D'Eryk Jackson, Trevin Wallace's On-Field Play Benefitting From Off-Field Friendship
Kentucky has suffered from its fair share of injuries this season.
This was magnified last weekend, when multiple starters and role players went down with knocks in the Wildcats' 44-6 loss to Tennessee. One of, if not the biggest loss of the night was super senior linebacker DeAndre Square.
Following the Volunteers' first drive of the game, the UK team captain left the game and was taken back to the locker room. He would return, finishing out the first quarter, but would again leave a few minutes later, remaining sidelined for the rest of the night due to an ankle injury.
In place of the Cats' leading tackler was sophomore Trevin Wallace. He would finish with six tackles against the Vols, improving his season total to 18.
Defensive coordinator Brad White has seen plenty of improvement from the second-year LB:
"Trevin—when he's been in the game—has played solid. There's some things that we continue to clean up, just like every one of our guys, but his energy, his understanding has been good. When the ball's in the open field, obviously his athleticism shows. Still working on at times just pulling the pin, I think that's a rep and a confidence thing for him."
Square was not listed on the latest depth chart ahead of Kentucky's week 10 game against Missouri and has been ruled as "doubtful" by head coach Mark Stoops. it's Wallace's name that's scheduled to start at weakside linebacker on Saturday in Columbia.
Making your first start of the season on the road is a daunting task, but Wallace actually did the same thing a season ago in Starkville against Mississippi State. This weekend against Missouri should come with even less nerves, as he'll be starting next to someone he's built an off-field connection with since coming to Lexington.
D'Eryk Jackson is set to make his fourth start of the season at middle linebacker, filling in for Jacquez Jones, who's yet to return after leaving UK's Oct. 1 matchup at Ole Miss due to injury.
"(Trevin) and D'Eryk, they have a really good rapport with each other out there and they're really good friends off the field," White said of the LB pairing. "I think you can sort of see that on the field."
"It helps out a lot, like a whole bunch," Wallace said. "You want somebody that you're cool with off the field because you can play with them comfortably on the field...it feels real great having him by my side. I have a best friend on the field too, because we can talk about it outside of football and on the football field, we can communicate even more."
Jackson has quickly progressed since being thrusted into a starting role, as seen by his team-best 14-tackle performance in Knoxville last Saturday. He's now third on the team in tackles with 36, 14 of which have been solo.
"I think I've been progressing well," Jackson said. "I'm getting a lot of good experience for me and keep getting better for myself and keep getting better for the team and becoming a better leader."
It's nearly impossible to replace the experience that players like Square and Jones have accumulated across their long careers. There's some things that the on-field veterans bring to the table that Jackson and Wallace can't quite match, which isn't their fault.
What you gain, however, is a certain spunk and eagerness from the new blood that's set to man the starting linebacker spots in place of Square and Jones next season.
"What you lose in experience, you gain in youthful exuberance," White said.
That's not to say that Jackson, a junior, can't bring some familiarity to the middle of the park for the Wildcats. Three starts in, more snaps and the other roles that come with playing MLB are becoming more and more natural for the Dublin, Ga native.
That comfort level will skyrocket when his confidant is alongside him on Faurot Field, ready to stifle Missouri's offense.
"D'Eryk's played a lot of snaps, so he's going to help be a calming force in there. They're a good pairing because they keep each other up. Trevin's got sort of a jovial personality and it keeps D'Eryk loose," White said. "I think they can bring the best out of each other."
"We know how to communicate with each other," Jackson added. "We know what gets each other going. We know what makes each other tick and stuff like that. So I think that's really good for us."
Friendship and football are running deep in the Kentucky linebacker room this season.
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