Bateman Pleased with Kentucky Defense Through Three Practices

Kentucky defensive coordinator Jay Bateman has been in the coaching business for over 30 years and he has worked with a number of talented coaches. As he builds his first UK defense, Bateman believes it will be important to incorporate the best things from his past into the Cats’ defense.

“I don’t want to give a whole lot away, but we had a lot of success at Texas A&M,” Bateman said. “I think we’re going to take something from there. I coached with Patrick Toney and Austin Armstrong at Florida, two really good coordinators, so there will be pieces of that. And then there’ll be pieces of what I did when I was at North Carolina and Army. So I think there’s going to be pieces of all of it that we’ll try to get together.”

Bateman believes that there’s a lot of defensive talent on this Kentucky roster.

“I think we have some good players,” Bateman said. “And I think that some of the kids who came in the portal are helping us as leaders, guys that have played a lot of football.”

The former Texas A&M defensive coordinator mentioned a couple of players that he’s really looking forward to coaching during the spring, and especially in the fall.

“I’ve been impressed with the front,” Bateman said. “Coach (Anwar Stewart) has done a great job with those guys. And obviously, I think Ty Bryant is an elite leader and person and a really good player.”

Although he’s injured and unable to practice right now, Sam Greene has also impressed Bateman throughout the spring.

“I’ll be really excited to get Sam back,” Bateman said. “I think Sam is just a tremendous kid, a really good player. He’s doing such a good job, even though he can’t really practice right now. I’ve been really impressed.”

Bateman is not taking it easy on his defensive unit during spring drills. He knows they have a lot to learn and they are in that process now. But he has been impressed with how hard they are playing through three practices.

“I’ve been really happy with them,” Bateman said. “We’re not going slow. We’re throwing it at them pretty good right now. So, some mistakes are happening but I feel like our effort has been pretty good. That’s kind of been my gauge. As long as they are giving us effort, we can keep throwing it at them.”

Bateman will be looking for the right mix for his defense this spring, and he already sees some of those pieces starting to come together.