Beefed up support staff is 'invaluable' tool for Kentucky

Kentucky made zero on-field defensive staffing changes in the offseason as Mark Stoops continues to invest in continuity and stability on this side of the football. But that doesn’t mean some tweaks were not made. Mostly under the radar, Kentucky added two support staff assistants with power conference coordinator experience.

Nate Fuqua was named a Kentucky defensive analyst on Feb. 21. The Danville (Ky.) High alum was a standout nose tackle at Wofford before beginning his coaching journey. The 45-year-old became an assistant coach at his alma mater in 2005 and became the outside linebackers coach in 2007. Fuqua was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2014 and was part of six FCS playoff teams in Spartanburg. The assistant coach made the leap to FBS in 2017 when he served as the defensive coordinator at Georgia State for six season before joining Scott Satterfield‘s Cincinnati staff in 2023 as a co-defensive coordinator. Fuqua was the play-caller in Atlanta when Kentucky co-defensive coordinator Chris Collins was a secondary coach from 2017-20.

Brad Lambert was named a Kentucky defensive analyst in April. The 60-year-old has 38 years of coaching experience highlighted by being the head coach at Charlotte (2013-18) and defensive coordinator at Wake Forest (2008-10, 2022-24), Marshall (2019-20), and Purdue (2021). Lambert coached Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White at both Georgia and Wake Forest. The veteran is assisting with UK’s secondary this season.

These additions have helped free up White during fall camp.

“To bring in two coaches of that magnitude to be able to even sort of cut up the positions even more so those guys get individual coaching from coaches that have been, one, in this system, and then two, in the profession for as long as they have. It’s invaluable. It’s great for me,” White told KSR on Thursday.

“Now I can bop around a little bit in terms of it’s just not the outside linebackers. Now I can bounce to the d-line, the inside ‘backers, the backend, and have some influence in terms of just them knowing coach is all around. It’s not just I hear his voice in the unit meeting room or in the practice field.”

Fuqua has been seen working with the outside linebackers during practice and specifically helps free up White to go work with and supervise other positions. Lambert is working with the nickels to assist Collins and safeties coach Frank Buffano. Due to some recent role changes, analysts can now get on the grass and work directly with players as opposed to the old rules that did not allow them on the practice field. This helps out the entire defensive staff. The same goes for the offense where Greg Frey (offensive line), Kevin Barbay (offensive analyst), and Mike Hartline (quality control assistant) were added to the support staff this season. Barbay is a former play-caller at Central Michigan (2021), Appalachian State (2022), Mississippi State (2023), and Houston (2024). While other programs have decided to beef up recruiting departments with general managers and formers scouts from the NFL, Kentucky has invested in on-field coaching.

All of these support staffers are making a direct impact in day-to-day coaching and will all likely have significant game day roles both in the box and on the field to help out each of Kentucky’s play-callers. White and offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan can now take a more big-picture approach while these latest additions to the staff can assist position coaches daily. The hope is that this assistance will help lead to more success on game days for the program.

Mark Stoops is investing resources to help Kentucky’s coaching staff (KSR+)