Kentucky Football Bye Week Report Report Card: Defense

When there’s good news and bad news, it’s typically best to save the best for last, which is why we led off with the offense’s bye week report card. Now we’re shifting our attention to the Kentucky defense that has put some of the nation’s top offenses in a complete bind.

Before we begin, let me remind you that Ole Miss had the nation’s leading passer (370+ yards in each of his first four games) and highest-scoring offense (55 ppg). Against Kentucky, they had 17 points on 261 yards passing. The same Georgia team that could only muster 13 points in Lexington had 34 against Clemson and Alabama. Carson Beck threw for 439 passing yards against Alabama and only 160 against Kentucky. Brad White might as well be Buffalo Bill because he’s got opposing quarterbacks in the torture chamber.

Defensive Line

The front seven is playing like it’s the strength of the team. It’s one of the best run-stopping units in all of college football. Kentucky ranks No. 9 in rushing allowed yards per game (78.2) and No. 7 in success rate (29.7%).

The best part about the defensive line’s early-season success is that it has been a complete team effort. Deone Walker has dominated without stuffing the stat sheet, although he still leads the team in QB pressures. In each game, it feels like a different defensive lineman is raising hell. Last week it was Octavious Oxendine (2 sacks, 2 QBH). Early on it was Tre’vonn Rybka (2.5 TFLs, 1 sack) and Kahlil Saunders (1.5 TFLs).

It’s not just the wiley old vets who are playing great ball. True freshman Steven Soles has flashed with a sack and a QB hurry as a part of Kentucky’s third down pass-rushing package.

Kentucky has 10 sacks this season, t-6th in the SEC. You can nitpick and ask for more, but I have a feeling those close calls will turn into more quarterback sacks as the season wears on.

Grade: A+

Linebackers

You can echo many of the same sentiments from the defensive line to the guys playing right behind them. D’Eryk Jackson is still doing what he does best, tackle people in space. Even though he’s known as a run-stuffer, some of his best work has been in open space, preventing yards after the catch and also getting his hands into passing lanes.

Jamon Dumas-Johnson did that on his second snap at Kentucky, taking an interception to the house. The Georgia transfer has been as good as advertised (20 tackles, 3 TFLs, .5 sacks). The intangibles are even more eye-opening in how they have elevated the defense. They’re playing nasty and he’s a big reason why.

Lane Kiffin described Jamon Dumas-Johnson as a “total difference maker from a mentality standpoint.”

The mentality: pic.twitter.com/SGRvDsHq3g

— Nick Roush (@RoushKSR) October 3, 2024

J.J. Weaver is performing well on the EDGE. He has a couple of sacks and he’d have a few more if not for holding penalties that eventually served as drive-killers. Weaver is shining because he doesn’t have to do everything for the pass rush. He’s just being himself.

Alex Afari has played a little Sam and Will and has racked up tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Kentucky is t-4th in the SEC with 32 TFLs and the aforementioned four players have combined for 12.5 of them. The only downer from this group over the first month of the season is that Daveren Rayner is redshirting after putting out some good tape in a reserve role for the Wildcats.

Grade: A

Secondary

Entering the season, we knew the front seven would cause problems for opponents. The defense’s ceiling was all based on the secondary. Could they perform at a high level and get opposing offenses off the field on third down? The answers are yes and yes. The Wildcats rank sixth in the SEC in passing yards allowed per game (166) and third down defense (30%).

Zion Childress moved up to nickel and is playing the best football of his career. He’s tied for second on the team in tackles (20) and leads the team in tackles for loss (5.0, t-12 in the SEC). He was a man-possessed against Georgia, setting the tone with five tackles on the first seven snaps.

Max Hairston tied the school’s record for pick-sixes before his abrupt absence. His teammates rallied behind him at Ole Miss and did an excellent job containing their top-flight passing attack. J.Q. Hardaway had 11 tackles and a forced fumble. Michigan transfer DJ Waller and true freshman Terhyon Nichols are still getting their feet wet, but have flashed with PBUs.

Even though the offensive line takes the brunt of the blame for the South Carolina game, the secondary did have a few blatant coverage busts that led to touchdowns. That’s been really the only downside so far for this unit. The big-play prevention defense is giving up too many big plays. Opponents have 16 plays of 20+ yards, tied for the 13th-most in the SEC.

Grade: B+

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Overall Grade for the Kentucky Defense: A

They are who we thought they were, but even better. We’ve seen Mark Stoops roll out exceptional defenses in the past. That’s nothing new. What’s made this such an enlightening start to the season is that this defense isn’t just built to get into rock-fights with Kirby Smart. They brought one of college football’s most explosive offenses to its knees in Oxford and it was good enough to leave with a win.

Unffortunately, Carson Beck and Jaxson Dart aren’t the only Heisman-contending quarterbacks on Kentucky’s schedule. The Cats will hit the road to face Nico Iamaleava and Quinn Ewers later in the season. If we’ve learned anything from the first five weeks it’s that no matter who the opponent is, the Kentucky defense is good enough to keep the Cats in the game.