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Landyn Watson knew there would be skeptics when he transferred from Marshall to Kentucky this season. He believed he could compete in the talented Southeastern Conference and wanted a chance to not only succeed this season but also show he had a future in football after college.
Watson had started his collegiate career at TCU before transferring to Marshall in 2023. He was a starter for Marshall last year when it won the Sun Belt Conference and now Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White hopes the 6-foot-1, 240-pound Watson can fill a positional need at UK.
“You watch him, and coming from Marshall, that’s really good competition. That league, has a lot of really talented players. Then they gotta play a team like Ohio State last year in Ohio State,” White said last week. “When you turn on the tape, you see him making plays against high-level competition and he was big and he was strong.”
White noted some might consider Watson a “thumper” but noted that Watson can move and has a “natural wiggle” that can help him rush the passer.
“He’s really bright, he’s conscientious, he cares. We’re really excited to see him continue to build in this defense. Everyday he just gets more comfortable and more confident,” White said.
Watson had an undisclosed injury during spring practice but coaches and teammates indicate he has been impressive in preseason practices this month.
He’s making a lot of plays out here in camp,” Kentucky linebacker Alex Afari said. “He’s going to be a real nice piece to our defense.”
He could add versatility and depth both at linebacker for White’s defense. He’s gone from a high school defensive end to a collegiate linebacker.
“I thought it would be great to add more versatility to my game being able to stop the run. Being able to rush. Being able to cover. Just being able to do anything the coach asked me on the field,” Watson said.
One Response
This team reminds me of Jeff Brohms first team at Louisville. I think they were 10-1 when they played us. Then we beat them to make them 10-2 then they lose the acc championship 10-3. Then they lose there bowl game and go 10-4.? Moral of the story is that the team was 50% transfers. They got off to a hot start I can see us having a similar route this year. I think if you bring in the right transfers enough to change the culture we can shock the world this year. Or we can go 6-6 and to to the mayo bowl. I can see both scenarios possibly playing out.
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