Kentucky Defense has Plenty of Tackling Fuel

Gas prices may be soaring, but the Kentucky defense still has plenty of tackling fuel. As complex as it may seem at times, the game of football is pretty simple. It can be distilled down into three simple parts: running, blocking and tackling.

Even though tackling is a core principle of the game of football, it might be the least practiced skill at any level. As important as it may be, injury prevention is the top priority in the preseason. There are very few opportunities for teams to tackle. Kentucky has two scrimmages were Mark Stoops takes off the gloves and lets his players tackle each other all the way to the ground. Brad White believes the defense passed their first test at Kroger Field.

“I was really pleased with some of the tackling that we had,” White shared Thursday afternoon. “That’s always the one (concern). You wonder, how is it going to translate? First time since we’ve tackled in a while and I thought we tackled solid. I would like to see us do that again this Saturday.”

That’s a nice way of saying it. Cornerback Dru Phillips described the tackling of the Kentucky defense in much more visceral terms.

“We’re aggressive. We have some guys that want to get to the ball and want to hit. They’re not going to shy away,” said Phillips. “It’s a good look.”

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Tackling has been a long-standing Point of Emphasis

Some of tackling is innate. As Phillips said, you gotta have that want-to. Not every person is craving contact at all hours of the day. The coaches have made it a point of emphasis throughout the offseason and preseason.

“Coach (Chris) Collins was giving us a hard time. He was telling us prior to the scrimmage that it’s going to be our first day tackling, so make sure we get guys on the ground,” recalled cornerback J.Q. Hardaway.

Hardaway said UK’s cornerbacks coach paused the film during meetings and pointed out specific plays where guys were doomed to miss tackles. Collins was using a little reverse psychology, daring his players to prove him wrong on Saturday. It sounds like it worked.

“It’s something we’ve been intentional about all offseason. It’s not just getting guys to the ground, but the fundamentals of doing that,” Collins told KSR. “That’s something going into the first game you’re always conscious of and throughout the season you gotta stay conscious of. We put a concerted effort on doing that and gotta continue to do that.”

Kentucky’s success on defense all starts with tackling. The Wildcats are off to a good start in 2023.