‘All the young guys should look at Ty.’ How UK football freshman made most of opportunity.

A rash of injuries in Kentucky football’s defensive secondary has surely played a role in the Wildcats’ recent struggles, but the absences might also have revealed a key building block for the future.

Kentucky first lost safety Jalen Geiger for multiple weeks. Just as Geiger was nearing a return on a limited basis, safety Jordan Lovett was sidelined.

Those injuries forced freshman Ty Bryant into the safety rotation and then into the starting lineup. Bryant responded with a team-high 28 tackles across the last three games.

“He’s just been very solid, very consistent,” UK coach Mark Stoops said of Bryant. “He’s a young man. For a freshman, he goes about his business in a good way. I think even a lot of older guys can learn from that because he has the concentration. He’s really focused on what he needs to do.”

Lovett returned from a two-game absence to play against Alabama. He provided one of the few defensive highlights in the 49-21 loss with an interception but was still available for only limited snaps.

Bryant has started the last three games, but Stoops suggested on his radio show Monday that Lovett was nearing 100%. Even if Lovett and Geiger are at full strength, Bryant looks likely to remain in a featured role.

Kentucky coaches named Bryant the Wildcats’ defensive MVP for his first start, the loss to Tennessee, in which he led the team with 12 tackles.

“Now it’s about backing those games and stacking games for him,” defensive coordinator Brad White said a few days after that performance. “But I think he can pull a lot of confidence from that game. I think his teammates have always trusted him, but any time you can put that kind of performance out there, it just continues to build trust and confidence that they’ve got no worries he’s going to be where he needs to be and do what he needs to do.”

Bryant followed the Tennessee performance with eight tackles in the win at Mississippi State in his first extended experience in a road game. Last week he led Kentucky in tackles for the second time in three games with eight stops against Alabama.

“That doesn’t mean he’s perfect,” Stoops said. “He’s a freshman, he’s learning, he’s getting better. That’s one thing you have to be careful of: You don’t want to constantly put the cart before the horse, because you want to let people grow. But as far as his work ethic, his detail, and the way he goes about his business, he does a very good job. That translates to the field.”

While Bryant still has plenty of room for improvement, he is not your typical freshman.

The son of former UK wide receiver Cisco Bryant, Ty elected to use the KHSAA rule allowing students an extra season of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic to remain at Frederick Douglass High School for the 2022 season. After helping Frederick Douglass to a 5A state championship, Bryant enrolled at UK in January.

The extra season of high school football combined with a full spring practice before his first college season helped contribute to the maturity that has impressed coaches and teammates.

“Me being here since the spring, since January allowed me to just get more comfortable with the playbook,” Bryant said. “Just be able to play faster. Going into camp, I wasn’t asking as many questions. Of course, I was still asking questions, but I wasn’t asking as many questions just because I’d been here and it was my second time around.”

That maturity has helped Bryant thrive in a situation where many freshmen might have been overwhelmed by that pressure of being thrust into a featured role ahead of schedule. Even Bryant’s mother wondered if his first start against Tennessee might lead to extra nerves.

“I was like, no ma’am,” Bryant said. “I’ve been playing football since I was 5. I just look at it like I was going out there and playing the game I play every day.”

The expanded role over the last month has helped Bryant gain a better understanding of where to line up and what to look for from the offense. Making those adjustments was difficult when playing only sporadic snaps early in the season.

Now, Bryant is likely to get even better with more opportunities.

While most of Kentucky’s 2023 high school signees are set to redshirt this season due to the large number of Division I transfers signed to fill immediate needs, it was clear during preseason camp Bryant would not be among the players limited to four appearances and a redshirt season. But for much of the first half, his opportunities were still limited.

Early in the season, safeties coach Frank Buffano pulled Bryant to the side to remind him the importance of preparing as if he were going to play a featured role, even when he was mostly limited to playing on special teams.

“He told me, ‘Stay ready because you never know what happens in this game,’” Bryant said. “He was right. Things happen.”

Being handed an opportunity and seizing it are still two different things. Bryant deserves credit for ensuring his opportunities won’t end even as the veterans at his position return to the field.

“Ty is a great example for (younger players) right now,” senior outside linebacker J.J. Weaver said. “All the young guys should look at Ty. Ty is disciplined. He’s ready, and he’s hungry.”

Saturday

Kentucky at South Carolina

When: 7:30 p.m.

TV: SEC Network

Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1

Records: Kentucky 6-4 (3-4 SEC), South Carolina 4-6 (2-5)

Series: South Carolina leads 19-14-1

Last meeting: South Carolina won 24-14 on Oct. 8, 2022, in Lexington

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