Kentucky has made strides but help is still needed at cornerback

The spring football season in college football is all about development. For 15 practices, coaching staffs get a chance to work with individuals in a practice setting helping their players improve while going through practice 5-6 months before the season begins.

At Kentucky, cornerback was the main position that needed some development for the 2021 season.

Last fall, Kentucky saw its passing defense numbers take a sizable dip as the Wildcats ranked No. 119 in completion percentage defense (66.5%) as foes consistently had a ton of success in the passing game. Kentucky only recorded nine interceptions in 13 games, and Kentucky ranked No. 85 in pass defended (interceptions/pass breakups) per game.

Looking closer, Kentucky had a very difficult time replacing two draft picks at cornerback and lost two of the three rotation players last season. Stoops and defensive coordinator Brad White made the position a priority in the 2022 recruiting class, but the Wildcats lost junior college transfer Zah Frazier to UTSA after signing day. Kentucky signed two three-stars — Elijah Reed and Andre Stewart — but neither is ready to help the team right now.

They both have some range that we’re looking for,” Stoops told reporters on Wednesday. “Some size. Both need a lot of work and gotta continue to work on a lot of things. That’s one position where it’ll be hard for those guys to be able to walk in and compete even next year at the level that we need to play. Just the speed with which they’re going to see in that stadium [Kroger Field] and others next year They got a lot of work to do.

Carrington Valentine is returning to the lineup after playing nearly 800 snaps. The junior is joined by fellow class of 2020 signee Andru Phillips as two players that could make an impact for the defense this fall.

“As you would expect, he’s taken his game to another level and playing at a higher level,” Stoops said about Valentine. “With Andru, I was really pleased with him. The way he competed. He’s one of those guys, I like his competitive nature. Very coachable and really stepped up and did some good things.

Kentucky took a step in the right direction during spring camp, but some roster-building still needs to be completed. The Wildcats are firmly in the hunt for Ole Miss transfer Keidron Smith after hosting the super senior for an official visit last weekend. However, that might not be the only transfer Kentucky takes.

The loss of Vito Tisdale has opened up another hole on the defense as Kentucky must find a player to plug in at that spot. The Wildcats have some holes in the secondary. Expect the coaching staff to be active in the transfer portal over the next couple of weeks. Even with scholarship capital appearing to be counted for, roster attrition is constantly expected.

“We’ve gotta have some discussions with some guys in the next week,” Stoops said about losing players to the transfer portal. “It benefits everybody to be in there by May 1.”

Recruiting never ends in college football. Expect the Wildcats to address cornerback sooner rather than later.