WATCH: Kentucky Defense Prepares for Season Opener

Kickoff is almost here. The Kentucky defense can hardly wait for Saturday’s matchup against ULM. Defensive coordinator Brad White shared one more update about his unit before the Wildcats return to Kroger Field.

Brad White

Kentucky’s defense has been great in recent years, ranking atop the SEC in pass defense in consecutive seasons, but there are uncertainties at the start of every season. The biggest one for the Kentucky defense is tackling. You can only live tackle so much in the preseason. How it translates to gameday remains a mystery.

“I think we’ve been really good from a drill standpoint, in terms of how we’re bringing our feet, long striding to short striding. I think our guys have done a much better job of keeping their eyes up. You miss a lot of tackles when your eyes go down. But until it’s a live game, you never really know. I thought we were poor in the first scrimmage. I thought we were better in scrimmage No. 2, but when the bullets are flying for real and the pace of which cuts are made, can you control your body? That’s what your’e looking for.

“You are looking for guys that can play with body control and I think we have the ability to be a good tackling team. I’m hoping that we’re a good tackling team. If you look across the country, the best tackling defenses are going to be the defenses in the top of the rankings at the end of the day. You have to limit big plays, you can’t play with bad eyes and let balls go over your head, but big plays are a result of two things, either missed assignments or missed tackles. We’ve got an old enough team that understands how to limit the mental mistakes, but to also limit those big plays it comes down to tackling.”

Abule Abadi-Fitzgerald

A work horse in the trenches, Abule Abadi-Fitzgerald is a testament to how the Kentucky defense develops players. Taken late in the 2017 recruiting class, the former basketball star redshirted and worked to gain strength and improve his fundamentals. Entering his fifth year on campus, Abule earned a starting position at defensive tackle.

“He was the most consistent. What we’re looking for is consistency of performance,” said White. “That’s job performance, that’s execution of what is required of you and then it’s about finishing the play. He’s done a good job. There’s some things he still needs to clean up on, but he’s been the most consistent at the position and that’s why he’s earned the nod.”

In order to take the final step and get over the hump, Abule needed to realize that he was completely capable of being a starter in the SEC.

“One thing I needed to do is work on my confidence and also playing fast and aggressive. I needed to get out of my comfort zone,” he said.

Now that he’s finally made it, Abule is counting down the minutes till kickoff.

“I’ve got the butterflies all week, just been itching to get on the field and just play. It’s been a long time coming. We’ve been waiting for this moment, everybody, especially on the D-line. We’ve worked so hard, we’ve put in work with Coach Stew, everyday all summer from May to August. We’re just excited. We’re pumped.”

Carrington Valentine

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Carrington Valentine is prepared to take on a significant role as an underclassman. He is the only non-senior starting for the Kentucky defense in Saturday’s season opener. Despite his inexperience, the Cincinnati cornerback believes he is ready to play.

“After getting experience in the bowl game at the end of the season, I feel like I’m way more confident now than I was going into that game.”

In his only career start, Valentine recorded six tackles and forced a fumble in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl win over N.C. State.