In spring football, there is already one clear difference in Kentucky’s defense
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Bateman named specific players in spring, showing media openness.
- Staff hires and transfers tie to Bateman’s Army, Florida and A&M connections.
- Defense will use multiple formations and is expected to be more aggressive.
At least one change in Kentucky football’s defensive philosophy was immediately apparent during the first week of spring practice under new coach Will Stein.
The Wildcats defensive coordinator was suddenly willing to volunteer specific players who had impressed him in early practices.
“I think Sam (Greene) is just a tremendous kid and really good player,” defensive coordinator Jay Bateman said. “I don’t remember ever coming into a situation like this with a kid that I didn’t really know who like as a leader is doing such a good job, even though he can’t really practice right now (as he rehabs from a season-ending injury).
“I’ve been really impressed with the front. I think Coach (Anwar Stewart) has done a great job with those guys. And obviously, I think Ty Bryant is, like, an elite leader and person, and a really good player. I’ve been really happy with him.”
Listing two veteran leaders as early standouts might normally not be noteworthy for most teams, but Bateman did not stop there.
He revealed that shortly after his former employer, Texas A&M, was eliminated from the College Football Playoff he flew to visit cornerback Terhyon Nichols and defensive end Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace to make sure they knew how important it was to the new Kentucky staff to retain them. Purdue transfer and Lexington native Jamarrion Harkless warranted a mention as an impact addition. He singled out sophomore edge rushers Lorenzo Cowan and CJ Works as young defenders Bateman was confident would be “really good players.”
Cornerbacks Nichols, Hasaan Sykes and Grant Grayton drew praise when Bateman was asked about their position. He then volunteered redshirt freshman defensive back DeMarcus Gardner as an early surprise.
Bateman’s willingness to talk about specific players in spring practice is a marked departure from the interview strategy of former Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White.
White almost always chose to spoke in generalizations about his roster and depth chart. If asked a question about a specific player, he would oblige with a comment about that player, but if asked to identify standouts from practice, he usually declined to name specific Wildcats. Once informed former UK offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan had provided names when asked the same question the day before, White responded by asking a reporter how Hamdan handled dealing with the players he had not named after the news conference.
Perhaps Bateman will eventually adopt White’s interview strategy, or maybe his willingness to share becomes less noticeable since Stein is expected to provide less media access to assistant coaches than Mark Stoops did.
But for one day at least, it could be seen as one point in favor of the idea that the new staff will be less conservative on defense than the previous one.
“I think Jay is creative,” Stein said. “I think he is aggressive. He is also willing to learn new things, and I just felt like I would work best with Jay Bateman on a day-to-day basis.
“And on top of that, this guy hunts in recruiting. Like he is a shark, he is a pitbull. He will go up against anybody, and there are no real tricks with Jay. Like, he is straight up, but he creates real bonds with these players.”
Bateman did hedge when asked to describe his defensive scheme.
At Kentucky, he plans to incorporate elements of the scheme run by Texas A&M, where he served as defensive coordinator for Mike Elko the past two seasons, and parts of the scheme used at Florida while he was linebackers coach there in 2022 and 2023. The base of his scheme will still be the defense he ran as coordinator at Army (2014-2018) and North Carolina (2019-21).
“Part of it is we got to play a game here in a few months, and so I don’t really want to give a whole lot away,” Bateman said.
Kentucky fans can expect Bateman’s defense to follow the trend relying on multiple formations rather than a true base three-down or four-down formation. The fact that Stein and Bateman hired a dedicated position coach for nickel backs (known as the star position in Bateman’s defense) reflects the importance of an extra defensive back on the field in many scenarios.
Bateman’s previous work suggests his defense will be more aggressive than the bend-but-don’t-break strategy so often employed by White and Stoops.
Bateman’s 2020 North Carolina defense ranked fifth nationally in sacks. His 2018 Army defense ranked 18th nationally in havoc rate, a measure of tackles for loss, passes defended and forced fumbles per play.
Last season, Texas A&M ranked second nationally in tackles for loss per game (8.46) and sacks per game (3.31), but Elko called plays for the Aggies defense, so there might not be many hints in Bateman’s strategy there.
“I was looking for a little bit more autonomy on the defensive side,” Bateman said. “Mike was great, but Mike’s very involved. I think talking to Will, just felt like it was the right thing. It was the right time.”
At 52, Bateman is the de facto veteran on Stein’s first Kentucky staff. UK’s new head coach, who ran the offense at Oregon the past three years, acknowledged he wanted to hire a defensive coordinator with extensive experience to run that facet of his team.
That autonomy was reflected in Bateman building a defensive staff with extensive connections to him.
Cornerbacks coach Allen Brown and assistant cornerbacks coach Ty Holder worked with Bateman at Florida. Safeties coach Josh Christian-Young and linebackers coach Chad Wilt worked with him at Army. Stars coach Jay Gibson and assistant safeties coach Trey Odom were on the staff at Texas A&M while Bateman was there.
“The last couple times I’ve been able to do this, I haven’t had that opportunity (to hire assistants),” Bateman said. “I felt like, when I have had that opportunity, we’ve been pretty good on defense. So, that was a pretty important piece for me.”
Florida transfer defensive backs Jordan Castell and Aaron Gates signed with Kentucky in large part due to their familiarity with Bateman, who was coaching in Gainesville when both arrived in college.
Their presence should help bring along the group of returning UK defenders and other transfer additions working to learn Bateman’s coaching style and scheme this semester, too.
Already, Bateman has made it clear he will not be shy about telling players how he feels in person or in interviews.
“The easiest way I can say it is during practice, you’re not gonna like him,” Castell said. “But after practice you’re gonna say, ‘OK, I see why he did that.’”