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BREAKING: Eddie Gran and Darin Hinshaw out at Kentucky

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They say “third times a charm,” well that isn’t the case when it comes to offensive coordinators at Kentucky under Mark Stoops. After four seasons in Lexington, Eddie Gran has been relieved of his offensive coordinator duties, as well as QB’s coach Darin Hinshaw.

As we all know, rumors about coaching changes have been looming for about a week now, and fans have been displeased with Gran’s job on the sideline for awhile now.

Even though there has been a lot of frustration centered around Gran’s play-calling the past couple years, overall, he was pretty successful at Kentucky. He had four different QB’s in his time here and all of them at one point succeeded.

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He had a promising QB in Drew Barker, who shined against Southern Miss in a new system, then he got hurt and Gran had to adjust to a completely different QB in Stephen Johnson, who was pretty successful in his time at Kentucky. Then Terry Wilson took over in 2018 and led Kentucky to a 10-win season. The next season, Wilson was injured in the second game of the year and ruled out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Gran had to come up with a new gameplay for incoming transfer Sawyer Smith, who had never played a down of SEC competition. He was really successful, until his injury. Then, maybe Gran’s best accomplishment at Kentucky, he took Lynn Bowden, a QB turned WR at Kentucky, and once again made him a QB. Bowden led the Cats to an 7-win regular season and a bowl victory over Virginia Tech.

Now, there have been a lot of complaints over the past couple seasons about Gran’s odd, conservative play calling, and the “don’t lose” style of play when the Cats take a big leads, which has lost Kentucky plenty of games, and his inability to “open up” the offense. Trust me, I have been aggravated plenty of times with it and have shouted some choice words from the stands. However, Eddie Gran did a good job here. We as Kentucky fans wanted 8-win seasons consistently when Stoops got here, and Kentucky has done nothing but that since Gran’s time here.

I think we all know the real problem here, but I do think it was time for Gran to go. The style of play won’t fit without the big blue wall and Kentucky is going to need to change its style of play to contend in the East. We’ve already seen a talented WR recruit decommmit, current and former players express their frustration on social media, and a former WR coach express his opinions about the real problem with the offense on social media. Once again, I think we all know the real problem here.

But, simply put, the style of play had become old with fans and players, which doesn’t equal anything good, and we saw that toward the end of this season.

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Who will the Cats hire? I don’t think anyone knows yet. I would expect names to be mentioned in the coming weeks.

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Running Back Revamp: Kentucky Adds Former Oklahoma, New Mexico State Transfer

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New Mexico State University Athletics

The Wildcats bolstered their backfield with the addition of former Oklahoma and New Mexico State running back Seth McGowan on April 20, per KSR’s Nick Roush.

Standing at 5-foot-11 and 215 pounds, McGowan brings size and downhill power to Kentucky’s offense. Coming off a productive season at New Mexico State, he rushed for 823 yards and three touchdowns while adding 23 receptions for 277 yards and three more scores through the air.

A former four-star recruit in the class of 2019, McGowan originally signed with Oklahoma and logged 370 rushing yards, three touchdowns and 201 receiving yards with one touchdown during his lone season with the Sooners.

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On May 7, 2021, McGowan was removed from Oklahoma following his involvement in a legal case in which he was arrested and charged with robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. The charges were ultimately dismissed, but he pleaded guilty to larceny from a person at nighttime in December of that year.

After a stint at NAIA school Texas College in 2022, where he did not see game action, McGowan continued his path back to Division I football, playing six games with Butler Community College before transferring to New Mexico State for the 2024 season.

Now, with his past behind him, McGowan has a chance to turn the page and contribute in a major way to the Wildcats’ offense.

Running backs coach Jay Boulware, who helped Oklahoma sign McGowan out of high school, likely played a role in bringing him to Kentucky, where he is expected to have one year of eligibility remaining.

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Along with Nebraska transfer Dante Dowdell, McGowan could be a part of a versatile and punishing backfield tandem for the Wildcats. While Dowdell brings a physical, downhill rushing style, McGowan’s ability to contribute in both the run and pass game adds a dynamic layer to offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan’s pro-style system, which emphasizes balance and explosive playmaking.

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Jamon Dumas-Johnson: A NFL Draft Steal

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Kentucky Wildcats linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson (2) makes the sign of the cross while taking a knee before the game.
Carter Skaggs | Imagn

Before he transferred to Kentucky, Jamon Dumas-Johnson was an All-American at Georgia, with waves to at least test the NFL draft after winning a National Championship. However, with the decision to play his last collegiate season as a Wildcat, Dumas-Johnson was a cornerstone piece for the Kentucky defense, finishing the season with 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks during his 11 starts for the team. 

His athleticism spoke volumes at Kentucky football’s NFL pro day, where current NFL draft boards now list the linebacker as one of the best athletes at the position and has earned himself a “top 10” feel ahead of the draft. Before pro day, publications such as Bleacher Report had him listed as No. 13 at his position. 

Dumas-Johnson proved himself with the highest vertical jump (37.5) and the longest broad jump (10.60) out of the Wildcats who competed in said events, and ran an impressive best 4.50 40-yard dash. At 245 pounds, he also managed to press 16 reps of 225, which could technically be “better” compared to NFL standards, but is impressive nonetheless in hindsight.

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At 23 years old, this linebacker exploits explosiveness, agility and can hawk down any playmaker on the field. Out the 31 NFL teams that attended the event (a Cleveland Browns representative did not attend), one will be getting a prize steal of the draft with Dumas-Johnson. 

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Alex Raynor: A Rare Gem In This Year’s NFL Draft

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Kentucky Wildcats place kicker Alex Raynor (16) lines up a kick.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

Alex Raynor had an illustrious season for Kentucky last year, being named to First-Team All-SEC, as a finalist for the Lou Groza award and as SEC Special Teams Player of the Year.

As the record holder for the longest field goal in program history, and arguably one of, if not the, most consistent kickers to ever be a Wildcat, Raynor now looks to the NFL Draft in the next chapter of his book. 

Recently, at Kentucky football’s NFL Pro Day on Tuesday, March 11, Raynor kicked off the event with his workout. 

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Although he would miss a routine kick for him inside of the 45, he would continue to move back, nailing a 55-yard kick and nearly making a 60-yard kick. 

The best moments of his workout came when Raynor would line up behind the UK logo inside of Nutter Field House and would nail a 65-yard field goal.

That, although it’s an indoor kick and is not faced with the NFL pressure, would be one of the longest field goals in NFL history. 

Historically, it’s extremely rare for kickers to be drafted any higher than the 6th, more commonly going in the late rounds on the third day. 

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However, Raynor would hold as one of the rare occasions to go higher than projected, due to his historic year as a Wildcat.

Wherever the young man from Georgia ends up in the pros, don’t be surprised if you hear his name every reoccurring Sunday.

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