Defensive Players, Coaches Happy to Be in Pads on Thursday
During every spring football practice, there comes a time when things get a little more intense for the defense. That moment happened this week for the Kentucky defenders, according to defensive coordinator Brad White.
“Defensively, it’s fun when you put on pads,” White said after Thursday’s practice. “That’s when you find out who can really play at this level. In the trenches, who is going to be physical? When the ball is in the air, DB-wise, who is going to be able to compete for a ball with shoulder pads on. Life isn’t played in seven-on-seven (drills).”
White knows that his team still has a long way to go, but he has been pleased with how the defense has responded to putting on pads.
“It’s been a good two days in pads,” White said. “Not incredibly clean. We’re still putting in some install and for all of the youth we have on the field, they’re trying to do right. What we’re telling them is, I’d rather you play fast and be wrong because I want to see guys who are willing to strike, play violent with their hands, make plays, see the instincts, then we’ll clean up the technique piece. It’s a pretty good start. I’m looking forward to the remaining nine (practices) that we have.”
Is the defense ready to take the field and have an impact? Probably not just yet, according to White.
“Still a lot to improve upon,” White said. “But there’s some decent cohesiveness for the many new faces that are out there in terms of players that we’re going to count on that don’t have a ton of game reps in the past. They’ve melted pretty good with the older guys we have.”
White was asked about the role that problem solving plays in a defense and he was able to lay out the various pieces that defensive coordinators must solve to put a solid product on the field.
“I think (problem solving is) a huge piece,” White said. “The technique piece is a large piece of coaching. The communication aspect might be the largest. But the problem-solving piece, from both an X and O’s standpoint, a structure standpoint, a personnel standpoint…and sometimes you’re right, sometimes you’re wrong. That’s part of putting the pieces of the puzzle together.”
The Cats will spend quite a bit of time putting various pieces together this spring. Gone are defensive stalwarts like Josh Paschal, Marquan McCall, Yusuf Corker and Davante Robinson. But UK returns players like Jacquez Jones, DeAndre Square and Jordan Wright this season, pieces that will be important as spring practices and preparations for the 2022 season continue.
