Christian-Young Likes 'Depth, IQ' of Kentucky Safeties
Josh Christian-Young joined the Kentucky football staff as the safeties coach when Will Stein was assembling his first UK coaching staff. And from the time he was hired, Christian-Young knew what his first task had to be – keeping Ty Bryant.
“That was my number one recruiting goal, to get Ty,” Christian-Young said. “When I got hired and then came here for three or four days and then went back to Houston to coach in a bowl game. But when I was here, I spent a lot of time with Ty.”
Why did Christian-Young believe it was so important to hang on to Bryant?
“He’s a really good player. Ty’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast,” Christian-Young said. “He’s got a really good football IQ. And, one of the things I didn’t realize was his ball skills. Being able to return punts, interceptions. So, Ty’s a really, really good player. We’re really glad we kept him.”
While Bryant will be the anchor of the safety group, Christian-Young likes what he has seen from that room so far during spring drills.
“It’s a really smart group of people,” he said. “I love those guys at safety. A lot of them have experience at different levels of ball, but they’re all really smart. I’ve been impressed with the football IQ and the ability to handle a lot of stuff. We’re not just sitting back and playing one call. We’ve got multiple coverages, multiple things we do, different techniques within those, different blitzes. So this group has been really smart.”
Christian-Young mentioned several players who have stood out so far during the spring.
“We’ve got a lot of really good players in that room,” Christian-Young said. “Ty, Jordan (Castell), Cyrus Reyes is another guy that’s played a lot of football. Jesse Anderson is having a really good spring so far. Dyllon Williams, he’s another young guy that redshirted last year that’s super talented, that’s got tremendous upside, I think. Then, Jaden Smith is another guy who I think is a little underrated in that room. He’s been hurt but he’s getting out there more and more and more. There’s a lot of depth in that room and I’m really excited to see how the competition plays out.”
Keeping Bryant was a huge get for Christian-Young and the UK staff. Now, Bryant will lead a smart, talented group of safeties into what everyone hopes will be a big 2026 season.
