Just because Kentucky is a two-time defending NCR D1AA champion doesn’t necessarily mean the SCRC is the toughest conference, but it’s a pretty tough conference and could well be the most difficult to win.
Kentucky probably remains the favorite here, but the other eight teams are dangerous to very good: Alabama, Auburn, Kennesaw State, Kentucky, LSU are in the West, with Clemson, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee in the East.
Let’s take a look:
Kentucky
Championship game MVP Michael Punzalan, top-flight flyhalf Jack Phillips, and powerful prop Jared Monnier have all graduated. But of the gameday 23 that beat Bowling Green in the final, 14 return, and 11 more got significant A-side time last year.
With over 70 players on the roster, the challenge might well be finding game time for all of these players. Head Coach Sam Enari said the non-conference schedule is hugely important, both for finding everyone competition and for finding the front-line players additional challenges.
How Kentucky Pulled Off the Repeat
A solid recruiting class includes Colin Spellacy, who helped St. Ignatius of Cleveland win the HS National Chamionship and Panther Rugby Academy win the National Youth 7s U18 bracket. He’s a center with an effective left foot and good overall skills.
Elliot Smyth of Valor Rugby in Colorado is a lock and a strong performer for Rebel Rugby and EIRA. Alex Dempsey is a center from Denver East and has toured with EIRA. Deagan Sart is a flyhalf/fullback from Regis Jesuit and another Rebel Rugby standout. Notable, all three of those Colorado-based players were captains of their respective teams.
Zionsville (Ind.) player Isaac Keller can play all over and is another Panther Rugby alum.
That’s just a few of 21 incoming freshmen, of which, 19 are from out of the state.
Coming back will be an outstanding loose forward trio of Gage Curry, Holden Hahn, and Everett Marrett. This is a hard-working group that makes tackles and is very savvy over the ball. Joe and Luke Keough are back with Joe a central part of the UK backline and Joe key at lock. Without Monnier, the front row will rely heavily on Blaine Donlon.
The big question is, who will play flyhalf?
That’s a question that hasn’t been answered fully yet, but John Dardis looks like he might be the guy. Dardis played wing last year but he is a very good goalkicker and played flyhalf for the Panther Rugby Academy in the RAN U19 Championships when he was younger.
So this looks to be a Wildcat team that is reloading rather than rebuilding. We’ve discussed their recruiting plan before and it’s not a one-time thing. They are always looking to being prepared for next year, and the year after that.
Clemson
The Tigers return all-stars and All Americans Noah Ainsworth (hooker), Alex Smith-Stephens (fullback), Payton Hayes (flyhalf), and Campbell Van Rooyen (No. 8).
Head Coach Troy Hall said he is excited about his freshman recruiting group of eight, along with three transfers.
“We had a large graduating group for sure, but we have plenty of exciting players coming in, and it’s a new opportunity,” Hall said.
Scrumhalf Griffyn Morgan from Toronto and center Max Wyckoff from Xavier HS might well be ready to make an impact early.
Hall has lineup Lander and Belmont Abbey as tough preseason matches, and he knows that he’s got a tough conference schedule with Tennessee and South Carolina at home, and Georgia on the way. They are all must-win matches, Hall said.
“That’s nothing new to us. It's been that type of schedule since I arrived at Clemson.”
