A leader has emerged in one of Kentucky football’s most important spring position battles

A cornerback needs no reminder that a short memory is an essential part of playing the position but is rarely shared by the fans watching the game.

It would be unreasonable to expect even the best defensive backs to make every play, so the ability to bounce back from failure is key. But the repeated plays where good coverage forced a quarterback to look elsewhere for an open receiver are harder to notice from the stands than the one mistake where a cornerback was beaten for a long gain.

And it is those mistakes that linger much longer in the fans’ mind than the successes.

But for Kentucky football’s secondary to take a step forward in 2024, the group of defensive backs on the field for the deflating game-winning drive from Clemson in the Gator Bowl will likely need to prove the perception of their potential has been unfairly skewed by that series.

“You learn the most from scars,” defensive backs coach and co-defensive coordinator Chris Collins said. “So, in that moment it’s hard, we’re all frustrated, but understanding how not to make the same mistakes. That’s been our mantra throughout the spring: Stack days, stack days and continue to consistently get better.

“Learning from that moment, both as coaches and as players. Not always putting it on the player or vice versa putting it on the coaches, but understanding how we all can grow.”

When Kentucky took the lead with 2:39 remaining in the Gator Bowl, the Wildcats looked on the verge of another bowl win against a marquee opponent, but the defense tasked with keeping Clemson out of the end zone one last time was short-handed.

Starting cornerbacks Andru Phillips and Maxwell Hairston were both on the sideline due to injuries. That left backups Jordan Robinson, JQ Hardaway and Jantzen Dunn on the field for most of the drive.

In an effort to protect those players who had rarely been used in such a high-pressure moment, defensive coordinator Brad White leaned heavily on a soft zone coverage, but Clemson took advantage of that strategy to pick its way down the field. Still, the strategy looked smart when an intentional grounding penalty against Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik set up a third-and-18 play at midfield.

Poor coverage from Dunn and Robinson on the next play resulted in a 16-yard gain. Clemson then converted the fourth-and-2 on the ground. Three plays later the Tigers scored the game-winning touchdown.

“I definitely think about that play a lot, or that drive a lot,” Dunn said. “We should have won that game, but it’s past us now. All I think about is the future and how we need to improve. So, we’re going to get that right.”

Hairston, who tied for the SEC lead in interceptions last season, is back, but Phillips elected to forgo his final season of eligibility to declare for the NFL draft. Now, the group of young defensive backs on the field for the Clemson’s game-winning Gator Bowl drive are competing to replace Phillips in spring practice.

“I think we have a lot of bodies to work with,” coach Mark Stoops said after Kentucky’s first spring practice. “Last year when we had some injuries, in particular in the bowl game, we had some guys that did some good things but need to play better in certain moments.”

Through three weeks of spring practice, Dunn appears to have taken a lead in the race to replace Phillips.

If not for the Gator Bowl collapse, Dunn would have entered the offseason with no shortage of momentum. The Bowling Green native and former Ohio State transfer made the most of an extended opportunity in the regular-season finale against Louisville while splitting time between nickel back and corner.

It was his pressure that forced Klubnik to make the throw that was flagged for intentional grounding. Had Kentucky held strong on the ensuing third-and-18, Dunn’s pressure would have been remembered as one of the plays of the game.

But the game did not play out that way, and Dunn was instead left to share the blame for Clemson’s ability to complete 8 of 9 passes on the game-winning drive.

“I think he’s gaining that confidence,” White said. “He’s had the time in the system now to understand and to develop. And his length and his athleticism is something that we can really use and he can use to his advantage.

“I think like anything … you learn from mistakes. You learn way more from your mistakes than you learn from your good plays. Everyone wants to watch their good plays because it makes them feel good, and you don’t want to watch your bad plays. But you learn way more that way. I think he’s taken an approach where, hey listen, just teach me off my bad plays.”

A former four-star recruit, the 6-foot, 179-pound Dunn played sparingly in two seasons at Ohio State. After Phillips and Hairston won the starting cornerback jobs in preseason camp last year, Dunn played primarily on special teams for most of the season.

Now, like Phillips, he has shown the ability to play cornerback and nickel. That versatility could be key for a Kentucky defense that will face no shortage of spread offenses in 2024.

“I’d say watching Dru for a year helped me, especially him in the nickel spot,” Dunn said. “I’m pretty much in the same position he was in last year, because he was splitting time between nickel and corner also. I watched a lot of him last year, and I learned a lot from him and he taught me pretty much everything I need to know about defense.”

Learning from Phillips might have boosted Dunn’s standing heading into his second season at Kentucky, but it’s Hairston’s example that could prove particularly relevant.

A little-used backup in 2022, Hairston was forced onto the field at a key moment against Vanderbilt when starter Carrington Valentine was briefly sidelined by an injury. Vanderbilt immediately went after Hairston, and he surrendered a 40-yard completion on fourth-and-11 that set up the Commodores’ go-ahead touchdown and an embarrassing home loss for Kentucky.

“He could have got down on himself, but he used that as motivation through the offseason,” White said. “First game (of 2023) against Ball State, first two drives, he’s all over the place with his eyes, making mistakes. Settles himself down, then look at Max, look at the season he has last year.”

Hairston finished 2023 with 68 tackles, five interceptions and six pass breakups. Now, he enters 2024 as one of the key Wildcats on defense and a possible 2025 NFL draft prospect.

Add Hairston to the group that has been impressed by Dunn’s progress during spring practice, but he knows the true test will come with the game is on the line. It still would not be a surprise to see Kentucky add another cornerback from the transfer portal when the spring transfer window opens, but a breakout from Dunn would lessen that need.

“Being a corner is always having a short memory, but having something that happened to you that leaves a bad taste in your mouth going into that (offseason), it’s on your conscience,” Hairston said. “I just tell those guys … nobody is perfect. This a sport where stuff happens. There’s ups and downs.

“I just tell them, put the work in. It pays off.”

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