Kentucky heads to Nashville severely shorthanded, and the timing couldn’t be worse. Mark Stoops has already warned that Vanderbilt’s offense, led by Diego Pavia, is dangerous, explosive, and capable of putting real pressure on a secondary that is suddenly nowhere near full strength. And that is not even taking into account how Pavia can break through and run for huge gains when the secondary actually does do their job.
The biggest concern for right now is the number of defensive backs listed as Doubtful or Out.
The secondary crisis
The status of the defensive backfield is the headline for the entire injury report:
- DOUBTFUL: The list includes DB #5 DJ Waller Jr. and DB #21 Nasir Addison.
- OUT: Kentucky will be without DB #25 Jordan Lovett, DB #10 Jantzen Dunn, and DB #24 Jaden Smith.
- QUESTIONABLE: DB #20 Terhyon Nichols remains on the list.
If Waller is out, Kentucky is dangerously thin where Vanderbilt can actually stress them. We saw what elite passing attacks did to this defense earlier this year, that slump is what dug the 2–5 hole to begin with.
Elsewhere, #2 Sam Greene (OLB), #0 Troy Stellato (WR), #10 Jamarion Wilcox (RB), #32 Devin Smith (ILB), #53 Aba Selm(OL), #82 David Washington Jr. (WR), and #85 Elijah Brown (TE) are out; and #71 Malachi Wood (OL) is questionable.
Fool’s gold or the real deal?
Kentucky’s recent defensive resurgence (20 combined points allowed to Auburn, Florida, and Tennessee Tech) may not be predictive. Auburn couldn’t protect, Florida quit in the second half, and Tennessee Tech is an FCS program.
Saturday will provide the true answer: Is Kentucky’s defensive resurgence real, or a product of the schedule? With the secondary decimated by injuries, the pressure on linebacker Alex Afari Jr. (Questionable) and defensive end Kahlil Saunders (Questionable) to play and generate pressure is monumental.
Can the Cats get it done on the road?
Drew Holbrook is an avid Kentucky fan who has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time he enjoys downtime with his family and Premier League soccer. You can find him on X here. Micah 7:7. #UptheAlbion