Cats defense plans to carry the load

By Chip Cosby / ccosby@herald-leader.com

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Stop for a moment, close your eyes and tell yourself to think positive thoughts about the recent history of University of Kentucky football.

Visions of Tim Couch will probably pop up, followed by some of Jared Lorenzen and Andre Woodson. Sprinkle in some Craig Yeast, Jacob Tamme, Keenan Burton and Rafael Little, and then open your eyes.

Notice a particular pattern there?

All of those stars played on the offensive side of the ball.

If this is what you saw when you closed your eyes, you’re not alone. If Kentucky has created a football identity over the last two decades, it’s been about offense.

When the Cats have been respectable, it’s usually been in spite of the defense. And when they’ve been bad, often times it’s been because of the defense.

But those perceptions are about to get a major test. The Wildcats are coming off one of the best two-year stretches in school history — back-to-back eight-win seasons capped by Music City Bowl wins.

Gone, however, are the cornerstones of those successes, and most of them were skill-position players: quarterback Woodson, running back Little, tight end Tamme, and receivers Burton and Steve Johnson. Together they helped the Wildcats pile up a school record 475 points last season.

What remains are a quarterback (Mike Hartline) who has thrown six career passes and a group of receivers who, outside of senior Dicky Lyons Jr. and junior DeMoreo Ford, have caught a grand total of one collegiate pass (by Kyrus Lanxter).

For a program that has generated its buzz on offense, that would seem like the kiss of death. But we could be on the verge of witnessing a shift. UK Coach Rich Brooks is banking on a third straight bowl trip, and he’s counting on his defense to lead way.

Wait a minute. Kentucky football relying on defense?

On paper, it doesn’t sound so crazy.

The Wildcats return 16 of their top 22 players from a unit that made strides last season under first-year coordinator Steve Brown. Kentucky went from 118th in total defense in 2006 — which was next to last in the nation — to 67th last year. Seven starters are back and, considering the youth and inexperience of the offense, the UK defense might need to carry the load early.

While Brown might be aware of the negative perception of defense at Kentucky, he’s not willing to acknowledge or give into it.

”I don’t let what other people say define us,“ Brown said. ”The proof is in the pudding. We improved 50 spots last year. These kids want to be great. We want to have the best defense in the country. I know Kentucky’s been known for offense for 100 years, but it’s our time to step up.“

The players echoed Brown’s sentiments.

”I know we can have a great defense,“ junior defensive end Jeremy Jarmon said. ”Maybe not a lot of people outside our locker room believe it, but we do.“

One reason Brown feels good about his unit is the personnel. Kentucky has had 16 players selected in the NFL Draft since 1998, and only five (Eric Kelly, Marlon McCree, Dennis Johnson, Dewayne Robertson and Sweet Pea Burns) have been defensive players.

But Brown says he has several potential pros scattered throughout this year’s defense. Jarmon, a junior, was fourth in the Southeastern Conference in sacks last year and is already being hailed as a potential draftee should he decide to come out early. Cornerback Trevard Lindley, tackle Myron Pryor and linebackers Braxton Kelley and Micah Johnson could contend for All-SEC honors, and several other Wildcats could get themselves on the radar with big seasons.

”We’ve got guys that can start on other SEC teams, and that’s a key,“ Brown said. ”Usually if you have a great team, you have a lot of draft picks. And we have some guys that will get drafted. That’s another key.“

To turn the corner, the Kentucky defense will need to overcome its two major issues of late: stopping the run, and stopping opponents on third down.

UK didn’t let teams throw it all over the field last year. The Cats finished a respectable 24th in the nation against the pass in 2007. But if you wanted to run, you could: Kentucky was 94th in the country in run defense, allowing 191 yards a game. The Wildcats have allowed opponents to rush for at least 185 yards a game every season during the Rich Brooks era.

”We have got to be better against the run,“ Brooks said. ”If we do that, everything else will take care of itself. I know we face some of the best running backs in the country week in and week out, but we’ve got enough talent up front that we expect to be better at stopping the run.“

Kentucky was dead-last in the SEC in third-down defense last year, allowing opponents to convert at an alarming 45.4 percent clip. Often, the Wildcats were decent on first and second down only to allow teams to convert third-and-longs.

”That can get a little frustrating,“ Jarmon said. ”You stop them on first down, you stop them on second down. Then you think you have them right where you want them, in a third-and-10, third-and-12 or whatever, and they go out and convert. We need to fix that.“

Brown said he doesn’t believe the third-down issues have gotten in his players’ heads.

”We’ve just got to buckle down and have a sense of urgency when it comes to third down,“ Brown said. ”That’s the bottom line. You’ve got to turn the dial up several notches in order to get off the field and get the ball back to our offense.“

In many ways, UK is facing a scenario similar to the one in 1999, when it had to replace Couch and Yeast from a team that won seven games and went to the Outback Bowl. Dennis Johnson was a starting defensive end on that 1999 team and remembers the vibe going into the season.

”We had lost so many guys on offense, the No. 1 pick in the draft (Couch), a big-time receiver in Craig, and (then-UK coach Hal) Mumme was a guy that people looked at as being all about offense. People just assumed we were going to fall off the map, but the defensive guys got together and talked about how we needed to step up because we knew we might not score as many points.“

That year, the defense often carried the load while new quarterback Dusty Bonner and the offense found their way. The Wildcats won six games that year and wound up in the Music City Bowl, and at least four of those wins could be attributed to the defensive performance: a 31-20 win over Arkansas; a 31-5 win over Louisiana State; a 30-10 win at South Carolina; and the bowl-clinching 19-17 win at Vanderbilt.

Johnson vividly remembers the Vandy game. Both teams came in needing one win to qualify for bowl eligibility. Bonner passed for just 141 yards, and UK had only 252 yards of total offense, but the defense had four sacks and forced four turnovers.

”It was a night game on ESPN, a packed house, and Vandy had a good defense that year, too,“ Johnson said. ”We knew it would be on us. The offense struggled, but everything came together for the defense that night. There was definitely a sense of pride after that game because we knew we had earned our stripes.“

The 2008 Kentucky defense says it’s more than ready to earn its own stripes.

”I know we’re up for the challenge,“ Jarmon said. ”We’ve had a great offense the last couple of years, and they’ve carried the load. Now we feel like it’s our time. It’s our time to carry the load. I know a lot of people question whether we can do it, but I believe this is the year we show people that Kentucky can be about defense, too.“

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Cats defense plans to carry the load

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