5 Kentucky players to watch in Music City Bowl

NASHVILLE — Iowa football fans may be getting some deja vu this week as the Hawkeyes once again play Kentucky in a bowl game.

The Kentucky team Iowa will face in the Music City Bowl has some differences, though, from the Kentucky team that beat the Hawkeyes in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1.

Here are five (or six or seven) players from the Wildcats to watch:

DL Deone Walker

Deone Walker has made an impact on the defensive line early in his collegiate career.

The true freshman defensive lineman has five quarterback hurries, 3.5 tackles for loss, 39 total tackles and one sack.

He earned all-SEC second-team honors from the Associated Press. It was the first time a true freshman from Kentucky earned all-SEC honors from the AP since 2014.

QB Destin Wade or QB Kaiya Sheron or QB Deuce Hogan (or all of the above)

Kentucky has yet to officially name a starting quarterback for the Music City Bowl, listing three options on its pre-bowl depth chart.

All three — Destin Wade, Kaiya Sheron and Deuce Hogan — would be interesting for different reasons.

Hogan, while the least likely of the three, would be the most interesting for Iowa fans if he faces his former team.

Hogan transferred from Iowa to Kentucky last year after attempting one pass in his first two seasons in Iowa City.

Days before Hogan’s departure, Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz joked he “might’ve stayed in Iowa City” if the Hawkeyes had to start Hogan against Nebraska.

Wade, a former four-star recruit who chose Kentucky over Tennessee and others, would be making his Kentucky debut near where he grew up.

He was born in Nashville and went to high school in a suburb about 30 miles southwest of Nissan Stadium.

“He’s a winner,” Kentucky associate head coach Vince Marrow said of Wade, per the Lexington Herald-Leader. “That’s what people don’t realize: He’s a winner. He won at a very high league. He can make every throw. He’s athletic.”

Sheron, meanwhile, is the Wildcats’ one option with past game experience this season. He was 17 for 29 in four games and threw two touchdowns and one interception.

WR Barion Brown

This game, like for Wade, is a homecoming for Nashville native Barion Brown.

But that is not the only reason why Brown will be a player to watch.

Brown, a former five-star recruit, is having an outstanding true freshman season.

He has 45 catches for 604 receiving yards, both of which are team highs.

One of Brown’s best games came against reigning national champion Georgia. The freshman had 10 catches for 145 yards against a defense that has allowed only 12.8 points per game.

RB JuTahn McClain

JuTahn McClain was far from the centerpiece of Kentucky’s offense during the regular season.

His 49 carries for 244 rushing yards were third on the Wildcats behind fellow running backs Chris Rodriguez Jr. and Kavosiey Smoke.

But Rodriguez opted out of the bowl game as he prepares for the NFL Draft, and Smoke entered the transfer portal.

That leaves the Fairfield, Ohio, native as the No. 1 running back in the Music City Bowl for a Kentucky offense that leans heavily on running the ball.

DB Jordan Lovett

Jordan Lovett has been another younger player who has contributed for the Wildcats.

The redshirt freshman defensive back is tied for the team lead with two interceptions.

Lovett has taken at least 50 snaps in all but two of Kentucky’s games this season, per Pro Football Focus.

One word to describe the former three-star recruit, according to his Kentucky player bio, is “lit.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com