Leading up to Kentucky’s season-opener against Western Kentucky in Nashville, Tenn., on Sept. 1, Cat Scratches presents an exclusive series of positional previews to prepare you for the football season. Every day before kickoff, Metz Camfield and Guy Ramsey will bring you Joker Phillips’ philosophy for each positional group, a spotlight feature on a selected member of the group and rundown of other projected contributors. First up is a group that has gotten a lot of attention with the arrival of new co-defensive coordinator Rick Minter: the front seven. Linebackers and defensive linemen are typically separated from one another, but with the amount of hybrid players and shifting around in Minter’s scheme, we are going to address them together.Joker Phillips’ philosophy“Up front, we’ve been blessed and we have a few 300-pounders here that we haven’t had in the past that are really explosive, really understand how to come out of their hips, really understand how to use their hands. Those guys don’t play a lot of positions, they either play over the nose or over the guard, so the inside tackles don’t play a lot of different positions, but we move them so much that they have to understand which gaps they’re moving to.”When you hear hybrid, you hear guys that are in between two different positions, so it’s usually a guy who’s pretty fast for the position you’re putting him in, but he might be a little light also. It also allows us to get speed on the football field when you have hybrid guys. The Ridge Wilson’s, the Winston Guy’s, those guys are hybrid type of guys. They’re not really defensive linemen, linebackers or defensive backs. With that, what you get is more speed on the field.”Spotlight: Guy, Wilson adapting to new positions, ready for season to beginWhen Rick Minter came to Lexington in December to serve as the co-defensive coordinator, it was no secret that changes were in the making. Among those changes is an addition of multiple schemes to the 4-3 defensive formation. And part of making those schemes work will fall on the shoulders of senior safety Winston Guy Jr., and junior linebacker Ridge Wilson.In years past, Guy, who stands at 6-foot-1, 216 pounds, roamed around the secondary

looking to break up passes. But in 2011, Guy will be closer to the line of scrimmage, playing a hybrid safety/linebacker position that will allow him to be featured in more plays.Wilson, a 6-foot-3, 243-pound linebacker from Louisville, Ky., will also be making a switch. After playing the first 24 games of his career at linebacker and excelling at the strong side, Wilson has moved to a new hybrid linebacker/defensive end spot that will give the Wildcats a lot of speed in their pass rush.”He fits the physical description,” co-defensive coordinator Rick Minter said. “He’s played some linebacker and can rush the passer. He’s in between a defensive end and a linebacker so he fits the description quite nicely that we’re looking for.”The advantages of having Guy closer to the line are obvious. A blazing fast player who finished second in total tackles in the Southeastern Conference one year ago among returning players, moving Guy closer to the football will enable the Wildcats to bring a lot of speed to the opposing quarterback on blitz packages.”He plays as aggressively as anyone I’ve been around in a long time,” Minter said. “I’m very happy with his progress where he is and he’s come along nicely, getting a better grasp of what we’re trying to get done and what his role is in the defense.”For Guy, the change in position comes just months after he went through the National Football League evaluation process. After hearing what the scouts had to say, Guy decided to return and now enters the 2011 season with a new position to play on defense, but one that he is familiar with after playing the role in high school.Smith talks openly about how much it appears as though Guy and Wilson are both enjoying the position changes and are having fun with the transition. Going through the daily grinds of camp, a camp Guy says is the hardest he’s gone through while at Kentucky, a fresh new position could be a healthy change of pace. While there are always growing pains when trying out something new, Guy says that won’t deter him from still going full speed on the field.”I’m just going to try and let my actions speak for themselves,” Guy said. “I try to go hard every day and every play. I make some mistakes, but I know what mistakes I make and I correct them and my coaches correct me. Even if I mess up I’m still going to go hard and try to correct the mistakes I’ve done.”For Wilson, the move closer to the line is one that comes after a strong finish to the 2010 season. In Wilson’s final three games he recorded 19 of his 30 tackles and all three of this tackles for losses. The hardest part of the move, Wilson says, is learning the 17-18 installations. When watching practice or scrimmages, it appears as though the defense is running around in every direction possible. In reality, they are, but it’s organized chaos.”We’re a lot faster,” Wilson said. “When you move guys closer to the ball you become a lot faster, like moving me to a defensive end/pass rusher and Winston to linebacker/safety.”While Wilson may not be 250 pounds, he said he feels like a pass rusher. The skeptics will point to his size and say he will get pushed around at the line of scrimmage and not be able to get through to the quarterback. Wilson said that’s fine, he’s just ready to play and let the results do the talking.”I’m pretty sure we have a lot of teams and players out there who are doubting us,” Wilson said. “They’re saying we’re too small and this and that. All I can do is show you, I mean I’m ready to play. I’ll let the pads and the game speak for itself.”Other contributorsSenior linebacker Danny Trevathan – Deservedly, Trevathan has been recognized by multiple outlets as one of the best linebackers nationally and one of the top players in the SEC. He is the best player on UK’s defense and the hope is that Minter’s new scheme will allow him to make even more plays than he did last season as a member of multiple All-SEC teams and a first team All-American, according to CollegeFootballNews.com.Senior linebacker Ronnie Sneed – Sneed doesn’t get the same attention as Trevathan, but his role as a defensive leader should not be understated. He is responsible for many of the team’s defensive calls and is a solid presence in the middle. He has dealt with minor injury in fall camp, but will look to build on last season when he started all 13 games and was third on the team with 62 tackles.Junior defensive end Collins Ukwu – The 6-foot-5, 258-pounder has worked hard to develop his body since arriving in Lexington and has earned rave reviews for both his play and leadership during fall camp. In just two seasons, he has played in 26 games and made 16 starts, so he has plenty of experience. He has a pair of sacks in those 26 games and will look to develop as a pass rusher, though his role against the run will be very important in the new defense.Junior defensive end/defensive tackle Taylor Wyndham – Wyndham moved from linebacker to defensive end when he arrived at UK and now is spending time at tackle as well. He earned freshman All-America honors according to some outlets in 2009 and looks set to split time between tackle and end this year.Sophomore defensive tackle Mister Cobble – Cobble sat out most of his freshman season due to academic issues, but hit the field for the BBVA Compass Bowl before sustaining a shoulder injury in the spring. He has recovered and is a prototypical size for the tackle position. His squat 6-foot, 332-pound frame should allow him to play nose tackle in a 3-4 alignment or either tackle position in a traditional four-man front.Sophomore defensive tackle Donte Rumph – As long as the wait was for Cobble, it was even longer for Rumph. Like Cobble, he passes the eye test for a defensive tackle. He has built strength since arriving on campus and will look to improve on his form from last season when made 12 tackles in 12 games with much of his production coming late in the season.Senior defensive tackle Luke McDermott – Unexpectedly, McDermott contributed last season and even made five starts. He’s slightly undersized for the tackle position, but makes up for it with his motor. Cobble and Rumph have a lot of hype, but supplanting McDermott in the rotation won’t be easy. Freshman defensive end/linebacker Justin Henderson – Henderson is another hybrid type that could figure into UK’s pass rush. He gained notice by making a number of plays during UK’s spring game.Sophomore linebacker Avery Williamson – Williamson played in all 13 games last year and was Sneed’s primary backup at middle linebacker. He will play on defense, but his main role will be on special teams unless injuries occur.LinksCobble, Rumph out to prove long wait was worthwhile (Guy Ramsey, UK Athletics) Ronnie Sneed is UK’s ‘old man’ (Jody Demling, Louisville Courier-Journal) Learning Kentucky’s new defense ‘an upper level course’ (Jen Smith, Lexington Herald-Leader)