Key Defenders Preview Kentucky

Defensive lineman Tonka Hemingway and cornerback Marcellas Dial met with the local media on Tuesday and admired the Kentucky Wildcat's offensive personnel.

Kentucky might be known for its offensive line. However, for anyone who still believes that position group is all Kentucky has to show in regards to the talent they possess offensively, you would be sadly mistaken.

Defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway knows all too well what Kentucky will bring to the table. When asked what he's seen from the Wildcat's offense and running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. at the weekly player pressers, Hemingway had nothing but praise to give to them.

"They're a good team, a real good team. You know we're going to give effort, they're going to give effort, and [Rodriguez Jr.'s] a really good back, strong lower body, he keeps his feet moving. [He's a] very good back."

Corner Marcellas Dial will be playing the Cats for just the second time in his college career. Although he'll be facing an entirely different receiver unit than what Kentucky fielded last year, Dial noted they have plenty of speed.

"They're fast, but they're not that big, just fast. They're really well coached, they run really good routes… and they can definitely push it downfield. So we've just got to be ready for that."

Of course, for Kentucky's wide receivers to have a solid showing every Saturday, they need a quarterback who can not only get them the football but put them in the best position to make a catch, and the Wildcats believe they have that in Will Levis. When asked what stands out about the Kentucky quarterback when watching his tape, Dial couldn't look past Levis's apparent synchronization with his receivers on timing plays.

"He's a really good quarterback. He's more of a throw it to a spot [type of quarterback]. If you don't mess up the receiver's timing with their routes, he [doesn't miss] the throw. So we have to get our hands on the receiver and mess up the timing, but he's a really good quarterback."

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