Kentucky coach Mark Stoops recently called the early portion of the team’s TaxSlayer Bowl practices a “developmental period” or “another spring” for his younger players.
With nine starters on both offense and defense and more than 80 percent of its two-deep returning for 2017, starting spots are going to be hard to come by, but key senior leaders will need to be replaced. One is center Jon Toth, who will be starting his 48th consecutive game Saturday against Georgia Tech. Others needing to be replaced include wide receiver Ryan Timmons, defensive end Courtney Miggins, free safety Marcus McWilson and nickelback Blake McCain.