Landon Young arrived at Kentucky over the summer with high expectations. It's safe to say he's living up to them so far.

The true freshman from the Cats' backyard is just a few months removed from attending Lafayette High School. He's now faced two of the nation's top defensive lines and is gaining valuable experience.

Young didn't benefit from an extra semester, as did fellow Class of 2016 prospects Kash Daniel, Drake Jackson and others.

But because of an injury to Cole Mosier, Kentucky's starting left tackle, Young has had an opportunity to play early anyways. He moved past junior college offensive tackle transfer Tate Leavitt on the depth chart not long after arriving to join the team.

Young has had his ups and downs as one would expect from a true freshman in the SEC. But considering the competition -- Florida's defensive line in the Swamp, South Carolina's defensive line, and Alabama's in Tuscaloosa -- Young has held up remarkably well.

The coaches have spoken a lot about Young this week. Mark Stoops has praised Young's play, and he's also praised his freshman's psyche, saying he won't be intimidated the any atmosphere or stage he finds himself a part of.

Eddie Gran echoed that on Tuesday.

"I grabbed him around the neck the other day and told him what a great job he's doing. It's tough, you know. A left tackle is like a corner. He's like the quarterback, everybody knows, everybody sees it. You've got to have a short-term memory. He's going to continue to grow and get better. I just told him, 'You're doing a great job, keep working.' What he does is he sees what he does wrong and he usually fixes it," Gran said. "He's had two opportunities that not many freshmen get and I think he's embracing it."

Young spoke with the media on Tuesday and was in a reflective mood. Facing a player like Alabama's Tim Williams or some of the other Tide defensive linemen he saw on Saturday will tend to do that.

He struck the tone of a player who seems eager to learn.

"Against number 56 (for Alabama) ... I need to speed my set up and improve on staying low so I don't get bull rushed and so I don't get beat on the outside," Young said. "I think it will help a lot. I really hope by the time I get to my junior or senior year I'm put in it again because that's the only way to be the best is to go against the best. That's how I'm going to continue to improve my game, is by going against the best guys I can."

But what happens with Mosier returning?

"What it does it is just gives us that depth," Gran said on Tuesday. "You've got a fresher Landon, you've got a fresher Cole. It helps us in terms of the depth and then the plays that they're going to get. You don't have to play Landon 60 plays, you don't have to play Cole 60 plays."