Kavosiey Smoke could be a home run hitter for the UK offense. (UK Athletics Photo)
UK fans have heard a lot of hype about former Penn State player Will Levis playing quarterback for the Cats this year. Kentucky associate coach Vince Marrow said he thought Will Levis would be a standout quarterback in the SEC when he first saw him throw the football. He hasn’t changed his mind since.
UK fans have also heard a lot of hype about Nebraska transfer receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, one of the players Levis will be throwing the ball to this year. Mark Stoops said this about Robinson, “He’s a difference-maker. He’s a guy that was electric this spring, and you could feel his presence on the field. Very excited to have him on our team.”
Then there is running back Chris Rodriguez, a player that was listed by most football publications and analysts as one of the three best running backs in the SEC for 2021. The list of hyped-up offensive players could go on and on.
But what about the players we haven’t heard much about this preseason. It seems like each year Kentucky football has a breakout player or two that explodes onto the football scene after not having much fanfare heading into the season. I try to pick who I think those players might be each year.
This year — for my offensive selection — it will be a guy that’s not getting a lot of mentions in all the preseason hype but is a player that could help this team go from good to great. It seems like junior running back Kavosiey Smoke is just the guy. Here’s why.
Smoke was the 23rd best player from the state of Alabama coming out of Wetumpka High in 2018. At 5-9 and 200 pounds, Smoke was a two-sport star (basketball and football) in high school. Being passed over for a scholarship by home state powerhouses Alabama and Auburn should give Smoke a little bit more to prove on the field in the SEC.
In the Wildcat’s 2019 season as a redshirt freshman in the same backfield with Lynn Bowden Jr., AJ Rose and Chris Rodriguez, Smoke carried the ball 101 time for 616 yards for a 6.1 yard per carry average. He played in more games and had more rushing yards than Rodriguez that season so he can definitely carry the ball.
Another great thing about Smoke is that he is a big play guy, a home run hitter which should help him fit in perfectly in a backfield with a “grind it out” runner like Chris Rodriguez. Knowing that Rodriguez averaged 6.6 yards per carry last year and Smoke averaged 6.1 the year before will make opposing defensive coordinators have to key on the running game portion of UK’s offense.
That should help position Smoke to continue to be a home run hitter by catching the ball out of the backfield in Liam Coen’s new offense as well as continuing to create explosive plays like the 70-yard touchdown run he had against UofL in 2019.
Kavosiey Smoke is the type of player that could be a Swiss army knife for the offense. He could be an every down back on certain series, he could play in a two-back backfield and become an excellent option as a dump off receiver in the flat or run the wheel route out of the backfield. He could also line up as a true receiver in the slot. Because of his speed, power, versatility and good hands, he could be a player that Coen moves all over the field to take advantage of the best matchup against the defense.
Overall it seems to me that Kavosiey Smoke has proven he can run the ball well in the SEC, he can score touchdowns (he had six in 2019) and he can catch the ball out of the backfield. He has good size at 200 pounds and breakaway speed.
All of that tells me Smoke is tailor-made for the type of offense that Coen runs and having the experience of two seasons at running back in the SEC only seems to make that much more sense that Kavosiey Smoke could be the offensive breakout player for the Cats this year.
Look for number 0 to spend a lot of time in the end zone this year — and don’t forget that you heard it here first.
