Kentucky Leaning on Underclassmen at Tennessee

Kentucky has more players on the weekly availability report than any other SEC team. At least 13 Wildcats will be sidelined at Tennessee, but it isn’t all bad news.

Kentucky is relying on underclassmen to play larger roles in a charged environment. It is probably going to lead to some mistakes, but this experience should be valuable in the development process. More importantly, these are the guys who will play a role in the future of this program. Some late-season experience for underclassmen is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Deep Rolodex on Defense

Three cornerbacks are out and Nasir Addison was a late addition to the availability report on Friday night. Terhyon Nichols has flashed as a part of the rotation, but this will be the true freshman’s most challenging task to date.

We have not seen Tavion Gadson in action yet this season, but he was projected in the preseason to play a regular role in the interior defensive line behind Keeshawn Silver. He’s expected to make his debut on the defensive line and rotate in with another from the class of 2023, Kendrick Gilbert.

As Adam Luckett wrote on Friday, we’re going to get a look at the future of the linebacker position against Tennessee. That’s not just the inside linebacker position. With J.J. Weaver sidelined, Noah Matthews and Tyreese Fearbry will need to do the heavy lifting on the edge of the defense.

“They need to continue to grow and execute at a high level. They both have potential,” defensive coordinator Brad White said earlier this week.

“They are different style players. Noah is a little more physical, Tyreese a little looser, more fluid. They each bring something a little bit different. They have to learn how to play to their strength but they also just need to do it consistently. They’ve each had moments where they’ve done things well and moments where they’ve done some things that have hurt the defense on that specific play, so we have to get those out.”

Kentucky Offense

Tennessee tried to flip Willie Rodriguez in the final days of the 2024 recruiting cycle. The true freshman tight end should see the most snaps of his career in Knoxville with Jordan Dingle ruled out. I would not be surprised if the Northern Kentucky native made one or two plays that we will be talking about on Sunday.

Hardley Gilmore caught the first pass of his career against Auburn and I anticipate he’ll be a part fo this week’s game plan. Closer to the line of scrimmage, you’ll see redshirt freshman Malachi Wood at right tackle. The PFF grade was unjustifiably unkind to him in his first start. There will certainly be moments where he struggles against one of the top defensive lines in the SEC, as he did last last week, but there will also be some moments where you don’t notice the Madison Central product because he’s getting his job done.

Don’t do this to that kid. Not saying it was great. Or even good. So explain this to me like I’m 6. Because a 0.0 in my day would mean my assignment knocked the shit out of the QB on every pass play.
To be fair, I don’t know the grade scale. But I’m just sayin… https://t.co/ZVVynILprl pic.twitter.com/OEwcaRh2GF

— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) October 28, 2024