| Year: | 2016 |
| Team: | Kentucky Wildcats |
| Sport: | football |
| Logo Alt: | Kentucky Wildcats logo |
| Conference: | Southeastern Conference |
| Division: | Eastern Division |
| Short Conf: | SEC |
| Record: | 7–6 |
| Conf Record: | 4–4 |
| Head Coach: | Mark Stoops |
| Hc Year: | 4th |
| Off Coach: | Eddie Gran |
| Oc Year: | 1st |
| Cooff Coach1: | Darin Hinshaw |
| Cooc1 Year: | 1st |
| Def Coach: | D. J. Eliot |
| Dc Year: | 4th |
| Off Scheme: | Spread |
| Def Scheme: | 3–4 or 4–3 |
| Stadium: | Commonwealth Stadium |
| Bowl: | TaxSlayer Bowl |
| Bowl Result: | L 18–33 vs. Georgia Tech |
The 2016 Kentucky Wildcats football team (variously "Kentucky", "UK", or "Wildcats") represented the University of Kentucky in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season was the program's 123rd overall and 83rd as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by fourth-year head coach Mark Stoops and the played home games at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky. They finished the season 7–6, 4–4 in SEC play to finish in a three-way tie for second place in the Eastern Division. They were invited to the TaxSlayer Bowl where they lost to Georgia Tech.
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daron Blaylock |
| LB | 6'1" | 226 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Zack Blaylock |
| DB | 6'0" | 193 | Junior | Graduated | ||
| Glenn Faulkner |
| DB | 6'2" | 201 | Junior | Graduated | ||
| Ryan Flannigan |
| LB | 6'2" | 225 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| LB | 6'3" | 230 | Senior | Graduated | |||
| Jason Hatcher |
| DE | 6'3" | 247 | Junior | Transferred to West Georgia | ||
| Khalid Henderson |
| LB | 6'1" | 235 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Farrington Huguenin |
| DE | 6'4" | 271 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| DT | 6'3" | 300 | Senior | Graduated | |||
| Jabari Johnson |
| LB | 6'1" | 250 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Melvin Lewis |
| DT | 6'4" | 311 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Cody Quinn |
| DB | 5'11" | 185 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| A.J. Stamps |
| DB | 6'1" | 205 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Jordan Swindle |
| OL | 6'7" | 304 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Fred Tiller |
| DB | 6'0" | 196 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Patrick Towles |
| QB | 6'3" | 235 | Junior | Transferred to Boston College | ||
| Zach West |
| OL | 6'3" | 305 | Senior | Graduated |
See also: American football positions, Glossary of American football and Recruiting (college athletics). Prior to National Signing Day on February 3, 2016, five players enrolled for the spring semester in order to participate in spring practice and included four former high school seniors and one junior college transfer.[1]
On National Signing Day, Kentucky signed an additional twenty players out of high school and junior college that completed the 2016 recruiting class. The class was highlighted by three Army All-American's as well as Kentucky's Mr. Football.[2]
Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops enters his fourth season as the Wildcat's head coach for the 2016 season. During his previous three seasons he led the Wildcats to an overall record of 12 wins and 24 losses.
On December 18, 2015, offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson announced he would not return to the program for the 2016 season as the offensive coordinator.[3] [4] In his place Kentucky hired Cincinnati offensive coordinator Eddie Gran as the assistant head coach of offense at Kentucky. Cincinnati quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw has also joined the UK staff as quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator.[5] [6]
| Name | Position | Consecutive season at Kentucky in current position | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | ||||
| Eddie Gran | Offensive coordinator, Running backs | 1st | ||
| Defensive coordinator | 3rd | |||
| Steve Clinkscale | Defensive backs | 1st | ||
| Jimmy Brumbaugh | 3rd | |||
| Wide receivers | 1st | |||
| Tight ends, recruiting coordinator | 3rd | |||
| 3rd | ||||
| Darin Hinshaw | 1st | |||
| Special teams coordinator, inside linebackers | 1st | |||
| Corey Edmond | Strength and conditioning | 1st | ||
| Reference: | ||||
See also: American football positions, Glossary of American football and Recruiting (college athletics).
| Player | Class | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dorian Baker | Junior | Wide receiver | |
| C. J. Conrad | Sophomore | Tight end | |
| Nick Haynes | RS-Junior | Offensive guard | |
| Garrett Johnson | Junior | Wide receiver | |
| Ramsey Meyers | RS-Junior | Offensive guard | |
| Jon Toth | Senior | Center | |
| Stanley Williams | Junior | Running back | |
| Reference: | |||
| Player | Class | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Edwards | RS-Sophomore | Safety | |
| Blake McClain | Senior | Safety | |
| Denzil Ware | RS=Sophomore | Linebacker | |
| Chris Westry | Sophomore | Cornerback | |
| Reference: | |||
| Player | Class | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin MacGinnis | Junior | Kicker | |
| Reference: | |||
Kentucky announced its 2016 football schedule on October 29, 2015. The 2016 schedule consists of 7 home and 5 away games in the regular season. The Wildcats will host SEC foes Georgia, Mississippi State, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt, and will travel to Alabama, Florida, Missouri, and Tennessee.[7]
The team will host three out of four of its non–conference games which are against Austin Peay from the Ohio Valley Conference, New Mexico State Aggies from the Sun Belt Conference, Louisville from the Atlantic Coast Conference, and Southern Miss Golden Eagles from Conference USA.
Schedule Source:[8]
See also: Governor's Cup (Kentucky).
See also: 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl (December).