Rich Scangarello's Offense Receives Early Rave Reviews from the UK Defense

Rich Scangarello was hired by Mark Stoops to maintain continuity within the Wildcats’ offensive scheme. We were sold on the similarities between the styles of Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay. This spring the Wildcats are learning the subtle differences. Just like last spring, the Kentucky defense is blown away.

“This offense is wild. That’s all I can really say. It’s wild,” said fifth-year linebacker Jacquez Jones. “You gotta have great eyes. I made the joke yesterday that there’s so many crossing (routes), that even the head coach will be crossing across the field. You gotta keep your eyes on him. It messes with your eyes a lot. This offense is going to be deadly. They’re not even halfway through the playbook. There’s only going to be more. I feel like it’s going to be a step up from last year.”

In four years of SEC football, Jones has played in 45 games and made 31 starts. He’s seen so many different offenses, yet every spring practice he’s being challenged by his teammates.

“You have to be fundamentally sound to play against this offense and to stop them, you have to — you, you ain’t going to stop them.” said Jones.

Last spring, the defense had to defend complex route combinations off different formations and motions. Those are still present, but the biggest adjustment has actually been in the run game.

Kentucky has been able to run the ball at will since 2016. Throughout many of those years, UK simply went head-to-head and used inside zone to run it down an opponent’s throat. Of course, the Cats can still do that, but Scangarello takes it to another level. He learned from Kyle Shanahan how to scheme up a run game with extra blockers at different points of attack to put additional stress on the defense.

“They do a really nice job run-game wise. Last year they did as well, but there are some subtle differences between the Rams and the Niners,” said defensive coordinator Brad White. “They’ve done a really good job in terms of being able to target in the run game. Some of the motions and formations, they really stress ya. It’s great for us defensively.”

SEC defensive coordinators have struggled to slow the Wildcats down on the ground. Rich Scangarello is going to make it much more difficult this fall.

“Again, there’s a lot of similarity to what we’ve had in the past, but there’s some subtle differences,” said White. “It forces us as defensive coaches to adapt and figure out puzzle pieces. Now you’re trying to do that with some personnel things and you’re really working. It’s been good for our guys. Our guys have really adjusted. They enjoy it, they enjoy the challenge of it, especially those older linebackers and a guy like Ty (Ajian) who’s seen just about every offense in the book. It’s been good.”