Sep 11, 2021; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops looks on during the second quarter against the Missouri Tigers at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops had an interesting story to tell after the Wildcats scrimmage Saturday. Apparently, the defense was playing so well, that Stoops had to stop the scrimmage, that’s when the story gets interesting.

Stoops said defensive tackle Deone Walker was so dominant in the scrimmage, he had to kick him out of practice.

“I had to throw [Walker] out of the scrimmage today so we could get a play off,” Stoops said. “So, yeah, he’s been a force.”

Walker had a monster season last year. As a freshman, he recorded 40 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 1 sack.

Coming out of high school, Walker was a highly touted four-star recruit that lived up to expectations last year despite Kentucky being ranked dead last in the SEC in 2022 with just 54 tackles for loss.

Walker’s dominance is a good news/bad news thing for the team. The good news is it appears that they have found a star in Walker to lead their defense this season and it gives hope that their defense will be better this year.

The bad news is, how bad is the Wildcats offense if the defense is dominating them in practice?  We will all find out soon when the Wildcats kick off the season in two weeks against Ball State.

{Jeff Drummond}

 

About Stacey Mickles

Stacey is a 1995 graduate of the University of Alabama who has previously worked for other publications such as Sportskeeda and Saturday Down South.