Brad White says he always wishes he had more time to prepare for the first game and he has worries this year going into UK's opener. (UK Athletics Photo)
It’s game week for Kentucky but defensive coordinator Brad White there has never been a time he has felt “truly ready” for the first game and this year is no different.
“You try to get as many hours in the week and then once you get into game week, you think you have seven days. You never feel truly ready, but the deal is to get as close as you can,” White said as he prepares to play Louisiana Monroe Saturday.
“Then you’ve gotta get to a point where you just cut them loose. You’ve gotta make sure that the guys feel comfortable, they feel like they can play fast. If we have to trim the game plan then we trim the game plan. If they get comfortable and you can increase it, we’ll increase it.
“But that’s where you’ve gotta be a judge as a coach to see what they can retain and how can we play the fastest. It’s not about how much coaches know, it’s about how much they know and trust.”
White has several concerns going into game one.
Cornerback depth — “We’re probably a little bit on the thinner side there but the nice thing is we’ve got guys that we’re really confident in with Ced (Dort) and Carrington (Valentine) and Quandre (Mosely) out there. You’ve got guys that have played. We brought in Jalen (Geiger) when he was a freshman to play corner, so he’s a guy that can play a lot of different positions. Really had one of the better camps, probably, of anyone on defense. So I’ve been proud of Jalen. Need him to continue to make that push. Everyone is a little bit thin somewhere. If you’re not, that’s pretty good.”
Better pass rush — “I’ve been pleasantly pleased with Jordan Wright. I think he’s ready to take the next step and we’re going to need him to. As a rusher, he’s really, really focused hard on that. But it can’t be just one guy. It can’t be just two guys with the pass rush. It’s gotta be a whole bunch of guys that get it and they’ve gotta rush as a group, especially when it’s just a four-man rush.
“You play a four-man rush in coverage, they’ve got to understand what the guy next to them is doing. They don’t just service themselves, they have to service that entire group. We’re getting better but as we get closer to game time, we have to narrow down who those four guys are, those primary four in nickel so they can get a lot of reps together.”
2 Responses
I respect what Coach Stoops and his staff have been doing, and the progress they have made in moving this program from the cellar to respectability. I do not believe we have seen his program find its summit, so I fully expect the next 8 years will be marked by continued progress.
However, one issue has haunted me about his teams since his arrival, and that is a lack of intensity at the first game of the season. When I read about coaches expressing concern about preparedness for the first game, it causes my natural insecurity on this issue to get stronger. These players need to be ready to engage from the opening kick off on Saturday for the entire game, every play but I am concerned that this attitude provides cover for mediocrity.
First game performances overall have not been that good. Hopefully Levis and Robinson can help change that