Kentucky Defense After Action Review

An After Action Review, or AAR for short, is a military process used to analyze what happened, why it happened, and how it can be done better. Thanks to our friends at the Kentucky Army National Guard, KSR applies that concept to analyze the Wildcats. Here is the breakdown of the 2021 defense compared to a year ago. It must be noted that UK’s 2020 schedule was constructed of ten SEC opponents and one less game.

B.L.U.F. (Bottom Line Up Front)

Kentucky finished in the SEC’s Top-5 in total defense for the third consecutive season under coordinator Brad White. 

OVERVIEW

Replacing five NFL Draft picks from a year ago was my number one concern going into the 2021 season. The Wildcats lost multiple defensive starters on all three levels. Overall, UK manufactured another upper-echelon SEC defense in spite of devastating injuries along the front seven and inadequate depth at cornerback. The Cats were a different defense after losing Edge defender Jordan Wright, nose tackle Marquan McCall, and defensive tackle Octavious Oxendine. 

Defensive end Josh Paschal put together a forceful senior season after finishing second in the SEC with 15.5 tackles for loss. Ole Miss transfer Jacquez Jones led the team with 86 tackles. He was followed by DeAndre Square’s 74 and Yusuf Corker’s 73. Edge JJ Weaver excelled by racking up 10 tackles for loss, six quarterback sacks and two interceptions. Let’s take a deeper dive.

Scoring Defense 

Kentucky allowed 22.1-points per game compared to 25.9 in 2020. The Cats gave up 3.8 fewer points and moved up from fifth to fourth in conference rankings at the end of the regular season. Remember the significant front-seven injuries? UK allowed an average of 17.2-points per contest in games that Marquan McCall started. That number jumped to 31.7 in games in which he did not participate. The timing of the schedule contributed to that discrepancy, but Kentucky was a more proficient defense with the senior nose tackle manning the trenches. 

Rush Defense

Brad White’s defense saw a significant improvement in this category after surrendering 117.83 yards per game. His unit allowed 156.9 per outing in 2020 for an improvement of 39.07-yards per game. Opponents were more successful through the air than on the ground. This number is somewhat surprising given injuries. A plethora of youthful defensive linemen played a part in this stat line. At times, freshmen and role players appeared faster than the starting group which is a testament to Coach Anwar Stewart’s player development. Safety Yusuf Corker aided the linebacker corps and finished third on the team with 73 stops. Cornerback Carrington Valentine was stout against the run and contributed 59 tackles. 

Pass Defense 

UK led the SEC in pass defense last season after giving up 224.6-yards per game. 2021 saw a decrease in yardage to 219.3 which ranked seventh in the conference. The Cats suffered from a notable lack of depth at the cornerback position. The fact that the Cats only gave up 219-passing yards per game with just three functioning cornerbacks on the depth chart for the majority of the season is astonishing. Kentucky faced multiple highly efficient quarterbacks in pass-happy offenses with several playmakers at their disposal. At times, the results were frustrating. It must be noted that UK’s pass defense showed improvement following the return of Vito Tisdale. 

Led by Josh Paschal and JJ Weaver, Kentucky recorded 29 quarterback sacks. The Cats managed 15 in 2020 for an increase of 14. For clarification due to playing eleven compared to twelve games, UK averaged 2.4 sacks this season and 1.36 in 2020. 

Total Defense 

Kentucky ranks fifth in the SEC after giving up 337.1-total yards per game in 2021. It surrendered 380.7 in 2020 for a decrease of 43.6-yards per contest. UK did drop one spot in conference rankings from fourth to fifth. UK gave up 5.44-yards per play in 2021 compared to 5.48 last season. 

Forced Turnovers

The Cats recovered three fumbles and intercepted six passes in 2021. Those numbers significantly dropped from six fumble recoveries and sixteen interceptions in 2020. Turnovers are random. However, UK’s drop in production in this category was not aided by the offense’s propensity to give the football to the opponent. In fact, UK went from first (+10) to last in turnover margin with a -13. Jordan Wright’s loss to injury was somewhat overlooked. But, the veteran is a playmaker who was sorely missed after multiple seasons of producing havoc. 

Winning nine games with a -13 turnover margin is nearly impossible. This happening was inexplicable and defies all football logic. Kentucky had to do a whole lot of right to counter a whole lot of bad in terms of turnovers. 

What Does All This Mean? 

Comparing the 2021 season to 2020 is not an efficient method of assessment. Kentucky faced ten SEC opponents plus NC State in the Gator Bowl last season. The 2021 Cats played a full schedule of eight conference foes plus four non-league opponents. However, statistically speaking, UK remained consistent and saw improvements against the run, pass, and yards per play. 

The above numbers should paint the picture as to why coordinator Brad White was such a hot commodity and Jon Sumrall’s move to become the head coach at Troy. To summarize, this Wildcat defense was extremely well coached and maximized on hand personnel to become another Top-5 SEC defense. The 2021 defense played extremely hard and for the most part, was in the right place at the right time doing the right things.

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A message from the Kentucky Army National Guard, The Kentucky Army National Guard is YOUR Kentucky home team.  The Soldiers of the Kentucky National Guard are your friends, neighbors, coworkers and classmates.  We are from each county in Kentucky and we stand together to support our fellow Kentuckians in times of natural disaster and civil unrest.  We also serve our nation at the direction of the president should the need for national defense arise.  Soldiers in the Kentucky Army National Guard are able to take advantage of opportunities in education with trade skill training, student loan repayment and up to $60,000 in tuition assistance to state public universities while serving part time.  Do you think you have what it takes to be a member of our team? For more information about joining the Kentucky Army National Guard, Text “KYGUARD” to 95577.  Live Here, Serve Here, Kentucky Army National Guard.