As many as 12 true freshmen could play for UK Football this season

Freshman Dane Key, left, is scheduled to start at receiver for UK Saturday. (Vicky Graff Photo)

Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops believes he has his most talented freshman class and has said he expects six or seven of them to play this season even with the lofty expectations the Cats have this season.

Monday’s depth chart for the season-opening game against Miami of Ohio had 15 freshmen — eight redshirt, seven true — on the two-deep depth chart. That includes three redshirt freshmen scheduled to start and two true freshmen — receivers Barion Brown and Dane Key.

You might remember that quarterback Will Levis declared at SEC Media Days in July that Key, a Frederick Douglass High School product, would be a starter. Offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello predicted two weeks ago that Brown would be playing in the NFL.

“I think eight (true freshmen) will play for sure. Definitely, little chance to get redshirted unless they get injured. As many as 12 could play this year, true freshmen,” Stoops said.

Along with Brown and Key, other UK true freshmen list No. 2 at positions are linebacker Keaten Wade, defensive back Alex Afari, defensive lineman Deonte Walker, offensive lineman Kiyaunta Goodwin and tight end Josh Kattus.

“As I mentioned a couple times, I really like the way they’re preparing, the way they’re playing. Consistency is what we’re looking at,” Stoops said. “There’s ups and downs, there’s highs, there’s lows. Freshmen have a tendency to go through that. How they respond to it will determine how much playing time (they get) and how they do this season.”

“They’ve been very consistent to this point. Not perfect, like most of our guys. I really like the athleticism, the worth ethic and the attitude of these guys as a group. There are some guys that are getting headlines and they should. They’re playing and doing very well.”

“There are others that are just quite not ready, but I absolutely love their athleticism, their attitude and the way they are going to play. There are guys, even a couple of redshirt freshmen, maybe we’re not talking about, they just need to stay the course. I feel like there’s some really good players in there.”