If the Kentucky Wildcats want to move up in the Southeastern Conference in 2015 then big strides must be made on the defensive side of the ball.
Under defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot the Cats ranked 76th in the nation in total defense and 12th in the league giving up 407 yards and 31 points per contest.
Improving the defense will be no easy task as they will have to replace two starters taken in this past season’s NFL Draft. Linebacker Bud Dupree went as the 22nd overall pick to Pittsburgh, and defensive end Za’Darius Smith was taken in the fourth round by Baltimore and, as a result, leave big holes to fill.
Previewing the Kentucky Wildcats Defense
The defense does return seven players who started at least six games in 2014. The squad is headed by middle linebacker Josh Forrest, who is the SEC’s leading returning tackler with 110 and also added two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown.
Behind Forrest the linebacker group is a little thin. Jason Hatcher, who the staff is expecting big things from, has been suspended for the first two games for a violation of team rules. Jabari Johnson will have to step up in his absence.
Ryan Flanningan has been out with a shoulder injury and his back up, true freshmen Jordan Jones has sidelined with an undisclosed illness.
Redshirt freshman Denzil Ware and true Freshman Eli Brown will now will have to produce at the other linebacker spots.
On the defensive line, Melvin Lewis, a 6’4” 330 lb tackle will be counted on to help improve a run defense that gave up 192 yards per game in 2014.
Seniors Farrington Huguenin and C.J. Johnson will fill the other two spots in the Cats 3-4 defense. Sophomore Matt Elam will be the primary backup on the defensive line.
The secondary starts with safety A.J. Stamps. He led the Cats in interceptions with four and added 56 tackles. Kentucky has plenty of depth at the safety position with Mike Edwards, Blake McClain, Marcus McWilson and Darius West all expected to play big minutes.
Stoops and Eliot have so many athletes at safety they moved Kendall Randolph back to his natural position of cornerback.
True freshman Chris Westry has impressed the staff so much he is listed as a starter. The rest of the corners are a veteran bunch, with seniors Fred Tiller and Cody Quinn, along with junior J.D. Harmon all fighting for playing time.
If a few of these guys can develop to go along with Forrest and Stamps the defense could be much improved in 2015.
As far as special teams go, Kentucky is set. Kicker Austin MacGinnis was named to the All-SEC freshman team by just about every publication after last season.
He set a school record with 104 points and most field goals in a season with 21 and made numerous clutch kicks late in games. He also set a school record for the most kickoff touchbacks with 25.
Not allowing an opponent to run back a kick is always a major plus for the defense.
Senior Landon Foster will handle the punting duties once again. He finished seventh in the SEC last year at 42 yards a kick and had 27 punts inside the 20.
Thanks for reading, next time I will take a look at how I think the 2015 season will play out for Kentucky.
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