Kentucky defense talks Texas A&M

The speakers blared at the Wildcats practice field as Kentucky prepares for the wild environment that will be Kyle Field Saturday night when they take on the Aggies of Texas A&M in College Station.

With an A&M quarterback-running back combination of Kellen Mond and Trayvon Williams both being outstanding runners similar to what Kentucky has in Terry Wilson and Benny Snell, familiarity was a common tune among some of Kentucky’s defensive players and coaches.

Williams’s 582 rushing yards is second in the SEC only behind Snell, while Mond’s 215 rushing yards is third in the SEC among quarterbacks just behind Wilson and Mississippi State’s Nick Fitzgerald.

“It’s got its own twist.” defensive coordinator Matt House said when asked how similar the Aggies tandem was to Kentucky’s. “They present issues. The quarterback can run and throw the ball, and they do a good job of mixing up play actions.”

Linebacker Josh Allen said he knows what to expect thanks to facing off with Wilson and Snell in practice.

“We know what we’re going to get. Both of the quarterbacks — Terry and Mond — are similar. We know Benny and Williams are similar. We’re going to have to go out and execute our calls and play solid defense.

A challenge for Kentucky will be playing without their starting middle linebacker Kash Daniel for the first half due to a targeting call against South Carolina.

True Freshman Chris Oats will take Daniels’ spot in the first half this week.

“He earned it in practice and in the game. [South Carolina]” House said of Oats. “The atmosphere wasn’t too big for him.”

The Aggies’ biggest weakness on offense is their offensive line. They have given up the most sacks of any team in the SEC.

Allen is tied for the SEC lead in the sacks, making it on paper appear to be an excellent matchup for him.

Despite this, he isn’t taking anything for granted.

“You never know when you stop on the field and play against them,” Allen said. “I’m just going to try to do my best to get back there, and whatever happens happens.”

The Wildcats defense luckily won’t have the crowd noise that the offense will have to deal with, but they are still in for quite the challenge this Saturday against the Aggies.