Jalen Geiger: "I've never had a pick-six that easy in my life."

The game was over at kickoff, but if there was a single moment that sealed the victory for Kentucky over Vanderbilt, it was Jalen Geiger‘s pick-six to open the second quarter.

Up 14-3 less than two minutes into the second, Commodore quarterback Ken Seals tossed a duck into no-man’s-land, one that fell into Geiger’s lap like a Christmas present. With nothing but green grass ahead of him, the sophomore defensive back coasted to the end zone for a free six points.

“I’ve never had a pick-six that easy in my life,” Geiger said after the win. “That was a gimme.”

It was a ball he could sense was coming, but still couldn’t believe just how easy it all unfolded.

“I was just in the flats. I saw a receiver motion to my area and I saw the quarterback throw the ball, so I kind of just broke,” Geiger added. “I didn’t really expect it to be that easy. I kind of just took the ball and made sure I didn’t drop it, just ran to the end zone.”

The opportunity came after Geiger was named a starter this week, his first start as a Wildcat. He’d made plays in a backup role throughout the season, racking up six total tackles (1.0 TFL) in nine games. As a starter, Geiger finished with a season-high three tackles — all solo — and his first career interception.

“My safeties coach, he came to me on Monday. He told me I’ll be starting this week,” said Geiger. “I kind of took that challenge on and made the best of it.”