The monkey is off its back. Kentucky finally made it to a bowl game. And now, as we turn over to 2017, the Wildcats will take aim at challenging in the SEC East.

Here are three players and positions to keep an eye on at Kentucky, who began spring practice Sunday.

1. Can Stephen Johnson II and Benny Snell take the next step?

At this time a year ago, everybody was excited about a backfield made up of Drew Barker and Stanley “Boom” Williams and what that meant for Kentucky’s offense. Johnson and Snell were unknowns when the Wildcats opened spring practice. One was a junior-college transfer, the other a true freshman, and neither was expected to make much of an impact in 2016.

Fast forward to now. Johnson is the favorite to win the quarterback job after replacing an injured Barker in the first month of the season, and Snell, who rushed for over 1,000 yards as a freshman, has a chance to be one of the SEC’s top running backs in 2017.

Maybe change is good. Johnson and Snell proved more than capable when given opportunities last season, and now both have a chance to go through spring practice taking reps with the first-team offense. That kind of experience should only make them better going forward. And they will have to be better in Year 2 if the Wildcats want to win the division.

2. How will Kentucky replace top receiver Jeff Badet?

In what was a somewhat surprising move this offseason, Badet announced his intentions to leave Kentucky and become a graduate transfer. The redshirt junior led the Wildcats with 670 yards receiving last season.

The good news is that Kentucky has plenty of options to step up in place of Badet. Garrett Johnson, Dorian Baker and Blake Bone will all be seniors, and rising junior Tavin Richardson is also a candidate after starting five games last season. The top choice should be Johnson, though. If Badet was option No. 1 last year, then Johnson was Option 1A. He finished with a team-high 39 receptions and was second to Badet with 585 yards receiving.

However, consistency has been an issue for Johnson. He’s had a couple huge games over the years, including two this past season against Southern Miss and Louisville, but those were the only two games all season where he caught more than four passes and finished with more than 50 yards receiving in a single game. Part of that can be attributed to the quarterback change, but it will be critical for him to develop better chemistry with Johnson this spring.

3. Will the defensive line be any better in 2017?

If you only look at the linebackers and the secondary, Kentucky’s defense has a chance to be pretty solid this coming season. The problem is on the defensive line where you have to be good if you want to compete in the SEC, and the Wildcats haven’t been very good there recently.

There’s hope, though. The only loss up front from last year was starting defensive end Courtney Miggins. The rest of the group is back, including starters Naquez Pringle and Adrian Middleton. Former ESPN 300 defensive tackle Matt Elam is also back, and maybe new defensive line coach Derrick LeBlanc can finally tap into the senior’s potential.

Fellow senior Alvonte Bell was expected to step in for Miggins, but he will be out during the spring as he recovers from a knee injury suffered in the bowl game. That leaves an opportunity for younger players like T.J. Carter , Kordell Looney and Ja'Quize Cross to play well and earn more playing time.