Kentucky Depth Chart: Defense

After touching on the offense, KSR is switching over to the other side of the ball to check on defensive coordinator Brad White’s unit. Kentucky’s defense enters the year with just five returning starters from last season, but there are a lot of players on the roster who have played meaningful snaps.

After viewing two open practices and watching every position group put in some work, here is KSR’s projection for Kentucky’s first two-deep depth chart of the 2021 season.

Field End

1.) Josh Paschal (6-3, 278, RSr.)

2.) Tre’vonn Rybka (6-4, 310, RFr.)

Josh Paschal enters year five in Lexington and the former four-star recruit out of the DMV has been Kentucky’s best run defender over the last two seasons. Paschal is an NFL talent with All-SEC potential. Depth is a question mark as Tre’vonn Rybka and Sam Anaele are both second-year players that are unproven.

Nose

1.) Marquan McCall (6-3, 379, Sr.)

2.) Josaih Hayes (6-3, 314, So.)

After three years playing behind Quinton Bohanna, Marquan McCall is now a full-time starter at nose. The man they call Bully seems poised for a monster senior season. At the most recent open practice, former blue-chipper Josaih Hayes got most of the reps with the twos. Justin Rogers could also be a factor as a zero technique.

Boundary Tackle

1.) Ablue Abadi-Fitzgerald (6-6, 296, RSr.)

2.) Octavious Oxendine (6-1, 318, RFr.)

Perhaps the toughest position battle during fall camp, the boundary tackle spot is completely up for grabs as Kentucky looks to replace Phil Hoskins. Veteran Abule Abadi-Fitzgerald gets the edge due to his length — something this defensive staff values at the position. Both Octavious Oxendine and Isaiah Gibson will receive snaps this season as Kentucky uses a healthy rotation at the position.

Jack

1.) Jordan Wright (6-5, 233, RSr.)

2.) J.J. Weaver (6-5, 241, RSo.)

With only five scholarship EDGE players on the roster, Kentucky is very thin at outside linebacker. As J.J. Weaver recovers from an ACL injury, Jordan Wright takes over the Jack spot. If Weaver gets back to full health, Wright could play at Sam and might be one of the best coverage players on Kentucky’s roster.

Will

1.) DeAndre Square (6-1, 224, Sr.)

2.) Jared Casey (6-3, 221, RSo.)

DeAndre Square is in year four and has started 22 games in his career. The Detroit native is one of the leaders of the team. The Wildcats are counting on the veteran to have a big season. Jared Casey was a four-star recruiting win out of Louisville (Ky.) Ballard and could provide reserve snaps at both Mike and Will.

Mike

1.) Trevin Wallace (6-2, 220, Fr.)

2.) Jacquez Jones (6-0, 235, Sr.)

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the two-deep is that former top-50 recruit Trevin Wallace is in a position to start game one as a true freshman. Ole Miss transfer Jacquez Jones has been banged up during fall camp and that has opened up an avenue for Wallace. We’ll see if the rookie ever gives up the job.

Sam/Nickel

1.) Davonte Robinson (6-2, 213, Super)

This is where the big questions emerge. If J.J. Weaver is hobbled, Kentucky will be heavily reliant on its Medium package which asks for a safety to slide down to play Sam linebacker. With Vito Tisdale not available, Kentucky is currently very thin at this position. Kentucky needs Davonte Robinson to return to his 2018 form. This might be the biggest individual key to the defense.

Field Cornerback

1.) Cedrick Dort Jr. (5-11, 182, RSr.)

After playing behind both Kelvin Joseph and Brandin Echols last season, redshirt senior Cedrick Dort Jr. returns to the starting lineup in 2021. Perhaps the best cover guy on the team, Dort will be called to play a lot of snaps this season. With reserve redshirt freshman Andru Phillips currently not practicing with the team, depth is very thin at this spot.

Strong Safety

1.) Tyrell Ajian (6-0, 190, RSr.)

2.) Jalen Geiger (6-1, 200, RSo.)

Tyrell Ajian returns to the lineup with 12 career starts and has recorded an interception in each of the last three seasons. The redshirt senior might be the team’s best cover safety. Jalen Geiger seems poised for a role as a redshirt sophomore. Brad White and Davonte Robinson complimented the young player on Tuesday and stated that Geiger could play some cornerback if needed.

Free Safety

1.) Yusuf Corker (6-0, 197, RSr.)

2.) Taj Dodson (6-1, 198, RSo.)

Another redshirt senior in the starting lineup, Corker was a blue-chip recruiting win out of Metro Atlanta who was one of the highest-graded safeties in the SEC last season according to PFF. The veteran is headed towards a big season. Another Metro Atlanta native, Taj Dodson is in year three and recorded an interception against Beau Allen in Kentucky’s most recent open practice.

Boundary Cornerback

1.) Carrington Valentine (6-0, 200, So.)

2.) Quandre Mosely (6-2, 185, Super)

A lot is riding on second-year Carrington Valentine to become the next star player in Kentucky’s secondary. Expectations are high for the Cincinnati Moeller alum. Quandre Mosely is back for an extra year of eligibility and will likely be the top reserve at both cornerback spots.

2021 Defense Outlook

Technically, Kentucky lost seven starters off of last year’s 2020 defense but there is still a lot returning. The coaching staff has done a really good job at getting young players reps over the last few seasons and that will pay off big-time this fall.

Kentucky enters the year eight senior starters in the first 11 on defense and that’s not counting Ole Miss transfer Jacquez Jones who could very well start if healthy by next Saturday.

However, this group has more than just experience.

This two-deep depth chart has eight former four-star recruits listed and 10 top-500 prospects. That’s not even counting former high four-star Justin Rogers. The Wildcats have had a ton of success recruiting the defensive side of the ball in recent classes and that is evident on the two-deep.

This combination of experience and talent should give Kentucky an excellent chance at having a good defense this fall. The Wildcats appear to have 6-7 draft prospects for this season proving that some real talent development is going on in Lexington.

The defense could be operating a bit differently asking safety Davonte Robinson to play the Sam linebacker spot so there may be growing pains early. Despite that, there are a ton of reasons to feel optimistic about this group.

Kentucky has a third-year coordinator and a defensive head coach who have worked well together. With the experience and talent combination, this is a unit that could surprise some folks.

Fix the pass rush and Kentucky could have a top-25 defense on their hands as long as the secondary stays healthy.