Kentucky Football garnering top-5 SEC standing predictions

SEC Media Days have come to a close, and now we can really turn up the heat as we head toward the 2023 college football season.

One takeaway from media days is that the national media is very, and fondly, pro-Kentucky, especially with the addition of Devin Leary at quarterback.

One of the more positive media members was SEC Network correspondent Cole Cubelic; he ranked the Kentucky Wildcats as the No. 5 overall team in the SEC and second in the SEC East behind Georgia.

“I know people don’t like that. People won’t want to hear that,” the SEC Network analyst said on the Cube Show. “But if you point to Kentucky last year, what was the problem? The offensive line. That was about it.”

Cubelic is also a big, big fan of Devin Leary:

“I see all of these preseason quarterback things, all of these preseason SEC deals and there’s almost no conversation about Devin Leary. I’m here to tell you guys the kid can f—ing play. If he’s healthy, and he’s upright, he can play.”

Cubes also boasted about how improved the Kentucky offensive line is for 2023 after the disaster that was 2022 in the trenches for the Wildcats. The additions of Courtland Ford (USC) and Marques Cox (Northern Illinois) should pay dividends, along with Jager Burton, Kenneth Horsey, and Eli Cox back for another year in Lexington.

“The blueprint is still there for Stoops of being hard-nosed, being a bunch of grinders that will just fight you, and that’s not going to go away. Add in some of the things they’ve got, I think Kentucky’s next.”

And we can also add Peter Burns to the list of guys who are high on the ‘Cats heading into ‘23. Burns has Kentucky finishing second behind Georgia.

And there was even this from ESPN analyst Alyssa Lang during SEC Media Days.

If everything clicks, it could be a special season in Lexington again for the football program.