Joker Phillips has a big hole to fill in the defensive line after Mister Cobble was rule academically ineligible and Corey Peters went to the NFL. The D-line was one of UK's biggest concerns coming into the season. Those concerns are slowly working themselves out as the opening game versus Louisville approaches. Chip Cosby explains in his article for the Lexington Herald.
The D-Line will be led by DeQuin Evans. Evans led the Wildcats with six sacks last season after reporting late during the summer due to his junior college. He hopes to improve on last year's success after spending a year in the system. "The confidence that the coaches have in me, it gives me confidence," Evans said. "I want to double everything I did last year."
Some new faces have also given coaching staff optimism as the season begins. Donte Rumph is a guy who the Cats hope to get on the field. Rumph stands at 6'3" 315 pounds and is still not into the playing shape like the staff would like. Yet his size alone will give Donte playing time. "He's a big boy," said offensive guard Stuart Hines. "He's hard to move in there. Once he learns the system and gets in better shape, he's going to be a really good player."
Elliot Porter, the former LSU signee, is another newcomer who could provide help. Porter has only been on campus since Monday and the coaching staff has not had a chance to see that much of him. The staff's first chance to see him in pads will be during Saturday's scrimmage. "It's tough," Phillips said. "We've got to get him up to speed so we can get a chance to see if he moves around and understands what we're able to give him. It'll give us a chance to see if we need to continue to work with him. Athletically, he's pretty good. He uses his hands well, he uses his feet. But we all know that you don't play in shorts. We'll see how he responds when he gets hit in the mouth, and he hasn't been hit in the mouth yet."
The biggest surprise in fall camp for the defensive line has been true freshmen Nermin Delic. Delic has made an impression with his 6'4" 262lb frame. Nermin has been able to spend some time taking reps with the first unit. "He's one of the strongest guys who's ever walked through the doors here," Phillips said.
When play begins, Evans thinks that the young line will be able to surprise some folks. "Guaranteed," Evans said. "We've stepped it up a lot. (New defensive line) Coach (David) Turner has coached us up a lot. We feel like we're in good shape. The young guys are trying to make the adjustment to Division I football and they're embracing everything we're showing them
