Tavion Wallace becomes Will Stein's first portal commitment at Kentucky

People say you will never forget your first, and for Will Stein, that first commitment belongs to former Arkansas linebacker Tavion Wallace, according to Hayes Fawcett.

News broke today that Kentucky would be expecting a few portal commitments before the weekend is over, and shortly thereafter, Wallace announced he would be following in his brother's footsteps to play at the University of Kentucky.

Tavion Wallace brings the speed to Kentucky football

Under Mark Stoops, linebackers were expected to get in the gaps and tackle. The linemen were there to take on blocks and allow the linebackers to come down and get the tackles. In coverage, they were asked to be in a zone scheme. They didn't need to have a lot of speed; they just had to read the game at a high level.

Under new defensive coordinator Jay Bateman, that is all going to change.

Bateman will want his linebackers to be able to cover man-to-man and track the crossers and flat routes that running backs and tight ends are known for. Those little intermediate throws that Kentucky conceded in years past will now be tightly defended.

For that style of pressure scheme to work, you need a linebacking corps that can hold up in space. Tavion Wallace has that in spades. In high school, he was a track star and owns a 10.61 100-yard dash in high school. For comparison's sake, D.K. Metcalf ran a 10.6 in high school. That is blazing for a guy who is 6'1 and 215 pounds.

Tavion's brother, Trevin, also had similar speed traits when he was at Kentucky, finishing with 166 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, and 3 INTs. He left early and became a 3rd-round pick of the Carolina Panthers, where he amassed 61 tackles and 2 sacks this year.

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