Under Brad White, Kentucky has turned into a consistent defense in the SEC. However, depth has been challenged recently.
In 2021, the Wildcats started the year not sure how much the unit would get from J.J. Weaver who was coming off ACL surgery. Expected starter D’Eryk Jackson was lost for most of the season during spring practice. Then, multiple players were pulled from practice and missed the first month of the season due to an off-campus fight. Kentucky battled through all of those issues only to see multiple losses in the Citrus Bowl.
The 2022 season was supposed to be a reset for the defense so things could get back to normal.