Kentucky doesn’t know what to expect from Southern Miss in the season opener Saturday night in Lexington, Ky.
That’s because the Golden Eagles have new coordinators on both sides of the ball and a new starting quarterback.
“You don’t know exactly what you’re going to get so we have to be prepared for quite a few things,” Wildcats coach Mark Stoops said. “We’ve got to handle things in stride. Nothing ever goes as smooth as you want it to. We have to be able to adapt and make adjustments and have nobody panic.”
Kentucky, 7-6 a year ago, has made some changes as well. Stoops brought in Bush Hamdan from Boise State as offensive coordinator and three-year Georgia backup Brock Vandagriff arrives as a graduate transfer to start at quarterback.
“You have to worry about yourself and how you execute, how you play, how cleanly you operate,” Stoops said.
Southern Miss is coming off its second three-win campaign in coach Will Hall’s three seasons. Hall is counting on new defensive coordinator Clay Bignell and offensive coordinator Chip Long and the arrival of former Florida State quarterback Tate Rodemaker to spur a dramatic improvement.
Rodemaker is expected to open against the Wildcats, although the Golden Eagles’ roster also lists sophomore Ethan Crawford atop the depth chart. Both could play as Crawford would provide a running complement to Rodemaker’s pocket passing. In four seasons with the Seminoles, Rodemaker started twice and played in 23 games.
“I think we’ve got a chance to be explosive on offense,” Hall said.
One of Rodemaker’s relief appearances came against Southern Miss last season when he completed all three of his passes for 73 yards and two touchdowns in FSU’s 66-13 romp. The Eagles had five other losses in which they allowed more than 40 points.
“I think we’re not a completed product yet,” Hall said, “but I really think it’s going to be a competitive bunch week in and week out that has a chance to do some really good things.”
