Afari, Rayner leading Kentucky's lean but athletic inside linebackers
There’s a different look to the Kentucky inside linebackers group heading into the 2025 season.
The Cats don’t have many bodies that resemble departed seniors D’Eryk Jackson and Jamon Dumas-Johnson, but according to the UK staff, that should not be interpreted as a concern.
Some of the new look can be attributed to necessity, given the style of play in the SEC trending toward more spread offenses that play at a high tempo. That requires a different kind of personnel on defense than what we’ve traditionally seen.
“That’s sort of the give and take you have (in the SEC),” said UK inside linebackers coach Mike Stoops. “The game is more sideline to sideline, and you need that athleticism. It’s extremely difficult to find a guy who can be big, fast, physical, and still play in space. You’d love to have it all, but if you don’t, each guy has to tailor his strengths to the defense.”
The Cats are clearly trading some bulk for more athleticism and length this season. But there’s another component that Stoops likes.
“Extremely intelligent” group
“They’re all a little bit different, but all extremely intelligent and all really starting to play well in the defense,” he said.
The five players expected to be in the rotation as the season opens are: senior Alex Afari (6-2, 228), who began his career as a defensive back; senior Daveren Rayner (6-2, 217), who redshirted last season in hopes of adding more muscle for his final year of college football; grad transfer senior Landyn Watson (6-1, 245); sophomore Grant Godfrey (6-3, 233); and sophomore Antwan Smith (6-3, 215).
“We have five guys that we’ll lean on throughout the course of the year,” Stoops said. “We’re going to need all five at some point. We’ve gone through four (inside) linebackers the last two years and spread (the snaps) almost 50/50 between the 1s and the 2s.
“In this league, the size of the people and the velocity we play at, that’s why you have to have good depth.”
Projected starters
Afari and Rayner appear to be on track to start Game 1 against Toledo.
“Both Alex and Daveren have been really good,” UK defensive coordinator Brad White said. “They feed off each other. I’ve been pleasantly surprised — surprised may be the wrong word — but I’ve just been pleased with them in general. They’ve worked together really well.
“Not just Alex and Daveren, who work in unison. They’re really one heartbeat. They’ve learned to move as one and how to communicate. But even the guys behind them — a Grant Godfrey or Landyn Watson or Antwan Smith — those guys have really gravitated to the leadership of Alex. You can really hear Alex out there more, and you feel his presence with the weight he’s put on in the offseason, and he’s moving around (well). That progression from being a (defensive back/outside linebacker) to being a big, rugged, inside backer. You feel that difference from him.”
Added Stoops: “It’s really starting to come together for him… Alex is becoming a very prototypical linebacker.”
Afari started six games and finished third on the team with 62 tackles last season. He paced the Cats with 11 tackles for loss.
He’s looking to build on that in 2025 with a new physique.
“Now I’m about 230, and it feels really good,” Afari said. “… I feel a lot more confident moving into the box and dealing with linemen in there. I feel like adding that weight was a great thing for me and my team as well.”
Meanwhile, Rayner is one of the more intriguing players on the UK roster. He is undersized, which led to a decision to limit him to four games and take a redshirt last season, but he’s done a lot with his limited snaps as a Cat. He had 30 tackles as a backup in 2023.
“Daveren is an anomaly, a unique style that he plays with,” Stoops said. “But when he’s played, he’s been one of our most productive players. He just knows how to play this way. It’s a little unorthodox at times and he lacks some of that physicality you’d like to see inside, but he knows how to make plays and get through traffic, and that’s a big part of it.
“He understands the defense extremely well.”
The newcomer
Watson may be a name to watch. He has the most bulk of the bunch, and White noted after Thursday’s practice that it may have been his best showing since coming to UK from Marshall. An injury limited his reps in the spring.
“For as big as he is — some would say he’s a thumper — he’s light on his feet. He can make people miss in his pass rush. He’s got a natural wiggle to him,” White said. “He’s really bright. He’s conscientious. He cares. So I’m really excited to see him sort of continue to build in this defense. Every day, he just gets more comfortable and confident.”
Watson, a native of Austin, Texas, recorded 66 tackles and an interception for Marshall last season.
“Very natural linebacker,” Stoops said of Watson. “Instincts. Picks things up well. Very intelligent, and that’s the other thing — all of our guys are really smart, and we can do a lot of things within the scheme of our defense. With Landyn, you can see his experience, going into his fifth year. You can see he’s played a lot of football and has picked up things well.”
The youth movement
Godfrey and Smith lack some of the experience of the players ahead of them, but the UK staff has often praised their potential.
“Grant’s going into his third year, and it’s really starting to fall into place for him,” said Stoops, who noted that Godfrey offers a bit of a traditional bulk they like at the Mike spot. The Georgia native played in seven games and started one last season, recording seven tackles.
“You’ve got Antwan Smith, a really talented young player starting to come into his own,” Stoops added. “Tremendous athlete, learning how to play at this level. It takes a little bit of time, but he may be one of the most improved players from the spring to where we’re at right now.
“He’s just very athletic. Great speed and athleticism in space. And length…. The Will linebackers have to be a little bit more athletic than the Mikes, and he fits that.”
Smith was a highly regarded prospect out of Atlanta’s Westlake High School in UK’s impressive 2024 signing class. White has gone on the record as stating it could go down as the Cats’ best class on the defensive side of the ball.