Secondary notes: Griffin shining, Johnson adjusting, Robinson progressing
Kentucky's porous run defense from last season is a continued worry going into the new season--though defensive coordinator Matt House hinted on Wednesday that the unit is making is significant progress.
Much less of a concern is Kentucky's secondary, but the defensive backfield was still a topic of conversation after Wednesday's practice.
While far from perfect, the secondary did a commendable job during last fall's campaign, giving up only 2,419 yards through the air. That is roughly 186.1 yards per contest.
The Wildcats return the starting trio of corners Derrick Baity and Chris Westry along with uber-talented safety Mike Edwards. Darius West, who contributed at safety during his redshirt freshman year, returns as well following a knee injury.
Even with the certainty of the starting rotation, the Wildcats' have several promising DB's waiting in the wings, something that secondary coach Steve Clinkscale spoke at length about after practice this afternoon.
"A couple of young guys like Zy'Aire Hughes and Mike Nesbitt they're all giving me a really good opportunity to throw em' in the mix and challenge everybody."
The players mentioned above are a part of a bumper crop of talented corners that are giving the first-string a physical battle every day according to Coach Clinkscale.
A name to remember if preseason camp is any indication of things to come is JUCO transfer, Lonnie Johnson.
Johnson's initial recruitment coming out of West Side High School in Gary Indiana was as a wide receiver, so there is a learning curve for him at the corner position.
"Lonnie Johnson is learning the corner position. The deal with Lonnie is that he sat out a year in JUCO, so he is really getting back to it and got banged up a little bit during the spring. So he is really starting to get more experience at the corner spot", Clinkscale said on the subject.
Even though Johnson is long on experience, Clinkscale believes that he has the physical intangibles to make an impact.
"Lonnie has got a great frame. He's very fast. He is a 220-pound corner, 6-2, he has got a lot of potential."
Lexington native Davonte Robinson, who redshirted in 2016, is seeing snaps as a free safety.
Clinkscale gave an update on the former Henry Clay Blue Devil, "He is doing really well for me learning the system. He is doing a couple of dime packages for us. He is progressing for us the way we want him too."
Despite the obvious athletic talent of the group, Clinkscale is bringing them along slowly. He said, with the exception of Nesbitt, the players asked about were all learning the basics of just one position going forward.
The Nickel
During the preseason much has been made about who is going to play the nickel back when Kentucky brings that formation out on the field.
Coach Clinkscale indicated that three Wildcat defenders are receiving reps in the spot.
"We have three guys really working that position with Kendall Randolph included with Mike Edwards and Jordan Griffin."
Clinkscale also said that being able to use the team's most versatile players at the position will greatly help the defense.
The emphasis on versatility begs the question, what are the exact traits needed to play such an important position?
It is not that complicated in Coach Clinkscale's view, and he used Griffin and Edwards as an example.
"The nickel spot could be a corner or a safety. Jordan Griffin is a corner and Mike Edwards is a safety. They both have corner skills. They both have the intelligence to play safety. So it is kind of finding that hybrid guy. So you are looking for somebody with those instincts."
Essentially a niche player for a niche position.