Alabama transfer Kendrick Law has impressed UK assistant coach L'Damian Washington. (UK Athletics Photo)
Assistant coach L’Damian Washington knew he had to “establish a culture and identity” in the receiver room when he got to Kentucky before he could get the things done needed to help UK’s offense.
“I thought the spring went good. We’re developing what that looks like for us. We had guys banged up, but you know in football and just like in life, it’s the next man up mentality,” Washington said after spring practice ended.
“It got guys like David Washington more reps to where he continued to progress and get better. Some of the younger guys like (Montavin) Quisenberry were able to get valuable reps. We’re just identifying what our process looks like as a group.”
One plus for the UK assistant coach is that he says he has known Ja’Mori Maclin, who is expected to be UK’s top receiver, since middle school. That’s when the UK receivers coach was working camps for Jeremy Maclin, an All-American receiver at Missouri who played eight years in the NFL, in St. Louis. Jeremy Maclin and Ja’Mori Maclin are cousins and Washington went to Missouri with Jeremy Maclin.
“I’ve known (Ja’Mori) Maclin for a while. Even his freshman year when he was at Missouri, I was there and around. So just him, his energy, his leadership. It’s the first time he’s stepping into I think the role that he’s stepping into for us,” the UK assistant coach said. “He has to lead whether that’s on the field, off the field. Whether that’s him, watching one on ones with the guys and he’s taking that role. He’s continued to learn what it looks like. I try to have and set an environment where these guys can have fun and be themselves.”
The first-year UK assistant understands that coach Mark Stoops wants more accountability in the program but also knows he has to balance how that works.
“You don’t want to give them too much freedom, but you have to give them freedom to be themselves and express themselves so they can go out and play to a high standard,” Washington said. “That’s what Maclin has done.”
He also has a group of older, experienced transfer players that were added this year to bolster UK’s passing game.
J.J. Hester started his collegiate career at Missouri and then went to Oklahoma. He has played in 35 games with seven starts and has 27 catches for 553 yards and three scores.
“He’s been banded up a little bit. He’s a tall, long guy that will be able to stretch the field for us. He brings a unique skill set there,” Washington said.
Kendrick Law spent three seasons at Alabama and had 33 catches for 343 yards and one score. He also had 22 kick returns for 536 yards.
“He’s tough. He does everything you ask,” the receivers coach said. “He’s a guy that just brings his heart hat every day. That’s a guy that I’ve been really really impressed with this spring and he’s going to be really huge for us.”
He feels the same about Clemson transfer Troy Stellato, who had 65 catches for 600 yards and two scores in 23 games, including 11 starts, in four years at Clemson.
“He was banged up a little bit this spring, but he has to continue to make progress. He’s really good, he’s nifty, he’s crafty in the slot, he catches the ball really well and he has really good speed,” the Kentucky assistant coach said.
Washington also likes the way former Franklin County standout Fred Farrier, who transferred to UK from Alabama-Birmingham last season. He has played in 40 games, including 12 at UK last season when he had 12 catches for 126 yards.
“He has put in his time and I am expecting big things from him this season,” Washington said.
3 Responses
We’ve all heard the same claims before. I’ll just wait until they show it on the field and then decide if it’s worth giving my time on Saturdays to watch them.
Great article. Troy Stellato is going to be very good. He has very good hands and can pick apart zone defenses especially for 8-10 yard gains. He also slips free sometimes because he runs great angles on his cuts. JJ Hester will also be a great target for Calzada because he place the ball very high and he’s a long 6’5" who has over a 39" vertical so he should be able to come down with the ball.
Well I was wrong about Barion Brown he is absolutely killing it at LSU they say he was making over the shoulder catches and the quarterback just takes 3 steps back and launches basically as hard as he can and Barion blows by everyone and gets under it. It makes you wonder if Barion was used the wrong way with screen passes and passes out in the flat. Anywho Maclin will be much better in year 2. He will be more prepared to be a starter in the SEC. I expect at least 25 catches from Farrier.
I think Stoops misused a lot of players. He doesn’t really believe in having a QB coach, he doesn’t know how to use TE’s, and he can’t develop a QB, he can’t keep an OC more than a couple of years, and the list can go on and on.