Ty Bryant had plans to run back both of his interceptions for touchdowns

Considering the ineptitude of Kentucky’s passing offense on Saturday in a 30-23 loss to No. 20 Ole Miss, some great defensive playmaking from junior safety Ty Bryant ended up being necessary in keeping the game close.

Bryant hauled in a pair of interceptions in the first quarter (the first Wildcat to do so in an SEC home game since Anthony Wadja in 1999, according to UK statistician Corey Price), picking off Ole Miss’s young and talented quarterback Austin Simmons. The Lexington native had room to run on both, putting Kentucky in good field positioning. Bryant ran back the first interception 11 yards to the Ole Miss 31-yard line and the second one 14 yards to the Ole Miss 32-yard line.

“It was good to get those turnovers early on,” Defensive coordinator Brad White said postgame. “Ty, really nice job getting the ball to the offense on the plus side of the field, gaining some early momentum.”

Looking back, it’s not a fun exercise to envision what would have happened had Bryant not come up with those picks. His effort to pick up some free yards put his offensive teammates in position to rack up some easy points. The Wildcats scored on both possessions directly off the INTs, putting UK in front 10-0 early in the second quarter.

“They were huge, they were big momentum changers. It gave us a lot to look forward to,” Senior linebacker Daveren Rayner said. “When somebody can do those type of things and put the ball back in the offense’s hands, we gotta continue to build and take advantage of it.”

Bryant credited the Kentucky defensive line, particularly David Gusta with the first interception, for putting pressure on Simmons and forcing him into making tough throws. The second pick took some improvising, though.

“We was actually counting on one play to happen,” Bryant said. “And when it didn’t happen, I just ran up the hash and I seen the ball right there and I was ‘Oh, throw me another one.’ And he did.”

So nice he did it TWICE 😼

📺 – ABC pic.twitter.com/PFWT13rnq7

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) September 6, 2025

But Bryant was hoping for even more on his big plays. He was navigating the field like a running back as he attempted to slither his way into the end zone for a couple of pick-6s. Once the ball hit his hands, the only thing on his mind was running them back for touchdowns.

“I did, both of them actually,” Bryant said when asked if he thought he was going to score. “It’s funny because I just got done telling somebody this story. But Terhyon Nichols, number 20, that’s my dog, we do everything together. In May when we was working out in the indoor (facility), every time we do deep ball drills, I used to try to do what I did today, reverse the field, try to do some crazy stuff.

“But I told him today, if I catch one, I’m gonna hit the near sideline and I’m gonna just try to run and score. Obviously I did not do that… I thought I was gonna house both of them, honestly. The second one I slide because I just seen three big dudes right there, and I was like yeah, just get down.”

On top of his picks, Bryant tacked on 10 tackles for good measure, which tied a team-high and included a tackle for loss. He’s now up to 102 tackles for his college career. His two interceptions were the second and third of his career. There aren’t many positives to take away from another home SEC loss for Kentucky, but Bryant’s play was one of them.

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