Kentucky football moved to 6-1 and are now ranked 12th in the country after defeating Oklahoma on the road. It was impressive to see the Wildcats win a low-scoring defensive game script, which is a style of game that haven't faced all season. I thought Kentucky's defense had their best performance of the season, they were leaky at times in the first half but they really flipped the switch in the second half of this game. Here are a few defensive players that stood out and made an impact on Kentucky leaving Norman with a win.
Ty Bryant
Ty Bryant continues to find the football and be a ball hawk on the back end. Bryant is a veteran leader of this defense and he always capitalizes on errant throws. His first interception was an assist from Mi'Quise Humphrey-Grace
that looked like an arm punt from John Mateer. Bryant then caught the game sealing interception on a deep ball over the middle.
Jordan Castell
We spoke all offseason on how critical this experienced safety duo would be for Jay Bateman's defense, and Castell has been one of the most consistent transfers on the team this season. Castell is a sure tackler like Ty Bryant and he has ball hawking traits as well. Castell had a pass breakup in the red zone and intercepted the horribly attempted jump pass fake field goal from the Oklahoma punter. The biggest play of the game was Castell's pick six, he read the eyes of Mateer and jumped the pass to take it back to extend the lead late for Kentucky.
Mi'Quise Humphrey-Grace
Mi'Quise Humphrey-Grace is one of the most consistent players on this defense, he shows up every Saturday and makes big time plays. Against Oklahoma, he got a quick win on the edge and got his hand on Mateer's arm mid-release which set up an easy interception for Ty Bryant. This was a critical play as the Sooners were driving up six points, and this really swung the momentum to Kentucky's favor. Humphrey-Grace batted a ball at the line of scrimmage, he also had 1.5 sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss on Saturday.
Tavion Gadson
Tavion Gadson needs to play with more consistency, but man he is dangerous on the inside when it all comes together. Gadson is one of the most underrated defensive tackles in the country and he has incredible pass rush tools for his size. He was active against Oklahoma and creating negative plays by defeating his blocks quickly against guards. Gadson finished the game with eight tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1.5 tackles for loss and he also batted a ball down at the line of scrimmage.
This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Kentucky defensive spotlights in road win over Oklahoma
