By LARRY VAUGHT
Kentucky junior linebacker Trevin Wallace has been playing at an all-Southeastern Conference level this season and has been among the conference leaders in quarterback sacks. He’s also the team leader in tackles for loss and second in total tackles.
“I am not surprised by anything he does or has done,” said his father, Trevor Wallace. “When he puts his mind to something he is going to do it. He gets focused on what he wants to do and does not let anything stop him.”
That’s one of the many qualities former Kentucky assistant coach Jon Sumrall saw in the four-star Georgia prospect, who had an interception in last week’s win over Florida, when he beat a lot of Power-Five schools to get Wallace to the Bluegrass.
“I have coached Trevin my whole life. He saw how I related with coach Sumrall. He saw I trusted him and looking back it seems like the best decision he ever made (to come to Kentucky),” Trevor Wallace, who still texts, calls and visits Sumrall, said.
Trevor Wallace coached his son from the time he was 5 years old until he got to high school. He recognized the special athleticism and skills he had and “would not allow him to be average” because he realized how talented he was.
“I pushed him harder than I pushed anybody else. He never backed down. He wanted that extra hour and a half of work and I gave it to him,” Trevor said. “When he first started playing, I told him he needed to master every position. I made him play everywhere. He accepted it with honor. We might have bumped heads a few times but he did the work.”
One of those head-bumping times came when Trevin was 11. He got tackled by one person in an all-star game and his father did not think that should have happened.
“I told him until you show me more you can sit on the sideline and watch. He was crying and everybody (at the game) was booing me for not playing him. When the light came back on, he went back in and the rest is history,” Trevor said.
Trevin Wallace was ranked as high as the nation’s No. 35 prospect by 247 Sports after playing a variety of defensive and offensive positions at Wayne County High School. His younger brother, Tavion, is a 6-1, 209-pound junior linebacker, who is a top 50 player in his recruiting class. He already has offers from Florida State, LSU, Georgia, Southern California, Florida, Arkansas, Ohio State, South Carolina, Kentucky and others.
He has listed his top nine schools of Georgia, Florida, LSU, Kentucky, Florida State, South Carolina, Auburn, Louisville and Arkansas.
Trevin, 21, and Tavion, 16, always “messed with each other” growing up but their father said it was more Trevin teaching his younger brother how to be better than he is.
“Tavion is more athletic than Trevin was at the same age. He told everyone his brother is brother than me,” Trevor said. “Tavion’s best thing is on defense at outside linebacker. He can be a threat at receiver because no corner can keep up with his speed. I think he’s faster than Trevin.”
Tavion is “loving” the recruiting process and his father said it’s like a dream come true for him because of the work he put in just like his older brother did. He’s been to Kentucky obviously to watch his brother play but has also taken several other trips where he got to hang out with UK defensive coordinator Brad White.
“The last 2 1/2 years we have been up there every Friday, Saturday, Sunday. We stay in Kentucky a lot,” Trevor said. “But Tavion knows we all want him to go where he feels he fits best and can succeed. We will be behind him.”
The Wallace family will be in Athens, Ga., Saturday to watch Kentucky play No. 1 Georgia. However, it will not be a recruiting trip for Tavion despite having an offer from the home-state Bulldogs.
“The Georgia game is something special for me and him (Trevin). We live in Georgia and we do not like Georgia. This game has a different meaning,” Trevor said. “Tavion will be there with us and he will have his blue on. They (Georgia coaches) know how we do it.”
While some UK basketball fans have worried about the extent of Aaron Bradshaw’s foot injury and when he would be ready to play this season or even if he would play, it has also been a stressful few months for the 7-0 freshman.
He missed summer workouts and didn’t play in Canada when UK won four games in July.
“It’s been hell, I’m not gonna lie. Just overcoming a lot of things,” Bradshaw said on the “Behind Kentucky Basketball” podcast with former UK player Cameron Mills.
Bradshaw hurt his foot at the McDonald’s All-American Game in March but did not opt to have the surgery until June after initially hoping the injury would heal on its own. Bradshaw told Mills having surgery was the best decision to make sure he could play this season and said he was “not really” concerned about the injury.
“That’s just a little setback, that’s just a little bump in the road. If I dwell on that and keep saying, ‘Oh, I’m hurt,’ you’re never going to go anywhere,’” Bradshaw said. “It’s a part of the game. Everybody gets hurt. (Michael) Jordan went through the flu. Bron (James) got his ankle (injury). Everybody goes through something. I can’t get mad or frustrated that it happened to me.”
But he certainly made it clear to Mills that he did get frustrated at times waiting for the injury to heal.
“I had points in time where I was like, ‘Damn, I wish I could do that.’ But it happened to me. So I have to do everything I can to get right,” Bradshaw said.
Bradshaw sees himself as almost a 7-foot point forward who can handle the ball, hit 3-pointers or go inside if needed. However, he told Mills his priority is to get better daily.
That’s my main thing, my main goal now. It wasn’t like that before, high school wasn’t like that. I was just worried about getting it done and getting out of there,” Bradshaw said.
Bradshaw was being projected as a 2024 first-round NBA Draft pick and likely will be again as soon as it’s obvious the injury has healed.
Kentucky freshman tight end Khamari Anderson knew plenty about UK sophomore defensive lineman Deone Walker, a freshman all-American in 2022, before he got to Kentucky because they were high school teammates at Cass Tech in Detroit.
“I knew plenty about what type of guy Deone was. He’s a dog. He’s just God-gifted. He was born with that size and athleticism,” the 6-5, 240-pound Anderson said. “We met in high school and even then you would see and watch him move and wonder how does he move that fast being so big.
“It was a good matchup in practice when we went against each other. He beat me most of the time but it was good work. It made me tougher.
Walker confirmed that Anderson “did not beat me” in high school workouts.
“Khamari is a dog, I will say that. That might be biased because we went to the same high school but I know his work ethic like I have never seen before,” Walker said. “He came in, watched film every night, was working before and after practice, eating right. He’s going to make a difference for us.”
Walker’s amazing freshman season and huge expectations this season set a high bar for Anderson.
“He likes a challenge and I feel like he will rise up to the occasion because he wants to be even better than me,” Walker said.
Anderson didn’t pick Kentucky just because Walker had but it also did not hurt his thinking to sign with the Wildcats.
“I know he is a good guy to be around and he has good character judgment. If he liked it here, I knew I would love it here, too,” Anderson said.
For the first time this year, Kentucky even dropped the 350-pound Walker into pass coverage last week against Florida. He broke up a pass that was intercepted by teammate Trevin Wallace that set up a touchdown.
Is there anything Walker cannot do?
“No. He is a pretty athletic guy. He really is,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “He wears wide receiver shoes. I saw him out there and I was like, Really? Really? You are the only guy that big I’ve seen wearing wide receiver shoes.”
John Calipari should have a lot of shooters on his team this season.
“But we want (shot) makers,” associate coach Orlando Antigua said. “He wants to be able to have guys take good shots and the right shots and open shots. Don’t settle for any shot. We have got guys who can shoot the 3, guys who can get to the basket, guys who can hit midrange shots. If you are well rounded, you can play and score at all three levels and we think we have guys who can do that.”
Antigua thinks Calipari has the kind of players he can mold into a special team.
“One of the most unique things that is under appreciated about Cal and his coaching style is that he adjusts to the talent level he has. He tries to put them in position to be the best version of themselves,” Antigua said.
“Sometimes it takes longer but he tries to put everybody in position to have success. Not every coach thinks that way and can do that. That is the uniqueness of Cal. I know fans may not always understand or see that but it is an incredible ability to have.
Steve Saunders has trained a lot of athletes, including when he was director of performance for the Baltimore Ravens. But he also trained a lot of college athletes and tried to help current UK offensive coordinator Liam Coen prepare for a NFL career after his playing career at quarterback ended at UMass.
“He got hooked up with me through his agent,” Saunders said. “Coming out of college he did not have the best physique for a quarterback. Liam will tell you he got in the best shape of his life training with me. There are probably still piles of vomit from me training him because I really worked him hard.
“I told Liam that he was there for combine training and was only allowed to eat meat and greens. He was training two or three times a day. He was a happy, go-lucky guy and even when he was getting beat up working in the weight room he had that same demeanor.”
The two reconnected when Coen was coaching with the Los Angeles Rams and Saunders was with the Ravens.
“Liam is smart. He works hard. I love how he teaches the system he is using at Kentucky.” Saunders said.
That’s partially why Saunders’ son, Stone, verbally committed to UK before the season started. He’s a four-star junior quarterback in Pennsylvania.
“We tried not to make this whole process happen too quickly because he still has two years left (in high school),” Steve Saunders said. “I trust Liam with my son. This is a crazy business. As a parent all you can do is try to put your kids in a good situation and then they have got to put in the work and hope they are around good coaches and good people
“Stone chose a great situation and we are thrilled about it.”
Quote of the Week: “It gives us momentum. It is a tall task going into Athens at night but that’s why you come to play in the SEC. Georgia plays lights out defense all the time. It is another great challenge for us and we look forward to playing them,” UK center Eli Cox on what a win over Florida does going into the game at unbeaten Georgia.
Quote of the Week 2: “He was someone you could always talk to. You could be around Adou and he’ll cheer you up,” Kentucky sophomore Adou Thiero on “Behind Kentucky Basketball” podcast.
Quote of the Week 3: “She makes me laugh a lot. She is all business when it comes to softball and what makes softball so successful. We had a lot of fun on my visit,” Kentucky softball commit Abby Hammond on UK coach Rachel Lawson.