The emergence of Sihiem King

When Boom Williams declared for the NFL Draft last spring, Kentucky fans were left wondering if Benny Snell could carry the load by himself this season. So far, he has done his part. But the offense has really been missing the 1-2 punch that brought the team success last season.

Enter Sihiem King...

The junior running back has seen minimal work in his time as a Wildcat, having only 11 carries in each of his first two seasons. Being primarily a speed back, he served as a solid backup for Williams from time to time. He never had enough game success to justify more snaps, but he stuck around when many believed he may transfer.

This season, King has already had 24 carries for 152 yards and 5 catches for 55 yards. Already eclipsing his statistical marks for previous years, he really stepped up on Saturday and did his part in trying to get Kentucky that elusive win over Florida.

Against the Gators, King averaged 12.8 yards per carry on 5 carries out of the backfield. He also had a huge reception off of a reverse pass from freshman Lynn Bowden.

Now that King has shown he can be effective against SEC defenses, you have to think that Eddie Gran gets him more involved in the offense moving forward. He was productive both out of the Wildcat (although I think Bowden is the answer there) and finding holes on interior hand-offs. King has also shown that he can make an impact catching passes out of the backfield, averaging 11 yards per catch on the season.

If Gran can find the “thunder and lightning” balance with King that the Kentucky offense had with Boom and Snell at the end of last season, this team will be tough to stop down the stretch.

Do you believe Sihiem King needs to have the ball in his hands more often?