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What Could’ve Happened if Lynn Bowden was Ejected from the Belk Bowl?

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Just a few minutes ago, it was announced that the NCAA will now give officials jurisdiction of game 90 minutes from kickoff instead of the previous 60 minutes. This is important because now, whatever happens inside 90 minutes is under watchful eyes of refs.

This rule change is huge for Kentucky, because of what happened on New Years eve of 2019. There are a lot of good memories for the Kentucky Wildcats and BBN on that day, but there is one bad memory that UK and the BBN want to forget, and had this rule been in place before, Lynn Bowden may have not even suited up for the Wildcats.

Lynn Bowden landed a punch on a Virginia Tech DB outside of the 60 minute window. Therefore, unless UK took action, nothing could’ve been done by the NCAA or officials. If the new 90 minute rule had been in place, Bowden would’ve likely been tossed from the game.

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Yes, VT’s players had been taunting him all week, and they even allegedly robbed his car. But, sadly none of that stuff would’ve mattered.

Yes, this rule is basically the “Lynn Bowden rule” because no one talked about this rule until that incident happened.

It’s crazy to think about, but there is a lot that would’ve changed if Lynn Bowden had been ejected from the Belk Bowl.

Kentucky doesn’t win the game in the first place

There’s no way Kentucky comes close to winning that game without Lynn Bowden. Kentucky’s defense couldn’t stop Virginia Tech’s offense really the whole game. Hendon Hooker threw for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Deshawn McClease ran for 126 yards on 11 attempts and had a touchdown.

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The only reason Kentucky was in the game was because of Bowden, who ran for 233 yards and scored a touchdown. He also *threw* the game-winning touchdown to Josh Ali with time expiring.

No Bowden, no points, no win.

A lot of answers are needed

Bowden was the backbone of Kentucky’s team last year. Without him, they struggle throughout the entire season because of Sawyer Smith’s injuries that plagued his entire season.

I was at the game and I can’t imagine how my grandfather would’ve reacted if I had to read to him that Lynn Bowden had been ejected before his final game as a Wildcat because he threw a punch in pre-game warmups. He would’ve been livid, as well as BBN, and the coaching staff.

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Instead of celebrating a win, we would’ve been busy asking Mark Stoops, Lynn Bowden, and the other players and coaches about the incident. Bowden’s legacy would’ve been tarnished.

Lynn Bowden probably doesn’t get drafted

Forget about what we think about him for a second. If Bowden gets ejected before the game because he landed a punch, that doesn’t sit well with any NFL teams that are thinking about drafting him.

Let’s be honest with ourselves, the Belk Bowl put Lynn Bowden on the map. Yes, he had been dominating all year, but he was doing it against bottom-tier SEC teams. We think it was impressive, but most scouts don’t think twice about it because of who he’s playing.

Plus, all of the money that he will get from being drafted. Let’s say a team in the later stages of the second round decides to take a chance on him and he gets picked. The total value of that contract is $4.5-6 million, with a $1.3-2.3 million signing bonus.

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If this doesn’t happen and he goes in the third round, he gets anywhere from $3.3-4.2 million.

Even if he goes in the last round, he gets $2.5 million.

If the “Lynn Bowden rule” is in place for that game and he gets ejected for throwing a punch. As you can see, a lot changes. But, thank God it didn’t!

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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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The State of Kentucky Football

Following their worst season in nearly a decade, Kentucky Football faces a steep rebuild and rising expectations.

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Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops has been linked to the Texas A&M job.
Chet White | UK Athletics

After charting a 4-8 record in the 2023-24 season, including a 1-7, second-to-last finish in the SEC, Kentucky Football looks lost for the first time in a long time.

It can be argued that the program never really broke through to the “higher echelon” of college football in the first place, but even then, they’ve been consistently better than they were historically known to be. Until now.

With that aforementioned .333 record, the Cats weren’t able to earn a bowl game. That marks the first time since the 2015 season that Kentucky Football won’t appear in postseason competition, and, excluding the 2020 season (for COVID-related reasons,) it’s also the only time the Wildcats have finished under .500 since then.

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What about the last time the team had less than five wins? 2013, in Stoops’ first season. The deeper you dig, the worse it appears.

Losing to Louisville in blowout fashion at the end of last month felt like the straw that broke the Cats’ back. It was clear that whatever would happen next wouldn’t be simply transitional, and thus far, the early offseason has evidenced that.

The Big Move

It began with an exodus. Star wideout Barion Brown elected to transfer to LSU for his senior season. His receiver running mate, Dane Key, left for Nebraska. In addition to the team’s two primary deep threats, Chip Trayanum, the promising back and former Buckeye who spent much of this year battling injuries, took his talents to Toledo.

In total, the Cats have lost nearly two dozen players to the transfer portal, and that’s not even counting the guys headed to the NFL draft (like Deone Walker and Maxwell Hairston,) as well as the graduates.

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To put it bluntly, next year’s team will share little more with the players from this past season than the blue and white on their jerseys. It’s a brutal overhaul, though one Coach Stoops and his staff are trying to get the jump on, to their credit.

Fresh Faces

Among a growing list of incoming transfers, a few names in particular stand out. Chief among them is Zach Calzada, a quarterback whose upcoming season at Kentucky will mark his fifth year playing football in his third different jersey.

The journeyman spent this past season at Incarnate Word, where he threw for 35 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. He completed 344 passes on the year, almost doubling that of his previous two. 

Before his two-year stint at IW, Calzada spent the beginnings of his college career at Texas A&M where, among a mixture of steadily improving statistics, he led the Aggies to an impressive home win over the still Saban-led Alabama Crimson Tide. Whether or not his recent success in the Southland Conference will translate back to the SEC is yet to be seen, but, at least on paper, this pickup makes sense for Kentucky following a year of unsparing QB play across the board.

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Along with Calzada, the Cats have hauled in J.J. Hester, a 6 ‘4 senior receiver from Oklahoma, Dante Dowdell, a power back coming off a 12-touchdown season for Nebraska, and Sam Greene, a defensive end transferring in from USC, among a handful of others. We’ll have a team. 

Though, even considering the roster turnover, that wasn’t the question. That still remains, “what will that team do?”

Potential vs. Progress

Kentucky is 18-25 in their last three seasons of football; a steady decline that has been made worse by the fact that the program’s outlier 10-3 finish in the 2021 season has since been disqualified by the NCAA due to a rule violation. All in all, the last half-decade has been, at best, barely getting by.

How long will this trend continue? The only thing we know for sure is that nobody is sure. Answering that question requires the analysis and knowing of many moving parts, not all of which are at widespread disposal.

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But this much is clear: the longtime variable nature of Kentucky Football came to a head this year, and the product we’re about to see is going to have to be radically different from the one we’ve just seen in order to right this ship.

For better or worse, the 2024-25 season will likely go down as the most important yet in the Stoops era at UK.

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