‘I didn’t get my senior year of high school.’ Why 2018 means so much for one UK player.

There’s something about Darius West.

When his Kentucky coaches or teammates are asked about the senior safety, a mischievous smile forms slowly or an eyebrow goes up just slightly.

Like when Coach Mark Stoops described watching a West exchange on the sideline during UK’s win over South Carolina in late September.

“He’s a maniac. I love it,” Stoops said of the Cats’ tackles leader who has 66, including one for a loss, and a team-best three interceptions. “He wanted to rip people’s faces off on the sideline and I’m like, ‘Easy here, big dog,’ you know, but, like, I love that. And it’s not in a bad way, it’s like, it’s like getting everybody to play at a high level.”

Forgive West if he has a sense of urgency this season. Of all of Kentucky’s 16 seniors who will be honored before Saturday’s Middle Tennessee State game, the clock is ticking the loudest for the 6-foot safety from Lima, Ohio.

“It’s just a special feeling for me because I didn’t get my senior year of high school,” he said of being sidelined for all but two games of his previous senior season and senior day. “So this season is real special.”

Senior seasons mean a little bit more when they follow so many seasons of being sidelined by injuries. In his five years on Kentucky’s campus, West has only been completely healthy for two after multiple leg and knee injuries.

“With it being my last year, I just want to take full advantage of the opportunity that I have,” West said. “We all just want to do something special. I imagined myself making big plays in big games.”

It took a lot of time to get those legs back under him last season when he finished third on the team in tackles with 86, including four for a loss.

“He’s a guy that’s been through it,” fellow senior defensive back Derrick Baity said.

It’s not just on the field where West leads. He’s the most explosive defensive back in the weight room. He’s focused in the film room.

“Just see all that work ethic and how it shows on the field,” Baity said. “You’re like, ‘I just want to be like that.’”

Through the seasons of sitting out, through the pain and difficulty of rehab, West never complained, his teammates said.

“I have a ton of respect for Darius West,” senior tight end C.J. Conrad said, noting that all of the players do. “He’s been through a lot of ups and downs here. He’s been amazing all the way through it.”

Working his way through all of those injuries, learning his position and its nuances again, those all took time and patience. Stoops has seen West grow into a leader while battling all of that.

“He’d be the first one to tell you he’s really grown a lot just mentally, putting it all together, and just how hard it is throughout the whole season, concentrating each and every day,” Stoops said. “Meetings and practice, it gets long, but he’s been much better, much more consistent in that way.”

That renewed focus has meant huge moments for West, including a blocked field goal attempt in the win at Missouri to go with eight tackles and a pass breakup. It includes a touchdown on a 40-yard fumble return along with an interception in the overtime loss at Texas A&M.

His six pass breakups on the year are tied for first on Kentucky’s team.

“I like the idea of being a leader,” West said, “but I had to buy into it.”

That’s meant not just expecting that teammates will follow his lead if he works hard and plays hard.

Sometimes that means getting in their faces on the sideline. Sometimes that means a quiet conversation at a meal or in the locker room.

“One of those guys that when he talks people listen to him,” Stoops said. “He doesn’t talk all the time, and when he speaks he has an edge about him and an attitude.”

Secondary coach Steve Clinkscale called West a “no-nonsense type guy.” And when he sees the defense struggling, like it did without him during the first half versus Tennessee last week, he tries to make a difference.

After finishing out his targeting penalty from the second half the week before, West came out and led UK in tackles with six. He tried to lead in difficult times.

“Darius does not take any mess,” Clinkscale continued. “He’s going to work hard and he’s going to make sure everybody else around him is working hard, going to do things right on and off the field.”

West just has a couple more shots at doing that for Kentucky.

Being a better leader has made him a better player, he said.

“I hold myself to a higher standard knowing that I’m a leader, so I try to lead in the right way.”

Saturday

Middle Tennessee at Kentucky

Noon (SEC Network Alternate)

This story was originally published November 13, 2018 at 1:10 PM.