Kentucky Football Spring Practice: Defensive-Line Depth Reliant on Finding Consistency

The defensive side of the trenches feature some monsters for Kentucky. But what about the guys around the monsters that also have to play at a high level?

LEXINGTON, Ky. — As Kentucky football churns through spring ball, it's also looking for a fresh start of sorts in the end of March, after head coach Mark Stoops ripped his "entitled" team last weekend, sending a message in the process. 

Offensive coordinator Liam Coen "echoed that message" and was complimentary of how the team had responded throughout the third full week of practice. On Thursday, defensive coordinator Brad White provided some more leadership filibuster: 

"It was needed and it was a great assessment by coach, in terms of...understanding something. There's reality, right? And humility. Those are two really important qualities for guys to understand. Sometimes they live outside of reality and they need a dose of humility."

"It's been solid this week, in terms of effort. Lot of things to clean up. Trying to put them in tough situations with some different calls — I think it'll help us later, for them to feel a heavy dose of stress, maybe more than I usually do in spring ... I think they need to feel getting beat, playing wide boxes and doing some different things in that regard." 

"Has its ups, has its downs, but that's spring."

White went on to talk about the growth of some members of Kentucky's defensive line and the importance of finding consistency and taking the next step. Below are some notes on that as summer begins to rear its head above spring: 

White Challenging Josiah Hayes

When speaking about the Kentucky defensive line, it's hard not to get wrapped up in speaking about Deone Walker, and now North Carolina transfer Keeshawn Silver. Two behemoths that will command attention and wreak havoc in the trenches. 

It can't just be those two, though. One player who White is really pushing to try and reach new heights is Josiah Hayes. The 2023 season will be Hayes' fourth in the Bluegrass. He's made two starts in 29 career games.

"(Hayes) is one that I challenged heavily this offseason," White said. "He knows it and he's not going to back down. I expect a guy that's been in the program this long to be clean, to know their assignments, to know what to do, to play with great effort, to strain every down. That is understood, and quite frankly Jo hadn't done that." 

In 11 games as a junior last season, Hayes totaled eight tackles and had a pass breakup in the season-opener against Miami Ohio. As a sophomore, he managed 14 tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss, a sack and even had a fumble recovery. 

Rivals rated Hayes as the No. 2 player in the state of Mississippi in the 2020 class. The Horn Lake High School product now must find that new gear that make him a mainstay on the UK d-line. 

"He has responded in spring, in a way that's exciting. But here's the deal, it can't just be — eight practices. You think about eight practices in-season, that's two games. I want to see it from that guy the entire spring, through summer, and he knows that. We're gonna keep the pressure on him." 

Preaching Consistency to Jamarius Dinkins

Speaking of towering d-linemen, 6-foot-5 sophomore Jamarius Dinkins is looking to build off a strong finish to his redshirt freshman season in 2022. 

Dinkins appeared in just three of the first seven games of the season, recording only a singular tackle against Youngstown State. His tally for the year quadrupled the next Saturday, as he corralled three tackles in Kentucky's loss at Tennessee. 

He then went on to add five more tackles the rest of the way, including a pair of goal-line stops against eventual national champions Georgia and a sack in the Governor's Cup win over Louisville. 

Moving into 2023, White is hoping to see some steadiness develop with the former 3-star recruit out of Columbus, Ohio: 

"Consistency, that's the big thing with Dink," White said. "Repeatability, that's what it is at this level, a lot of guys see flashes ... they see a guy flash and now there's this huge excitement, but at this level and even at the next level, it's the repeatability of that flash talent. That's where that consistency piece comes in, we need him to be consistent in his technique, in those moments where he uses that length and he uses that body and the twitch that he has." 

Octavious Oxendine Finding Balance in His Physique

Radcliff, Ky. native Octavious Oxendine entered last season with huge expectations, as he was the man tabbed to become the new leader of the defensive line. Those expectations grew when players and coaches raved about the North Hardin High product's weight loss in the lead-up to the season. 

Oxendine dropped around 30 pounds over that offseason and through fall camp. He told reporters he felt "more explosive, faster, quicker" and could "do things that I couldn't do before."

It didn't end up yielding obvious improvement, though. Collecting 22 tackles, three quarterback hurries and 0.5 TFL wasn't anything to scoff at, but it also wasn't the type of production that he or White were looking for. In six games before a season-ending injury in 2021, Oxendine had 15 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 2.0 sacks and a QB hurry.  

This season, it's out with the new and in with the old. Oxendine is working to get his weight back up in hopes of being a more forceful presence in the trenches.

"It's a big part of playing in the SEC, so it's definitely something I need to get back to me," he said. "I feel like putting the weight back on is going to give more of an asset to myself in the run game."

"Ox is a guy that we’re counting on," Stoops said on March 6. "He’s been around here for a few years now. It’s nice to see him make a conscious effort to put on some weight and add some strength and be more of a factor. So, we’re looking forward to that.”

Along with finding the right physique for himself, Oxendine also has to remain a leader in the room, as his veteran status is much-needed to help out alongside the talented youth in the DL room: 

"Just trying to stay ahead," Oxendine said. "One thing that we've been really harping on — J.J. (Weaver) and Zion (Childress) mentioned it last week — just being consistent. That's one thing that we really need to do as a whole defense. That plays a big part in the d-line room too, just being consistent with everything you do." 

Devin Leary discusses his decision to transfer to Kentucky HERE.

More from Kentucky's NFL Pro Day HERE.

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