Here the side-by-side projected starters for this week’s game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Kentucky Wildcats, with each players’ class and published recruiting rankings. If you can’t see the entire chart embedded below, click here for full page:
As before, the color codes are based on the range of 247 Composite numbers on the list. The range starts with deep green at the top and ends with deep red at the bottom.
Here’s the list of starters, sorted by recruiting ranking (full page here):
Observations
- The stars breakdown:
- 5-stars: Tennessee 2, Kentucky 0
- 4-stars: Tennessee 10, Kentucky 5
- 3-stars: Tennessee 10, Kentucky 16
- 2-stars: Tennessee 0, Kentucky 1
- No rating: Tennessee 1, Kentucky 0
- Tennessee has 12 of the 15 highest-rated players.
- Kentucky’s highest-rated players are sophomore left tackle Landon Young, redshirt freshman center Drake Jackson, and senior nose guard Matt Elam.
- Kentucky’s highest-rated unit is its offensive line, anchored by 4-stars Young and Jackson. They’ll be going up against Tennessee’s highest-rated unit, its defensive line.
- Kentucky’s lowest-rated unit is its “second-level” offensive unit of quarterback Stephen Johnson and running back Benny Snell. The primary takeaway from that piece of information is that some players end up playing way above their recruiting grades. Johnson and Snell together may have the lowest average rating of any Kentucky starting units, but they are actually a real strength of the team. They’re probably helped a lot by that offensive line, though, too.
- Tennessee’s lowest-rated unit is its receiving corps, notwithstanding Marquez Callaway’s high 4-star rating.