Hello HOB. Greetings from a picture-perfect early fall day in Lexington. I’m back over at the JCFTC for today’s UK Football practice report. You couldn’t dial up better weather for the Cats to be practicing right now. Sunny, 75, not a cloud in the sky. We’ll be meeting with DC Brad White and select coaches/players from that side of the ball around 5:30 ET today to discuss their prep for giant-slayer Vandy. Stay tuned for the latest news and notes…
DC BRAD WHITE Q&A:
* On adjusting to playing without CB Maxwell Hairston… Thee cliche is next man up, but we’ve been preparing a bunch of guys to play.
* What Vandy does offensively is very unique, formations and route concepts. All based on the QB’s ability. Stretch you out. A lot of eye candy. Very efficient in pass offense. Everyone talks about the QB, but RBs are really running hard, running thru tackles, and putting people on the ground when they’re asked to block. Stowers at TE a monster this year, security blanket for the QB.
* Big deal to get off the field and allow the offense to work against their defense and get into a rhythm. Critical to get off the field as quickly as we can.
* Pavia at QB has a lot of toughness and moxie. Some people kinda compare him to Johnny Manziel. I maybe see more of Baker Mayfield quality to him. When you hit him, it’s like he enjoys it. Infectious quality to him that the other guys feed off.
* On being able to prepare for two weeks and seeing what they did to Alabama… We knew they were good before that game. They were two plays away from winning a couple other games. Nobody on the field was afraid of ALA. They wanted every bit of that smoke.
* Pop has found his rhythm and settled into this system. It was completely new for him at first. Just playing football now.
* On Vandy shifting OL, flipping from L/R… Unique. Doesn’t change much for your DL, though. Ultimately, gotta win your matchup no matter who’s in front of you.
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S KRISTIAN STORY, CB DJ WALLER & LB POP DUMAS-JOHNSON:
DC BRAD WHITE Q&A:
* On adjusting to playing without CB Maxwell Hairston… Thee cliche is next man up, but we’ve been preparing a bunch of guys to play.
* What Vandy does offensively is very unique, formations and route concepts. All based on the QB’s ability. Stretch you out. A lot of eye candy. Very efficient in pass offense. Everyone talks about the QB, but RBs are really running hard, running thru tackles, and putting people on the ground when they’re asked to block. Stowers at TE a monster this year, security blanket for the QB.
* Big deal to get off the field and allow the offense to work against their defense and get into a rhythm. Critical to get off the field as quickly as we can.
* Pavia at QB has a lot of toughness and moxie. Some people kinda compare him to Johnny Manziel. I maybe see more of Baker Mayfield quality to him. When you hit him, it’s like he enjoys it. Infectious quality to him that the other guys feed off.
* On being able to prepare for two weeks and seeing what they did to Alabama… We knew they were good before that game. They were two plays away from winning a couple other games. Nobody on the field was afraid of ALA. They wanted every bit of that smoke.
* Pop has found his rhythm and settled into this system. It was completely new for him at first. Just playing football now.
* On Vandy shifting OL, flipping from L/R… Unique. Doesn’t change much for your DL, though. Ultimately, gotta win your matchup no matter who’s in front of you.
******
S KRISTIAN STORY, CB DJ WALLER & LB POP DUMAS-JOHNSON: