D'Eryk Jackson, Trevin Wallace will give Kentucky an early look at the future

Kentucky felt that their defense entered the 2022 season with one of the best linebacker rooms in college football. The Wildcats felt that way due to depth and experience.

Unfortunately, that experience factor at off-ball linebacker has been eliminated as Kentucky begins November with a road trip to Missouri. Jacquez Jones will miss his fourth consecutive game, and DeAndre Square is currently doubtful for Saturday’s matchup at Faurot Field.

Kentucky’s depth will now be tested as redshirt sophomore D’Eryk Jackson and sophomore Trevin Wallace will be on the field at the same time together in the starting lineup for the first time. However, that combination had been expected to come in the future.

The two South Georgia products have a strong bond off the field, and UK is hopeful that will lead to quality play on Saturday afternoon.

“I think they’re a good pairing because they keep each other up. Trevin’s got sort of a jovial personality, and it keeps D’Eryk loose,” Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White told reporters on Wednesday. “And D’Eryk plays his best when he’s loose. He starts to get tight or concerned about maybe a misfit or a misplay or a missed tackle. I think they can bring the best out of each other.

D’Eryk Jackson will start his fourth game of the season on Saturday. The former low three-star recruit has logged 36 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss this season. The Mike linebacker recorded a team-high 14 tackles in last week’s loss to Tennessee. Kentucky is hopeful that he can be a steadying presence playing next to Trevin Wallace.

The former top-100 recruit has 18 tackles and an interception this season in 130 snaps. But that workload will increase on Saturday with Square out of the lineup. However, White seems improvement coming consistently with the talented sophomore.

“With every rep that he takes, you can see the confidence and the comfort building. I thought he’s had a really good week of practice, White said about Wallace. “Him and D’Eryk they have a really good sort of rapport with each other out there. They’re really good friends off the field. I think you can sort of see that on the field.

At the inside linebacker position, communication is very important. The players at Mike and Will typically share duties as the quarterback of the defense. Getting everyone lined up is critical. It helps when there is a good bond between the two players on the field.

Jackson and Wallace believe they have that.

“We know how to communicate with each other. We know what gets each other going. We know what makes each other tick,” Jackson said.

Saturday’s contest will give Kentucky a glimpse at the future as Jackson and Wallace are the future at linebacker. The Cats are hopeful that the strong play at that position will continue once Jones and Square are no longer in the program. The two youngsters seem to feed off each other and are ready for their opportunity to play together on Saturday.

“Next year it’s going to be me and him in the box so we have to be leaders,” said Wallace.

The new Kentucky defense will be on display in Columbia.