Jacob Tamme previews Kentucky vs. Georgia, raves about Ray Davis

If there’s a Kentucky Wildcat who knows about winning big games, it’s Jacob Tamme. During his four years in Lexington, the tight end from Boyle County helped the Cats beat No. 1 LSU, No. 9 Louisville, and in the 2006 season, Georgia. Kentucky has only beaten the Bulldogs once since then, a 34-27 victory in Athens.

Who better than Tamme to preview Saturday’s matchup vs. the defending two-time national champions? Tamme, now a financial advisor and farmer in Boyle County, joined Jacob Hester and Chris Doering on “Pregaming the SEC” to talk about the Cats vs. the Dawgs. Of course, Hester was a star on that LSU team that lost to the Cats in Commonwealth Stadium back in 2007, a topic the eventual Denver Broncos teammates bantered back and forth about to start the interview. After telling some NFL stories, the conversation turned to the current Kentucky Wildcats and Saturday’s big game between the hedges.

“The coaching staff I think has done a tremendous job,” Tamme said of Mark Stoops and company. “I think we’re blessed and fortunate to have the group we have right now. I said this after the first couple of games, the program’s at the point now where if you don’t beat Ball State 75-0 and play a perfect game, everybody’s like, ‘Oh gosh, I don’t know if we’re very good.’ Well, we just came out and physically dominated Florida, which I didn’t expect.

“I wasn’t down on the team after the first few games, but we didn’t look like we were going to physically dominate Florida, especially on the O-line side of the ball, but we did in that game. Are we that team? I hope so. I hope that team shows up on Saturday and we have a fantastic game. Georgia’s looked vulnerable, no doubt about it. They’ve looked a little bit vulnerable, but they’re still the top dog without question. If we can be as physical as we were against Florida, we can play with anybody.”

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Tamme on Ray Davis: “That dude is a real beast”

One reason the Cats have a shot on Saturday: Ray Davis. The Vanderbilt transfer turned in a career performance vs. Florida, racking up 280 rushing yards and four total touchdowns. Through five games, Davis has 594 rushing yards on 76 carries and eight touchdowns, along with 146 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 11 catches.

“This dude’s a mix of Wan’Dale Robinson, Lynn Bowden, Benny Snell, and The Hulk,” Tamme said of Davis. “The dude is a real beast. If we can get him going, hopefully, it’ll open some more of the shot-type stuff.”

Kentucky’s offense has even more potential if they can get the passing game going. Tamme said quarterback Devin Leary has been “so-so” thus far this season, in part due to his inaccuracy and also drops by the wide receivers.

“We really did not pass the ball well at all [vs. Florida],” Tamme said. “Leary was off on a few and we had some drops. We dropped a touchdown actually, and a couple of key third downs.

“There’s good and bad in that. The good is I don’t think we’ve seen the best of Devin Leary. We saw Leary at NC State excel at a pretty doggone high level and so far it’s been sort of so-so right now this year. I think we haven’t seen his best yet. That’s a positive. The negative way to look at it is, gosh, our passing game is not clicking. It’s just not fully there right now. I do think though we’ve got the guys at both quarterback and receiver where it can improve continuously as the season goes, and if it does, look out.”

Best defense of the Mark Stoops Era?

Helping matters is what’s happening on the other side of the ball. Tamme was full of praise for Brad White’s defense, which he believes could go down as the best of the Mark Stoops era, even better than the 2018 group with Josh Allen.

“Recruit and develop, it’s not just a slogan; they’ve really done it,” Tamme said. “I think it could be the best defense Stoops has ever had here. I think it’s legitimately a top-10 national defense, from top to bottom, across the board. Our defense is going to keep us in a bunch of games.”

Gonna need them more than ever tomorrow. Check out Tamme’s entire conversation with Hester and Doering below. This part will get you hyped.

“‘Believe’ and ‘change the culture’ and all that stuff, that’s in the past now. That stuff ain’t happening anymore. I think the answer is absolutely. I don’t think there’s a word about ‘hope.’ I think this team thinks it can beat anyone in the country, including Georgia at Georgia.”

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