SportsLine wire reports
March 29, 1999

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- No Tim Couch, no Craig Yeast. No problem.

Although UK will be young and inexperienced on offense next fall, the Cats do return most of a defense that made vast improvements last season, even if those improvements didn't show up in the statistics alone.

Gone are linemen Mark Jacobs and Marvin Major, as well as backs Marvin Love and Jeff Zurcher from a group that scored six touchdowns, made 88 tackles for a loss, had 29 sacks and finished second in the Southeastern Conference with a 28.9 percent third-down conversion rate.

But for UK to stay in ball games next season, the defense must rise up once again. Where the defense was asked to play well enough to give the offense a chance to win, it have to the win games on its own.

Luckily, with eight starters returning and a year of weightlifting for last year's talented freshmen, the Cats may be able to do that under Mike Major.

MAJOR'S SCHEME, AN AGGRESSIVE, PLAY-MAKING ONE, relies heavily on speed, something the Cats have at their deepest defensive position: linebacker.

All three starters from the line backing corps return, as well as its top two substitutes. Led by senior Jeff Snedegar (63 tackles, four sacks) and juniors Marlon McCree (55 tackles, seven sacks, a safety and a fumble returned for a touchdown) and John Rader (39 tackles and a game-winning interception return for a touchdown), UK can play the blitzing-style defense that makes them dangerous.

Backing up those three will be senior Lee Wesley (19 tackles), and sophomores Ronnie Riley, Jamal White and Chris Demaree, combined for 31 tackles.

UK will also be strong in the secondary, as all but Love return. Junior cornerbacks Eric Kelly (23 tackles, six pass breakups) and Jeremy Bowie (18 tackles, one interception) both saw significant playing time last year.

They will be joined by another junior, former running back Kenneth Grant, who missed most of last season with a broken finger.

ALL THREE POSSESS GREAT SPEED and showed they could handle the one-on-one coverage assignments in UK's scheme.

Perhaps the biggest plus for UK will be the return of junior safety Willie Gary, who missed the last eight games last year after tearing ligaments in his knee against Florida.

Gary, a star his freshman season, had 24 tackles in only three games before hurting his knee last year.

He will be joined by sophomore David Johnson, who burst onto the scene last season by making 53 tackles, one sack, two interceptions, two caused fumbles and a fumble returned for a touchdown. Johnson was named by The Sporting News as a freshman All-American.

The weakest link in the defense may be the defensive line, where the graduation of Major and Jacobs, as well as the untimely death of potential starter Artie Steinmetz, hit the Cats hard.

Seniors Gordon Crowe and George Massey return, as well as last year's freshman phenom Dennis Johnson and sophomore Matt Layow. Those four combined for 80 tackles and six sacks last season.

FORMER TIGHT END JIMMY HALEY'S ARRIVAL from offense will also bolster the line. Haley enters the spring behind redshirt freshman John Robinson on the depth chart at tackle.

Overall, the Cats will be quicker and stronger, and hopefully more effective.

The key will be if Major's unit can cut down on the points given up, and if they can cause a few more turnovers than in years' past.

Head Coach Hal Mumme said the Cats must also improve in their rushing defense.

"We finished in the middle of the pack in rushing defense, which is what we really want to improve on," Mumme said.

"If we can make that kind of improvement again, we can help make up for the inexperienced offense."