One offensive player to watch for each Kentucky opponent in 2026

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We sit in the lull of the offseason and are officially 100 days away from college football kicking off. We have previewed what to expect from each Kentucky Wildcats position group, and now let's take a glimpse of Kentucky's power four opponents. It is no secret that Will Stein faces a daunting schedule as a first year head coach as the Wildcats will face talented football teams with game breaking players. Here is one offensive player to keep an eye on for each Kentucky power four opponent and we will go in order of the 2026 schedule.

Week 2: Alabama, WR Ryan Coleman-Williams

Ryan Coleman-Williams was a breakout star as a true freshman in the SEC at the age of 17 years old. Last season was a bit of a sophomore slump for him, though. With the departures of Germie Bernard and Isaiah Horton, expect Coleman-Williams to be the go-to guy and have a bounce back season. In two seasons at Alabama, Coleman-Williams has shown his dynamism with 97 catches, 1,554 yards and 12 touchdown receptions.

Week 3: at Texas A&M, WR Mario Craver

Mario Craver is a dominant wide receiver that will be expected to see an increased workload this season for the Aggies with the departure of KC Concepcion. Craver had 917 yards on 59 catches last season for Texas A&M, which was 6th in receiving yards among SEC players. He is a dynamic receiver with breakaway speed that can create separation from any alignment and will pair well with Alabama transfer Isaiah Horton who is a bigger-bodied wideout. Craver has the game breaking speed the Aggies will look to for explosive plays down the field.

Week 5: at South Carolina, QB LaNorris Sellers

Kentucky's second road trip of the season will be down to Columbia, South Carolina where they lost 35-13 to the Gamecocks last season. LaNorris Sellers is arguably the best athlete at the quarterback position in the country. South Carolina needs him to be superman to get the offense humming and against Kentucky he has been just that the last two meetings. He is 6'3, 240-pounds and is tough to bring down even when the defense gets a free shot to do so, he is at his best improvising on the move when the play breaks down.

Week 6: LSU, QB Sam Leavitt

Kentucky was in the Sam Leavitt sweepstakes during the transfer portal before he ultimately decided to go to Baton Rouge with Lane Kiffin. Leavitt has shown flashes of greatness at Arizona State, but questions this season revolve around how he comes off the lisfranc foot injury that ended his season a year ago. He is similar to Sellers in terms of being dangerous with his legs when plays break down and in the quarterback run game. When you look at Kiffin's track record of quarterbacks lately, they frequently turn into dangerous signal callers and if Leavitt is healthy he will likely do the same.

Week 7: at Oklahoma, WR Isaiah Sategna III

The third road trip of the season, the Wildcats will be heading down to Norman, Oklahoma to face the Sooners for the first time since they joined the conference. Oklahoma has a phenomenal defense and the offense has a lot of potential to improve off of last season. Isaiah Sategna is one of the most explosive wide receivers in the conference, he is coming off a breakout season with 965 yards and 8 touchdowns on 67 receptions. Sategna is a shifty and speedy slot that had the third most receiving yards in the SEC last season; he will be the engine of the Sooners offense in 2026.

Week 8: Vanderbilt, HB Sedrick Alexander

Vanderbilt will look a lot different in 2026 with the departure of quarterback Diego Pavia. True freshman Jared Curtis will likely be the starter and it will be interesting to see how all the turnover on the offense looks for the Commodores. Sedrick Alexander is the veteran on the offense and has rushed for over 500 yards in back to back seasons. Expect his workload to increase as Pavia had 360 carries over the past two seasons; offensive coordinator Tim Beck is one of the most creative offensive minds in the country and will find different ways to get Alexander the football this season.

Week 10: at Tennessee, HB DeSean Bishop

Coming off the bye week, the Wildcats will head down to Neyland Stadium to take on the Volunteers. Another team that could see a true freshman at the helm, if Faizon Brandon can win the quarterback battle against George MacIntyre. Josh Heupel's offense is difficult to stop, the ultra wide splits in his formations create light boxes in the run game which helped running back DeSean Bishop average close the six yards per carry last season. Bishop was fourth in SEC rushing yards last season with 1,076 yards and had the second most rushing touchdowns with 16; he will be heavily relied upon this season with inexperience at the quarterback position.

Week 11: Florida, HB Jadan Baugh

Florida returns to Lexington this season with former Kentucky linebacker as their new head coach, Jon Sumrall. Coach Sumrall wants to instill physicality in his football teams and that starts with the running game. Jadan Baugh fits that mold as a physical, downhill runner that can set the tone for the culture that Coach Sumrall is trying to build. Baugh is one of the best backs in the conference, coming off a season where he rushed for 1,170 yards and averaged over five yards per carry.

Week 12: at Missouri, HB Ahmad Hardy

Kentucky's final road game of the season will be a trip to CoMo, where they could see one of the best running backs in the country. Ahmad Hardy's availability is up in the air after he recently suffered a gunshot wound. It will be unfortunate if Hardy doesn't take the field this fall because he is one of the best overall players in the country. He had the second most rushing yards in college football last season with 1,649 yards and averaged 6.4 yards per carry; Hardy has an exceptional blend of physicality, explosiveness and contact balance that makes him one of the best players on Kentucky's schedule.

Week 13: Louisville, HB Isaac Brown

The Governor's Cup will have a bit more juice to it this season as two former Trinity quarterbacks meet for the first time as head coaches. There will also be more juice if Isaac Brown is on the field after missing this game last season. Brown is one of the most explosive running backs in college football, he averaged almost nine yards per carry before suffering a season-ending injury in 2025. Brown and Vanderbilt transfer wide receiver Tre Richardson makes the Cardinals offense a threat to score from anywhere on the field this season.

This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Kentucky football: Offensive player to watch for each power 4 opponent

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