Kentucky football’s shutout win displays how secondary has gone from worry to strength

Kentucky football quarterback Will Levis noticed something was different only a couple days into the Wildcats’ preseason camp.

A year ago in his first season at UK, Levis made it through the entire camp without throwing an interception. But this year, despite his soaring NFL Draft stock, Levis was picked off by Kentucky defenders twice in the first week.

“I was like, is it me?” Levis said with a laugh after Kentucky’s 31-0 shutout of Youngstown State on Saturday. “They’ve got some really good players.”

Few positions on the roster faced more questions than Kentucky’s secondary after spring practice. UK coaches did not shy away from the concern, either, boosting depth with the addition of three transfers this summer.

The same early impression those defensive backs made on Levis in camp was apparent to the coaching staff, too, who quickly began speaking of the secondary in the same glowing terms it did two years ago when NFL Draft picks Brandin Echols and Kelvin Joseph started at cornerback for the Wildcats.

Chief among the reasons for optimism at that position was junior cornerback Carrington Valentine.

Valentine started 12 of 13 games a year ago but took on much of the criticism for a defense that ranked 53rd nationally in passing yards allowed per game (218.6) and 80th in interceptions (nine). The secondary came under particular fire during a three-game losing streak that saw Georgia, Mississippi State and Tennessee combine for 910 total passing yards. Those three teams completed 82.3% of their passes against Kentucky.

“I feel like every year we have doubts,” Valentine said Saturday. “It kind of comes and goes, and we’re still looking to strive. So we hear the media, but we don’t really take it personally. We keep in the back of our head that every year we lose someone to the draft, or they have doubts about us.

“But at the end of the day, you just got to go out there and play.”

Valentine accomplished that goal and more against Youngstown State.

After surrendering a 27-yard reception to former UK teammate Bryce Oliver on Youngstown State’s first play of the second half, Valentine rallied for two pass breakups on the drive. The second came in the end zone when Oliver appeared to catch a touchdown before Valentine ripped the ball out of his hands as he was falling to the ground.

The Penguins’ best scoring opportunity came on their next drive when a 64-yard catch-and-run on a screen pass set up a red-zone opportunity. A pass interference penalty against Valentine gave Youngstown State first-and-goal at the 2-yard line, but this time he answered by tipping a pass into the air and then caught it in the end zone for his first career interception.

“I think it’s kind of who he is,” Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops said. “He’s a super competitive guy. Just really tough. … Gave up that one shot. But a great one in response, comes right back. And he did that.”

Valentine’s improvements could give Kentucky the lockdown corner Stoops’ best defenses have boasted, but he is not the only Wildcats defensive back to make an impact this season.

At Florida, Ole Miss transfer Keidron Smith returned an interception for a go-ahead touchdown. Smith appeared to grab his second interception against Youngstown State, but the play was ruled an incomplete pass on the field and officials did not find enough evidence on review to change the call.

Five UK defensive backs have tallied at least 10 tackles through the first three games. Even after losing starting free safety Jalen Geiger to what is expected to be a season-ending injury, the secondary did not miss a beat Saturday with redshirt freshman Jordan Lovett and Texas State transfer Zion Childress taking on larger roles. Freshman nickelback Alex Afari led the Wildcats with five tackles against Youngstown State, including a tackle for loss.

Kentucky was one of 15 teams yet to surrender a passing touchdown entering the weekend. That streak continued for the Wildcats as they recorded their first shutout since the 2009 season opener.

“We’re a work in progress, but we’ve talked about it a lot,” defensive coordinator Brad White said. “We’ve got a standard that we’ve set for ourselves and whoever is in the game has to meet it.”

The challenge will get tougher for Kentucky’s defensive backs in the coming weeks when dynamic passing offenses like Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Georgia are the opposition, but it is impossible to argue with the early results. Facing a Kentucky offense with an NFL quarterback and improved receiver play throughout camp should help in those matchups.

Valentine credited the natural maturation process that has helped him dwell less on mistakes and accept receivers will catch some passes as key in his growth. With that lesson, he has taken on a larger leadership role to help bring his younger teammates along, as well.

Continue on that path, and one of Kentucky’s biggest offseason questions might turn out to actually be one of its biggest strengths.

“Coach White does a really good job with scheme and putting a lot of the offense to think about a couple different things they could possibly throw at them,” Levis said. “They handle it really, really well. We’ve got some great young guys, great vets, good balance and just some elite playmakers.”

Next game

Northern Illinois at No. 8 Kentucky

When: 7 p.m. Saturday

TV: ESPN2