July 22, 1999
Continuing improvement on defense and retooling the most productive offensive machine in school history are on the drawing board as the Kentucky football team prepares for “Air Raid ?99: The Next Mission.”
Excitement for the new campaign runs high as football fever burns in the Bluegrass. Kentucky comes off a 7-4 regular season that was topped by a trip to the Outback Bowl. Season tickets are sold out for newly expanded Commonwealth Stadium, which now seats approximately 68,000 fans.
Coach Hal Mumme will undertake his third mission at UK with a relatively young squad. Just 11 starters, plus the starting kicker, are back from last season, and only 11 scholarship seniors are on the roster.
Most of that experience is concentrated on defense, where the picture is the brightest it has been for third-year defensive coordinator Mike Major. Major’s aggressive, attacking defense is built on speed and quickness, and while there is still room for improvement, the coaching staff believes that it has assembled enough swiftness to be more competitive.
“I think we’ll be improved on defense,” Mumme said. “Last year we gave up 31.7 points per game and I hope we can continue our improvement and get down in the 20s.”
The defensive line was revamped in the off-season in order to get the best front four on the field. The starting line features three seniors, tackles Gordon Crowe and George Massey, along with end Anwar Stewart, all of whom have been starters or key reserves during their careers. At the other end, imposing sophomore Dennis Johnson was a Freshman All-American last season and has received preseason All-America mention this year.
The starting linebackers return intact with senior Jeff Snedegar and junior Marlon McCree on the outside and junior John Rader in the middle. Several impressive young reserves challenge the regulars for their starting roles and give UK its deepest linebacking corps in years.
The secondary has no seniors, but three players with significant starting experience return. Junior Willie Gary is back at free safety after missing most of the 1998 season because of injury. Strong safety David Johnson was an immediate hit in his debut campaign, earning Freshman All-America honors. Steady junior Eric Kelly is back at one cornerback post. Kelly’s partner at the other corner is junior Kenneth Grant, who looked good in spring practice but is mostly untested in game conditions. Depth in the secondary is unproven, but appears to have potential.
“We’re still a young defense but we’re a lot more experienced (than last season),” Mumme said. “If we can solve some of our depth problems in the secondary, we ought to be pretty good.”
Experience is somewhat limited on offense, where Mumme must replace eight starters, including departed All-Americans at quarterback and wide receiver.
“We’re going to be young,” Mumme said. “We have a lot of new starters, so it takes time to learn to play together. I think we can do something akin to 1997, when we had more experienced players but everybody was playing this offense for the first time.”
The new offensive squadron leader is sophomore quarterback Dusty Bonner, who redshirted last season after serving as the backup in 1997. Bonner won the job with a sterling spring, completing 65.4 percent of his passes in the four scrimmages with 14 touchdowns and one interception.
Bonner will throw to some veteran talent at the receiver spots. Wide receivers Quentin McCord, Jimmy Robinson and Garry Davis, and tight end James Whalen, Jr., each caught at least 23 passes a year ago. Sophomores Dougie Allen and Vincent Harrison impressed during the spring at wide receiver, as did young tight ends Bobby Blizzard and Chase Harp.
The strength of the offense appears to be at running back, where senior Anthony White and junior Derek Homer are back for their third season together. White and Homer have combined for 4,016 rushing and receiving yards over the past two seasons, more than any duo in the Southeastern Conference. Each is capable as a runner or pass receiver.
The big question is up front, where the Wildcats will field a new offensive line after the departure of five senior starters from a year ago. The tentative lineup features two juniors and three sophomores, left tackle Matt Brown, left guard Aaron Daniel, center Nolan DeVaughn, right guard Josh Parrish, and right tackle Omar Smith.
Despite all the new faces on offense, Mumme was pleased with spring practice and is quite optimistic about that unit’s chances for success.
“We expect the same things out of our offense that we’ve always expected around here,” Mumme said. “We expect to score a lot of points and move the ball a bunch.”
Special teams also have some rebuilding. Senior Andy Smith is the new punter and new punt and kickoff returners must be chosen. On the plus side, junior kicker Seth Hanson is back, along with senior long snapper Jimmy Haley.
