Despite the deflating loss to Alabama on Saturday, Kentucky still had plenty to be excited about moving forward, especially given how the defense performed in the first half. During the first half, Kentucky’s defense allowed just one touchdown, holding the Crimson Tide to two field goals.
Even in the second half, it wasn’t totally the defense’s fault that Alabama was able to score 39 unanswered points, as crazy as it sounds. The execution problems on offense created a lot of short-field situations for the Kentucky defense, which is a situation that’s almost impossible to stop teams from scoring in. Among the bright spots on defense was veteran cornerback and Kentucky native Ty Bryant, who got his first career sack on Saturday against Alabama. On Tuesday, Will Stein gave some praise to Bryant and how he has approached both games and practices with incredible energy.
“He’s been playing winning football. Just watch how much effort he gives on every single play,” Stein said of Bryant. “He’s like an energizer bunny. He is nonstop. He runs down on punts. He covers like a pro. That’s why he’s going to make it in college football and the NFL because of what he does every single day in practice and how he competes on Saturdays.”
In his performance on Saturday, Bryant not only totaled his first career sack, but he also put up a team-high 10 total tackles. That praise from Stein comes as no surprise after what he said about Bryant before the season started. He knew his leadership would be valuable.
“Another player from last year’s team I had to do everything I can to keep,” Stein said of Bryant at SEC Media Days. “He represents Kentucky football to the fullest. It is in his DNA. Natural leader. He’s almost like a coach on the field for us.”
Kentucky is going to need that energy to continue from Bryant moving forward because the path to a bowl game isn’t getting any easier.
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