Gator Bowl Notebook: Kentucky is getting locked in

After practice on Wendesday, Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White and cornerback Andru Phillips spoke with the media following an open practice in Jacksonville. The Cats are ready for a Clemson offense that will test them horizontally and with the run game.

It’s nearly go time in North Florida.

“I think they’ve really enjoyed themselves so far but it’s getting to that point where now it’s time to be football 24/7,” Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White told the media on Wednesday. “Just get yourself locked in, get your body right, get your mind right.”

After practice on Wendesday, White and cornerback Andru Phillips spoke with the media following an open practice in Jacksonville. The Cats are ready for a Clemson offense that can hurt defenses with tempo and the short passing game.

Phil Mafah and Will Shipley have Kentucky’s attention

Clemson has a terrific one-two punch at tailback. Phil Mafah (894 rushing yards, 5.3 yards per rush, 9 touchdowns) and Will Shipley (798 rushing yards, 5.1 yards per rush, 5 touchdowns) are what makes this offense go. The Tigers enter bowl season having rushed for at least 175-plus yards in four consecutive November wins over Notre Dame, Georgia, Tech, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

To slow down Clemson on Friday, Kentucky must find a way to limit Mafah and Shipley.

“A really talented duo. Both are really good after contact. Lot of broken tackles when you watch. Both are very active in the pass game so you’ve got to always know where they are,” Brad White said about the Clemson tailbacks. “Then they put them both in there together and they’re both willing blockers for each other.”

Due to a high volume of spread formations, Kentucky will be playing a lot of true nickel with five defensive backs on the field. Clemson will require corners and safeties to come down and make physical tackles. The Wildcats must be ready for the challenge.

“They have really good backs. We have guys that have not been afraid to tackle. Go shoot our shots,” redshirt junior cornerback Andru Phillips told reporters. “Just come with the same mentality we’ve had all season.”

Kentucky must be ready for tempo

Clemson won’t be hammering the gas pedal all afternoon on Friday at the Gator Bowl, but the Tigers will require Kentucky to operate against an offense that doesn’t huddle and gets to the line of scrimmage quickly. With that comes a horizontal passing game that will force the Wildcats to make tackles in space.

The Tigers will stretch Kentucky from east-to-west before taking vertical shot swings down the field.

“It is a little bit more horizontal than it is vertical. They’ll take some vertical shots once they get you sunk down but just because it’s a screen pass doesn’t mean it’s not effective,” Brad White said about Clemson’s controlled passing game.” It slows down the rush. They do a great job. It gets the playmakers the ball quickly.”

Under new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, former five-star quarterback recruit Cade Klubnik (63% completion rate, 6.2 yards per attempt) and the rest of the Clemson passing game have struggled to get off the ground. The Tigers rank No. 49 in passing success rate, No. 79 in passing EPA/play, and No. 115 in yards per attempt. There has been some struggles getting the throw game rolling for the Tigers, but this is an offense that will try to use tempo as a weapon.

Kentucky must be ready to get lined up, receive the calls, communicate, and go play football.

“Tempo is always a little stressful. No matter who runs it against who,” Andru Phillips said. “You gotta do a lot of different things, but when you prepare the right way you get out here and you do all the extra stuff to make sure you’re ahead of the game.”