White Likes Focus, Effort of Kentucky Defense
For the most part this season, the Kentucky defense has held its own through three games. The Cats’ defensive unit has essentially given up just 37 points through three games (South Carolina had a pick-six against UK in week two).
Officially, the Cats are giving up 14.7 points per game, which is ninth in the Southeastern Conference. However, Kentucky is allowing just 215 yards per contest, which is fourth in the league through three weeks.
Kentucky had its struggles on defense against South Carolina in week two. However, the Cats got right back to work, paying specific attention to fixing the mistakes that ailed them against the Gamecocks. UK defensive coordinator Brad White said that his team has done much the same this week after falling to Georgia on Saturday.
“Yeah, I think they’ve done a good job of just continuing to show up with the focus to be the defense that we want,” White said. “That’s what it comes down to. It doesn’t come down to anything but be the unit we want to be and to do that, it’s about showing up each and every day in the meeting room, come with energy, come with focus. And they’ve done that this week so far. We still have Thursday and Friday left, so we need to continue to bring that focus.”
White saw quite a bit of improvement in his unit last week, but he knows that, no matter how well a defense might play, there’s always something that can be fixed or made better.
“Every game has got those. It doesn’t matter how well you think you played, there’s always things that, from a structural standpoint, from a technique standpoint, need to get fixed,” White said. “There were still plenty of those in the Georgia game. Situational football, teaching moments for guys to understand what needs to get done in certain moments and reiterate that. A lot of times, you hit situations and it’s just so hard to hit them all the time.”
This weekend, the Cats will face a few challenges. First, Kentucky faces a potent Ohio University offense, one that averages more than 200 yards both on the ground and through the air. Then, the Cats face their earliest kickoff of the season, with the game against the Bobcats set to begin at 12:45 ET.
“We play a game earlier than we have all season,” White said. “So, they’ve got to wake up, get their minds right and be ready to play early.”
White knows that if his team continues to have the right attitude, continues to show up and put in the work, improvement will continue to happen. And that’s how the Cats can become the best defense they can be.
