Cats' secondary coming together in bid to create more turnovers

Scouting the Secondary

The main man: Martavius Neloms, a 6-foot-1 junior, likely will be the go-to guy in the secondary with the position move for Winston Guy. Neloms had 55 tackles (fifth on the team), including 5.5 for a loss and two sacks last season. He had a career-high eight against Auburn.

The supporting cast: There are several veteran players — none with true star power — but coaches like the experience and the balance overall with players like Randall Burden, who had 36 tackles, including 3.5 for a loss with an interception, as well as Anthony Mosley, a fellow senior, who had 34 tackles and an interception. Others returning with promise include Mychal Bailey (58 tackles), but he will sit the opener, and Taiedo Smith, who has been battling injury.

Newcomer(s) to watch: Three freshman safeties will be called on to get into the rotation quickly in Ashely Lowery, Glenn Faulkner and Eric Dixon. Defensive backs coach Steve Brown seemed to like all of them equally and called them "attentive kids, kids who really want to be good" who are learning the system fairly quickly.

Outlook: In a year that's already full of transition with the new scheme under co-coordinator Rick Minter, the secondary also is a group in transition within the transition. If the veterans can step up their games and the young players can be as good as they're believed to be, the group should be fine. If not, it could be a long transition.

The way Kentucky's new defense is designed, every single player has to do his job and do it well for good things to happen.

It has to be a well-oiled, run-stopping, pass-batting, quarterback-hunting machine.

"The defense works as one," safety Martavius Neloms explained. "We all have to be on the same page, working hard, working together."

That's easy for a lot of guys in the secondary, who are some of the team's most veteran players.

Players like seniors Randall Burden and Anthony Mosley as well as juniors like Cartier Rice and Neloms.

But they've had their own off-season challenges learning the new scheme of co-defensive coordinator Rick Minter.

They've also had the challenge of trying to get the freshmen — who will be relied on early because of a lack of depth — familiar with the system, too.

Minter has been impressed with how well the veterans have adjusted and been willing to help out their younger counterparts.

"It's a group that's in transition," Minter said. "We've got old and we've got young and we're trying to bridge the generations."

There are veterans, who have "been around the wars a few times, then we drop way down to some younger guys. So it's two different learning curves going on at the same time. They've got to come together at some point."

They have to come together to form that well-oiled, defensive machine.

Mosley, who had one of the most important interceptions of last season to seal the Cats' win over South Carolina, said this new defense will create more opportunities for big plays like that.

"It's always a team sport," Mosley said. "You have to depend on what is going on up front. A lot of our blitzes are based upon everyone doing their job. If everyone does their job correctly, the play will always work."

But will that equal more turnovers than last season when the Cats had just 16, the second fewest in the Southeastern Conference?

Will this year's secondary be able to get more interceptions than the nine it had last season (the fewest since 2005 when UK had only five)?

Neloms and his fellow defenders sure hope so.

"It did bother us a lot," he said when asked about the lack of picks last season. "We fell kind of low in the rankings. We want to step that up this year, get more turnovers. That's why we come out here every day and try to cause turnovers, so we'll know what to expect in the game."

For that to happen, everyone will have to work together, especially in the secondary, defensive backs coach Steve Brown said.

It means not just the veterans but the newcomers, whom he cautioned are "a play away from playing."

Injuries plus departures have left the Cats shorthanded at the safety spot this season. Players like Ashely Lowery, Glenn Faulkner and Eric Dixon are going to have to contribute, probably early and often.

It has UK "force-feeding the young kids," Brown said. "Right now they're kind of a little bit lost, but we're spending some extra time and they're coming in after class. We have to get them ready."

There's always a little bit of sleeplessness that comes with knowing that inexperienced young players are going to have to fill in at key spots, but he also said it's nothing new.

"We went into last season with guys who hadn't played a down at safety ever," Brown reminded. "It happens. It's what we've got, so we've got to get them ready to go."

The veterans try to keep the stress off the freshmen by reminding them that everyone is learning a new system together at the same time.

"Really it is a learning and adapting process," Rice said. "For the veteran players, we're taking the younger guys in and kind of playing the big brother role, helping them to adapt.

"It's a new system for us, too, so we're having to adapt as well. We're all in it together, we're learning, adapting together."