Expect Kentucky to use defensive depth against Toledo

Kentucky defense at spring practice, via Aaron Perkins, KSR

Kentucky has more stability on the defensive side of the football but the Wildcats are still breaking in some new pieces. There will be first-year transfers starting at defensive tackle, defensive end, and outside linebacker. Head coach Mark Stoops and defensive coordinator Brad White even plan to use more depth than in the past as UK looks to find strength in numbers.

“We’ve got a whole bunch of pieces that can make a really cool puzzle. But in years past, we would count on 6, 7, 8, guys, and they would play 75% of the snaps, and we’d bleed others in. That’s not what this group is going to be,” defensive coordinator Brad White said at media day.

KSR asked the long-time defensive play-caller in Lexington if rolling with depth was still the plan with the first game slowly inching closer. The Cats are going to lean on their roster depth early in the season.

“The plan is to find roles for a lot of people, and to play a lot of different bodies. It’s not just going to count on just a handful,” White said. “We’re going to need them all. So this is game one and we’re going to find out what we got.”

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Kentucky has 42 scholarship players on defense. The Cats signed 10 high school prospects in the 2025 cycle and added eight transfers to the defense. That means most of this group was retained from last year. UK is leaning on that stability while they break in the transfers and mix in a couple of first-year players who played high school football last season.

No matter who is on the field, the expectation remains the same.

“Everybody’s gonna have to go share the load. Now, are there going to be times where those guys (Kentucky’s secondary) have to go win their one-on-ones? Absolutely. I’m gonna put that on them,” White said. “And they want that responsibility. But there’s going to be times where the d-line is gonna have to go win their one-on-ones in this game.

“I think right now the expectation is that everybody’s gotta live up to the standard.”

Kentucky called upon on veteran secondary to carry the load early in fall camp but now everyone has to contribute when the team plays a game at Kroger Field. White and his defensive coaching staff plan to play a lot of bodies at all three levels of the defense. The plan remains that the strength of the team needs to be the team.

The Cats are going to rely on numbers to find success on defense this fall.