Kentucky Defense Looks to Break Vanderbilt Momentum
Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White and his team will have their work cut out for them this week, facing a Vanderbilt team that runs a scheme that’s unique. White talked about the Commodores following Wednesday’s UK practice.
“They’re very unique in their own style and how they do it (with formations) and what they do route concept wise,” White said. “Obviously, it starts with the quarterback (Diego Pavia) and his ability to, one, handle the offense and what they do. He’s been in that system, so he understands what they’re looking for. They stress you in a lot of different areas. They are one of the most efficient offenses because they know how to create space in the run game and in the pass game. Scheme wise, really good, player wise, really good.”
Pavia engineered Vandy’s 40-35 upset of top-ranked Alabama last week in Nashville. White compared Pavia to a couple of Heisman Trophy-winning signal callers.
“He’s so savvy. He’s got so much moxie and so much toughness to him,” White said. “No environment, no situation seems to rattle him. I know there have been a lot of Johnny Manziel comparisons, and you can see that (due to his uniform) number and all of that. But I think, my initial thought when I watched him was (he compares to) Baker Mayfield in terms of that savvy, that moxie, the gunslinger. I guess they all sort of fit in that same category. They’re tough as nails, it doesn’t matter how hard you hit them, they’re going to pop back up. And he’s going to make his plays and we just have to make our share of them when that situation presents itself.”
White knows that the Commodores come to Lexington with a ton of momentum after beating Alabama last week. He hopes that his unit can help to break, and eventually turn that momentum in Kentucky’s favor.
“Momentum is a huge deal. They are building momentum, and it all builds on each other,” White said. “The goal for any team is to try to break some of that rhythm of the opponent. That’s going to be our task this week is to break some of that rhythm that they’ve got right now. Easier said than done. If we can do that, hopefully that will create rhythm for our offense.”
White knows what his team needs to do to slow down the Commodores and put the Cats in a position to win on Saturday.
“Really a very difficult challenge for us this week,” White said. “Guys have to tackle really well, we’ve got to play fundamentally sound. We’ve got to be on our ‘A’ game for sure.”
Slowing down Pavia and shifting the momentum in Kentucky’s favor will be key this weekend as the Cats face the ‘Dores.
