Flexibility can maximize Cats' talent on defense in 2024

Expectations are high for the Kentucky defense entering the 2024 season.

The Wildcats have 10 players who started at one point last season and have added key contributors from the Georgia and Michigan defenses via the transfer portal, raising expectations even higher after an inconsistent 2023 campaign for Brad White's unit.

With an abundance of depth on that side of the ball, White is looking for ways to maximize his talent, and that includes experimenting with new primary positions for veterans Zion Childress and Alex Afari.

Childress, a fifth-year senior who started all 13 games at safety last season, has been getting significant reps at nickel through the first two weeks of camp. Afari, meanwhile, has shifted from a hybrid outside linebacker/nickel role to inside linebacker as he continues to mature into an athletic, 6-foot-2, 222-pound frame.

"You saw last year when Andru (Phillips) went down in the Mississippi State game and (Childress) jumped in there that it's nice to be able to play him in some of that field overhang, nickel, medium, all that. He can get at times closer to the box. He's got a great feel for football, and that position is so much about feel. Getting him close to the action, he loves that, where he can get his nose dirty."

The 6-foot, 195-pound Childress wasted little time upon transferring from Texas State last spring in demonstrating that he's willing to hit. He showcased those skills during the season, recording 59 tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack from a more traditional safety position.

Kentucky features a wealth of talent at safety, however, and being able to shift Childress into different roles can allow more (and fresher) snaps for players like Jordan Lovett, Ty Bryant, and Alabama transfer Kristian Story on the back end of the Cats' defense.

"It's a good thing for him, and it's a good thing for our defense," White said. "It allows us to be multiple and flexible."

"It will be good for me especially because I've played the safety position, and I know how the nickel spot affects the safety position and vice versa," said Childress, adding that he believes the move could help the Cats improve on the third-down situations they struggled with in 2023.

It's a similar story for Afari, whose athleticism, frame, and versatility have always intrigued the UK coaching staff since recruiting him out of Cincinnati's Lakota West High School two years ago. He made an immediate impact upon arriving at UK, playing in 26 games already with 12 starts under his belt. He recorded 49 tackles, including 5.5 for loss, and a sack as a sophomore.

Now Afari is showing a willingness to move around and play whatever position best benefits the team, competing with inside linebackers D'Eryk Jackson and Pop Dumas-Johnson, among others, and offering more coverage ability in certain situations.

"Everything is going to come down to getting guys in the right situations against the right personnel," White said. "So much is personnel matchups. You're trying to get the right bodies on the right bodies. He can still come in and play out to the field where he's a really good Will linebacker. We preach for our guys to be able to be multiple, and when you can be multiple within the scheme, it allows us flexibility to do different things and makes it harder on offenses."

Added White: "Those are two guys who have really bought into that, Zion and Alex. The more we can do, the more versatile we can be, the more packages we can sort of bounce in and out of, it makes it harder to identify. Just really proud of both of those guys in terms of how they've bought into it. You've got to put in a lot of work to be able to play different positions like that."

Afari said he's grown up moving all over the field, both sides of the ball, so it's nothing new to him.

"I was excited for that change. I felt like it was going to benefit me more for the future," he said. "Right now, inside linebacker feels very comfortable for me. I feel like I'm closer to the ball. I feel like I can use my athleticism and make a lot of plays there."

To help the transition, Afari has bulked up from his listed weight of 210 last season to 222 this year.

"I feel bigger and stronger, faster," he said. You can tell a difference "in my power, in striking people, and in getting offensive linemen off me. I can feel that power."