Kentucky defensive coordinator admits there's only one way the Wildcats can stop the Tennessee Vols' offense
There's plenty of discussion this week about how the Kentucky Wildcats plan to slow down the Tennessee Vols' offense. Kentucky wants to go on long sustained drives that keep Tennessee's offense off the field as much as possible. In theory, that's a good approach to take against the Vols. The only problem is that Tennessee […]
There's plenty of discussion this week about how the Kentucky Wildcats plan to slow down the Tennessee Vols' offense.
Kentucky wants to go on long sustained drives that keep Tennessee's offense off the field as much as possible.
In theory, that's a good approach to take against the Vols. The only problem is that Tennessee doesn't need much time to score. The Vols are going to put points on the board nearly every possession.
What this game will really come down to is whether or not Kentucky can get a few defensive stops.
Wildcats defensive coordinator Brad White met with reporters on Thursday and discussed Kentucky's defensive plan for Tennessee's high-scoring offense.
And White essentially revealed what Kentucky plans to do defensively this weekend.
White told reporters that the Wildcats are expecting a lot of one-on-one matchups. He knows that's not ideal, so the plan is for Kentucky to get as much pressure as possible on Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker so he won't have time to find wide receivers down the field.
"It becomes a lot of one-on-one matchups," said White on Thursday. "Guys are going to have to win those. In certain situations, we can get certain guys protection on certain downs. Unless the rules have changed, I don't think I can help double everybody. We're going to be allowed to only play with 11….guys are going to have to play. Guys are going to have to win one-on-ones."
"You need to be able to affect the quarterback," added White. "Some of these routes are deeper developing routes and it takes a little bit of time. They're going to need to affect that pocket. If it's just a clean pocket, where it turns into a seven-on-seven game, I don't know if there's any secondary in the country that can sit there and hang with that."
White's comment about expecting one-on-ones combined with his comment about needing to affect the quarterback would seem to indicate that Kentucky won't be playing soft shell coverages against Tennessee like we saw Ball State play earlier this season. It sounds like Kentucky is going to try to come after Hooker and trust that they can get to him before the routes can develop down the field.
That can be an extremely effective strategy if they can get pressure. But if Tennessee's offensive line holds up (they've played extremely well this season), then it could be a huge day for Hooker and the Vols' wide receivers (specifically Jalin Hyatt, who is pretty much guaranteed to win any one-on-one matchup he faces).
It's a gamble for Kentucky — and I think they know they're going to get beat a few times — but if they can force a Hooker fumble or two, it could be enough to swing the game in Kentucky's favor. But if they don't get to Hooker, the dynamic quarterback will pick the Wildcats apart and this game will get out of hand in Tennessee's favor.
Featured image via Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
