It is no surprise that Frederick Douglass junior Ty Bryant is a terrific tackler and will soon be the all-time leading tackler for the Broncos.
     He started learning how to tackle when he was 3 or 4 years old and his father, former Bowling Green High School and University of Kentucky player Cisco Bryant, started teaching him how to tackle.
     “He always talked about stepping on their toes and wrapping up. I have worked on that since I was 3 or 4. I take pride in tacking,” said Bryant. “I like the ball in my hands the most but I really like tackling too.”
     Kentucky is counting on him to be tackling a lot in the future after he recently made his verbal commitment to the Wildcats. He grew up a Kentucky fan and says he knew after attending UK’s summer camp that he was going to be a Wildcat.
     “I just wanted to go ahead and lock in my spot so I could just have fun and play football the next two years,” Ty Bryant said. “Growing up in Lexington you see a lot of things Kentucky has to offer and I just wanted to officially be part of the family.”
     The 6-0, 175-pound Bryant ran the 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds. He had offers from Cincinnati, West Virginia, Tennessee, Maryland, Kanas, Dartmouth, Marshall, Toledo, Air Force, Western Kentucky, Austin Peay, UT-Martin and Eastern Kentucky.
     Ty Bryant is taking the do-over year since he turned 17 only two days before the season started.
     “It’s more for the development of my body. It’s not mentally. I am ready mentally but staying back another year lets me get bigger, stronger and faster. I want to have an impact as a true freshman,” Bryant said. “I want to be the best DB (defensive back) bar none when I get to Kentucky. This way I will continue to train with my dad and get bigger, stronger and faster.”
     His father, Cisco, was a receiver at Kentucky from 1983-85 under coach Jerry Claiborne. The former UK receiver said the workouts with his son were always short and never more than two or three times per week.
     “After our workouts when he was little, he would go climb trees, ride bikes and hang out with his friends,” Cisco Bryant said.
     The two were always competitive. Ty Bryant says his dad would never intentionally let him win anything.

     Two players not being talked about a lot even with all the hype over John Calipari’s team are sophomore Lance Ware and freshman Bryce Hopkins. However, ESPN college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg expects both to be contributors this season.
     Ware will likely be the backup for center Oscar Tshiebwe and bring toughness that the Cats need.
     “I love Lance Ware. He is just a guy who competes his ass off. He needs to finish better at the baseline than he did last year and he can,” Greenberg said. “But you know he is going to throw his body around and carve out space inside and bang and do all he needs to do. It’s nice to have a guy coming off the bench who can change the way the team is and he can do it with how he plays.”
     Hopkins is a five-star forward who Greenberg compares to two former Cats — P.J. Washington and Terrence Jones. If he’s in that mode, he is going to help.
     “He needs to get in a little better shape. He is not as athletic yet as you would like him to be, but from all I have been hearing he is going to be a really good player. He’s really skilled and Cal seems to like him a lot,” Greenberg said.

     Going into the season Kentucky offensive tackle Darian Kinnard could become just the second UK football player ever to be named an Associated Press All-American (first, second or third team) twice.
     The only one so far — Derek Abney. He was named AP first team All-American in 2002 and AP second team in 2003 as a kick returner. In 2002, Abney had 40 receptions for 569 yards and and four scores, returned 30 kickoffs for 804 yards and two scores, and returned 36 punts for 544 yards and four more scores. In 2003 he had 32 kickoff returns for 772 yards, 29 punt returns for 285 yards and one score, and 51 catches for 616 yards.
     Kinnard has been ranked as the best returning run blocker in college football by Pro Football Focus and is a consensus preseason All-American.

     Quarterback Will Levis, a Penn State transfer, will be looking for big numbers this season as he pursues future NFL career opportunities.
     Sixty-five FBS quarterbacks threw for at least 2,500 yards in 2019 — the last full collegiate season — and another threw for at least 2,000 yards. Can Kentucky do that? If UK plays 13 games by going to a bowl, Levis would need to average about 192 yards passing per game to reach 2,500 yards if he plays in all 13 games.
     Terry Wilson threw for 1,187 yards in 2020 and 1,889 yards in 2018. Stephen Johnson threw for 1,605 yards in 2017 and 2,037 in 2016. Think back to 2014 when Patrick Towles threw for 2,718 yards.
     “I haven’t been around many quarterbacks who throws the ball the way he does. It’s something special,” UK receiver Wan’Dale Robinson said.
     Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated has the UK quarterback included on his list of the 25 most intriguing players for the 2021 season.
     With new offensive coordinator Liam Coen running the offense and UK seeming to have more big-play options at receiver, Levis’ passing total — if he is healthy — has to be at least 2,500 yards or I think a lot of UK fans will be disappointed.
     “I am excited to see what we are going to do with this offense. Coach Coen brought me in because my strengths suit this offense as a whole and I think we can put up big numbers,” Levis said.
     Levis could have three years of eligibility at Kentucky but he has indicated two years is all he plans to play before hopefully being ready for the NFL.
     He is the 15th different starting quarterback Kentucky has had since 2008 after Andre Woodson started 37 straight games from 2005-2007. However, Levis has convinced UK coaches and players he can be special.
     Others, like former Florida quarterback Shane Matthews, remain skeptical.
     “Until they can complete a forward pass, I have a hard time looking at Kentucky as a team that can beat us,” Matthews, a 14-year NFL veteran, said on a Florida football podcast.

     What kind of interests does senior All-American Alli Stumler have when she is not playing volleyball?
     “There is a lot. Giving back is number one,” Stumler said. “I try to make that a priority. UK volleyball and athletics are known around the state and country. I love giving back through community service, church.
     “I also love hiking, being on the lake, enjoying nature. It’s a good way for me to release (stress).”
     Teammate Azhani Tealer added one more off-court passion that Stumler failed to mention.
     “Alli likes to shop now,” Tealer said.
     Stumler also likes the way winning the national championship last season made Kentucky volleyball more popular on campus. She says any time she wears a Kentucky volleyball shirt students may not recognize her face or name but they are excited about volleyball in general.
     “They will ask if you were on the team last year,” Stumler said. “People just love it. We have all worked to make the team known. To be recognized for what we did last year is special.”
     Kentucky opened the season last weekend by sweeping three matches in the Dayton Invitational. The first home match is Friday at 7:30 p.m. EST against Iowa in the Bluegrass Battle. Prior to the match, UK will unveil its 2020 NCAA National Championship banner.
     “It was a dream come true (winning the title),” coach Craig Skinner said. “For us to hang that banner is going to be very special. We will not take it for granted. We are not going to shy away from celebrating our national championship. We are proud of that result and are going to do everything we can to do it again.”

     With all the attention on quarterback Will Levis going into UK’s first game on Saturday, the Penn State transfer’s success could depend a lot on how good Nebraska transfer Wan’Dale Robinson is.
     The former Western Hills standout was a one-time UK commit before changing his mind. He had two solid seasons at Nebraska but opted to transfer to UK in the offseason and new offensive coordinator Liam Coen is counting on the junior receiver to be a difference maker.
     Kentucky recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow always felt that way about Robinson, one reason he welcomed Robinson back when he wanted to transfer to UK.
     “He’s a professional young man. A lot guys with that type of talent you would think that they have a chip on their shoulder or they are arrogant, but he’s a class act,” Marrow said.
     “He broke my heart two years ago, but he came back and the whole state is excited that he’s back. He didn’t want his teammates to think something was given to him so he came in and earned it the right way, just like (quarterback) Will (Levis) did.”

  Quotes of the Week

Quote of the Week 1:

     "He moves faster than any human that size should. He's a hard man to block,” UK center Luke Fortner on UK defensive line Marquan McCall.

Quote of the Week 2:

     “He makes things very intense. He is all about getting stuff done. He is not going to let you lolly gag around. He’s been in the pros and knows what it takes to be a great player,” UK guard Eli Cox on offensive line coach Eric Wolford.

Quote of the Week 3:

     “They are conscientious. They love ball. They take coaching. They have a knack for finding the football. They have a sneaky wiggle and slide through gaps. They have a lot to learn but we have not heaped too much on their shoulders too early,” UK defensive coordinator Brad White on freshmen linebackers Trevin Wallace and Martez Thrower.