By Annie Dunbar

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UK football’s offensive goal this season is to forge a new path into the endzone as the Cats work to perfect the ground raid. With a group of young and inexperienced quarterbacks, the offense will rely on a backfield that has a combination of power and speed, a necessity against Southeastern Conference defenses.

During the Blue/White spring game in April, Cats fans enjoyed an offensive explosion of speed from running backs Josh Clemons, Jojo Kemp, Mikel Horton and Braylon Heard. During the scrimmage, Kemp rushed for 93 yards, had 41 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Clemons rushed for 97 yards while Heard added 56 yards and Horton had 70 yards. Bolstering an already stacked backfield is the addition of true freshman Stanley “Boom” Williams. Williams adds an extra body capable of pounding between the numbers along with a quickness that belays his 5-foot-9-inch size. Brown and head coach Mark Stoops said that Williams and Horton will play Saturday against UT-Martin.

“Jojo (Kemp) and Braylon (Heard) picked up right where they did at the end of spring,” offensive coordinator Neal Brown said about his backfield. “Those guys, I’m really pleased with them. Josh Clemons, if we can keep him healthy, I’m really excited about it. He’s going to be a load for second level defenders to tackle. He’s a big strong kid.

“The two young kids have a ways to go,” Brown continued on the running back corps. “Stanley (Williams) is really electric with the ball. He’s got to get a whole lot more detail oriented. Mikel (Horton) has made a big jump, really matured and changed his body.”

Brown said the running game is key to winning in the SEC.

“In this league to win, to win big, to win like we want to, you’ve got to be able to successfully run the ball when they know you’re running it, and you’ve got to be able to stop the run,” Brown said.

Speed and depth in the backfield will give UK a dynamic part that has been missing in recent years. Kemp was the Cats leading rusher in 2013, but he was limited to only 482 yards on 100 carries — the least amount of rushing yards for a team rushing leader in the SEC. UK will need to pound the ball more this season with redshirt sophomore Patrick Towels under center, to stay afloat in the SEC, Brown said.

“Your running backs should be your best friend in your pass game because if anything in the pocket breaks down or if they do a good job covering your primary combination, you’ve got to be able to find your running backs,” he said. “You look at teams that are really successful passing the ball – you can look at what we did at Texas Tech or what any of the top passing teams did in the country, the running backs have a lot of receptions, and they always break the first tackle, whether they make somebody miss or run through an arm tackle.”

As it stands now, the starter in the backfield has yet to be determined, but according to Stoops, all the running backs will see action, regardless of who starts.

“You need them to play,” Stoops said. “It’s a long season. So that’s why it’s not as big an issue. Maybe we’ll start the game with three tailbacks. You never know.”

Kemp, who has been limited in preseason camp due to an offseason ankle surgery, believes that the running and passing game need to coexist for an offense to function smoothly.

“You all know it’s called an air raid but the receivers need us (the running backs) just as bad as we need them,” Kemp said. “When the passing game isn’t there, it’s going to open up the run game. When the run game isn’t there and they flood the box, it’s going to open up the passing game. So the receivers are going to need us just as bad as we need them.”