Having trouble waiting until the start of college football season? In a series on Sundays, the Times Free Press has provided top-three lists on various Southeastern Conference topics. Today’s final list contains this season’s most irreplaceable players.
1. Kentucky quarterback Morgan Newton
Players such as South Carolina receiver Alshon Jeffery and Alabama linebacker Dont’a Hightower are far more touted and talented, but the Gamecocks and Crimson Tide still would survive and even thrive at those positions because of their depth.
Take away Newton, who has the task of extending Kentucky’s program record of five consecutive bowl appearances, and the Wildcats are left with two guys who were in high school last year. The only other scholarship quarterback who went through spring practice in Lexington was midyear enrollee Maxwell Smith.
Newton, a 6-foot-4, 235-pound junior, completed 4 of 7 passes for 54 yards during the 2010 regular season, when he was Mike Hartline’s backup. When Hartline was suspended for the BBVA Compass Bowl, Newton started and was less than overwhelming, completing 21 of 36 attempts for 211 yards in a 27-10 loss to Pittsburgh.