Ballyhooed 2020 recruiting class will be foundation of Kentucky's defense

In 2020, Kentucky signed a top-25 class and appeared to raise the ceiling of the program as the Wildcats inked 11 four-star prospects. In 2022, we’ll see a ton of that potential on defense.

In Brad White’s fourth season as the defensive coordinator at Kentucky, the unit is dealing with some turnover. Stars were lost on the defensive line, and the Wildcats are looking for new players to step in and be cornerstones of the defense this season.

The class of 2020 will play a big role in that.

Hitting on defensive line recruits

After that signing day ended in December, everyone left thinking that Kentucky hit a home run recruiting the defensive line. The Wildcats signed five line of scrimmage prospects, and four of them — Sam Anaele, Josaih Hayes, Justin Rogers, Tre’vonn Rybka — were four-star recruits. Rogers was the crown jewel of the class as Kentucky landed a top-100 recruit out of Detroit Oak Park.

However, no players made a significant splash in year one, but each proved they belong in the SEC in year two.

Everyone but Anaele played over 200 snaps last season, and Octavious Oxendine was on his way to a big year before being lost for the season with a knee injury in the sixth game of the season. Rogers showed some real run-stuffing ability as a zero-technique, and his tape against Florida jumped off the screen. Meanwhile, Hayes was a good compliment as the Mississippi product has twitchiness as a pass rusher. In the Citrus Bowl, Rybka made a handful of big plays as he filled in for Josh Paschal.

The baseline has been set, and now these players can take the next step of their development in year three. Expect the defensive front to be a strength for Kentucky as all of these players have All-SEC and NFL Draft potential. Now they must turn into consistent playmakers.

Quality depth at linebacker

The return of both Jacquez Jones and DeAndre Square will give Kentucky two super senior starters at off-ball linebacker in 2022, but don’t expect them to hog all of the snaps. The Wildcats have plenty of young pieces that can contribute for new position coach Mike Stoops.

D’Eryk Jackson rushed back from an Achilles injury to help Kentucky out to close the season, and his presence was much appreciated in the Citrus Bowl when the injury bug hit. The South Georgia product recorded seven tackles and a huge interception in the Middle Eight.

A 245-pound thumper in the run game, Jackson can also move sideline-to-sideline and effectively navigates the box. Teaming with Trevin Wallace, Kentucky will have quite the platoon at inside linebacker.

Finding answers at cornerback

As a true sophomore, Carrington Valentine emerged as a starter for Kentucky in 2021, and the Cincinnati Moeller product barely left the field. The mid three-star recruit played nearly 800 snaps and had an up and down season. However, the coaching staff still has a high amount of belief in Valentine and is believing that the junior will take a jump this season.

“Carrington is elevating his game like we expected,” Mark Stoops told the media on Thursday. “With all those reps under him and the confidence he has coming back a year later stronger — really playing some really good football.”

Opposite Valentine, there is a huge hole at the other cornerback spot. Andru Phillips is making strides as a redshirt sophomore, and the former high three-star recruit could emerge as a surprise starter for Kentucky.

Recruit and develop

The class of 2019 is entering its fourth year in college football. Unfortunately for Kentucky, that haul is not providing much production for the Wildcats.

Kentucky has seen 14 players from that 2019 class transfer out of the program, and only two players — Jared Casey, M.J. Devonshire — landed at Power Five schools. Meanwhile, junior college products Brandin Echols and Quandre Mosely have used up their eligibility, and only six players remain on the roster from that class. Luckily, the transfer portal helped fill some gaps.

The Wildcats have had disappointing results from that 2019 class, but did a great job backfilling it with what looks to be a terrific group in 2020. On defense, that recruiting class will have its fingerprints all over the defense this season as the coaching staff has developed well-thought of recruits into players that are ready to contribute in year three.

If this class is good in 2022, the defense will be very good.