A new leader in the locker room, Ty Bryant says Kentucky has turned things around this spring

Ty Bryant took a break from spring meetings and spring practice over at the Kentucky Football facility to join Thursday’s KSR show by phone. Entering his third season, Bryant already has a leadership role on Kentucky’s defense after playing in every game in his freshman and sophomore campaigns. Now, he is surrounded by several new faces on the roster as the Wildcats experience massive turnover from 2024 to 2025, Bryant’s junior year. He told KSR that things are going well as spring ball concludes later this week, partly because of the emphasis on team-building and accountability throughout the locker room.

Asked to lead

Bryant revealed that defensive coordinator Brad White asked him to speak up and take on an increased role as a vocal leader around the facility, noting that Bryant already led by example as an underclassmen, but now needs to be one of the leading voices of the defense.

“So that’s what I’ve been trying to do,” Bryant said. “Kind of just teach the young guys, but also kind of guide the older guys that are just now getting into our program.”

Bryant hasn’t been shy about how last season fell apart in the end behind the scenes. He told KSR that the atmosphere grew “lackadaisical,” and the team lacked accountability when things weren’t going well last fall.

“I feel like now every everybody’s on the same page, there’s no hiccups,” he said. “I mentioned last year how there was a time where, it just got kind of lackadaisical, basically, we were just coming in there, and it was whatever. It’s not like that at all anymore this year. So I feel like stuff like that is what’s going to lead us to just have a good year.”

Mandatory team events, including games like tug-of-war and eating contests, have helped bring the old and new players together this spring. Teammates have been randomly paired together and tasked with getting to know each other, and then coaches will call out the pairs in practice to reveal what they’ve learned about each other. Bryant believes the team-building exercises have given the Wildcats a head start on building chemistry for the fall. He thinks they’re already a special group and he is excited to see how it translates to the field in six months.

A message for the fans

When asked to speak directly to the many Kentucky fans listening to the show, Bryant said, “I would tell them that we put in a lot of work and we turned a lot of things around. We do have a lot of new faces, but we’ve taken the proper steps to acclimate them into our system, and I would really just tell them, just to, you know, stay true to us. Be down for us. Be with us through it all.

“Last year, it definitely was a low moment for all of us–not just (the fans), but for us too. We had to live the moment. They did too… Continue to stay loyal to us, and this year, we’re going to make them proud. We’re going to make them happy. They’re going to leave Kroger Field or watch the away games, and they’re going to be happy with what we do on Saturdays.”

Listen to Ty Bryant on KSR

Bryant’s interview with KSR can be heard in the beginning of Hour 2 below.

Catch the show from the start with Hour 1.