s going to be where it needs to be. He gives the opportunity for the players to run underneath it and make a catch and put them in position to get in the end zone. Everybody’s got 100 percent confidence and faith in Sawyer and what he can do on that field.”
That confidence has been built on the strength in Smith’s own self-confidence and approach. Since he arrived on campus this summer, he’s been sure of himself while also accepting why he was brought to Kentucky.
“I’ve been practicing like I was a starter since fall camp so I could get used to the offense and everything like that,” Smith said. “Nothing’s really changed. Obviously it’s a different role, but nothing’s really changed.”
That mentality will be immediately put to the test by a stiff challenge presented by a big, athletic Gator defense. Through two games, Florida has more sacks – 15 – than any team in the country, with defensive coordinator Todd Grantham relying on expert pass rushers and a variety of blitzes to make life miserable for the quarterbacks of the Gators’ first two opponents, Miami and Tennessee-Martin.
“They’re pretty good at pass rush, but I know what I’m standing behind,” Smith said. “I’m standing behind five guys that are really good at pass protection and run blocking. I’m pretty confident in those guys in front of me.”
For good reason.
UK’s offensive line projected to be a strength in the preseason and that’s proven to be the case through two games. The Cats have allowed only three total sacks through two games and rushed for 207.5 yards per game.
“No matter what team play, we take pride up front,” offensive tackle Landon Young said. “We know that it starts up front and if we don’t go out there and we don’t set the tone, we don’t make holes and we don’t protect, that’s going to be our whole team feeding off that. We gotta go out there and make a statement, because I know if we do good, if we go what we’re supposed to do and what we can do, the rest of our team’s going to feed off of that.”
In no game has that been truer than last season’s Kentucky-Florida matchup. The Cats took down the Gators on the road, 27-16, behind a run game that rolled up 308 yards and pass protection that didn’t allow a single sack of Wilson.
A year later, social media is buzzing about a rematch that will give UK a chance to extend its winning streak against Florida to two after three decades of consecutive losses to the perennial SEC power. The talk will continue until kickoff, but the Cats don’t much care. They plan to communicate through other means.
“It’s not real,” Daniel said. “It’s just talk. What we do out there on that football field is real. When them pads pop, that’s real. Not what JoeBlow1997 says on Twitter.”
