Miami will test Kentucky’s defensive mindset

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Josaih Hayes and UK's defensive front will be tested by Miami's passing game. (UK Athletics Photo)

Kentucky’s strength is obvious to veteran Miami of Ohio coach Chuck Martin.

“Coach Stoops is a defensive guy. They have a defensive mindset. They played tremendous defense a year ago. They run and hit, they fly around, they create turnovers, they get after the quarterback,” Martin said. “Like every great defense does, they are really sound and they’re really physical.”

What about the offense led by potential NFL first-round draft pick Will Levis?

“He’s everything the NFL guys are looking for. He’s big and strong. Six-foot-four, 235 pounds,” Martin said about Levis. “We’ve got a whole clip of him running over SEC linebackers when he scrambles or on design runs. So he is a huge run threat.”

“That’s not really why the NFL likes him. The NFL likes him because you can throw a post route about 75 yards in the air right on the money. So he’s got this big, strong arm.”

“They were really physical in running the ball a year ago. They’ll be really physical and they’ll run the ball again. That’s who they are. They do a great job with their play-action games. They do a nice job with RPO games, they do a nice job with their movements. So you can tell it’s a coach Stoops-coached football team.”

Miami lost five of its top six tacklers off last year’s team and Martin is anxious to see how his inexperienced players will fare against a solid SEC offense.

“We’re gonna see when the lights go on at Kentucky on Saturday night in the SEC. We’re flying in and their quarterback is bigger than everybody in our defense besides our nose guard. And they’ve got skill and they got size and their offensive line blocks out the sun,” Martin said.

Offensively, Miami returns quarterback Brett Gabbert, the younger brother of NFL quarterback Blaine Gabbert. He has thrown for 41 touchdowns and rushed for four in three seasons and ranks seventh in program history in passing yards (5,443) and passing touchdowns.

“He’s athletic, he’s experienced and can make all the throws,” Stoops said about Gabbert. “He’s just a good football player. We all understand that when you watch a team play and you see a quarterback that’s poised, creative and does what’s necessary to lead his team, he’s just a very good player. A lot of respect for him.”

Senior Mac Hippenhammer, a Penn State transfer, had 48 catches for 786 yards and five touchdowns last year. He averaged 16.3 yards per catch.

The RedHawks also return four starting offensive linemen that have a combined 72 starts compared to UK that will have three offensive linemen making their first collegiate starts against Miami. Overall, Miami returns nine offensive starters.

“We’re excited about our offensive line. We’re excited about receivers. We’re excited about running backs, tight ends, quarterbacks. We feel like we’ve been young on offense the last couple years, and now we’ve grown in a time where we’ve got a lot of guys that played a lot of football,” the Miami coach said.

Stoops certainly respects Martin and the job he’s done.

“He’s been around. He’s coach of the year at a lower level where they won at a high level. Then he’s been at Notre Dame, had great success there as a play caller and offensive coordinator. He’s been here for nine years building this program. They’re extremely well coached on both sides of the ball and on special teams,” Stoops said.

“They’re going to play very good, sound football. You’ve heard me say this before, you like it that way because you have to go beat these guys. They’re not going to give it to you. You have to go earn it, you have to go beat them, you have to go play well. They’re going to be very good. There are some very talented players.

“You look at their defense, you look at their inside linebackers, one of which was injured a year ago and is a sixth-year player. He is one heck of a ballplayer. A lot of experience on their defense side. They have a disruptive player in their nose guard, they have a corner that really stands out, and offensively, the stable of running backs, and the quarterback that can play at a high level. They want to take their shots. They’re going to get the ball down the field.”

“They’re very efficient in their run game, not overly complex. They dress it up with a lot of people on the perimeter. They set up shots to set up plays down the field in a creative way which will make us really be prepared.”

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