Following a difficult season on the defensive side of the ball for Kentucky, the Wildcats brought in new co-defensive coordinator Rick Minter to teach his system with hopes that it will help the Cats to slow down the high-powered offenses of the SEC. Despite returning their top 11 tacklers from a year ago, UK has spent all offseason learning Minter’s schemes on defense, trying to prepare for a new season. Here are five names to look out for this year on defense for Kentucky in Minter’s new system.

1) Danny Trevathan – This was an easy one. Seriously? Trevathan led the SEC in tackles in 2010 with 145, and is slated to repeat that feat again in 2011. Many expect him to have an All-American caliber year for the Cats, who desperately need their hard hitting linebacker to step up big for them again this year. There is no tackle Trevathan can’t make. He has the speed of some strong safeties with the physicality of a linebacker and the instinct and fundamentals of a pro. Now a fourth-year junior, Trevathan will have to show he can be just as much of a leader off the field as he is on it, and will likely have to carry the defense for parts of the season. But if anyone can do it, the Wildcats are confident Trevathan can.

2) Winston Guy Jr. – One of UK’s best athletes, Guy stands to gain the most from Minter’s new system. With more speed, strength, athleticism and playmaking ability than any other player on Kentucky’s roster, with coverage instincts comparable to a baby chimpanzee, Guy should have more opportunities to play in the box closer to the line of scrimmage under Minter. Guy recorded 106 tackles in 2010, second on the team to Trevathan. As a safety, Guy made most of his tackles either cleaning up poorly defended running plays or blown coverage in the secondary. Now, Guy will have to worry less about dropping back into coverage as a safety, something he has done inconsistently throughout his career to say the least, and will be able to spend more time in the thick of things blowing up run plays from the start or patrolling the middle ready to knock someone’s head off. If Guy is doing his homework and learning Minter’s new system, he should be a star in the SEC in his senior season.

3) Ronnie Sneed – Sneed is the most veteran, mature defender in Kentucky’s program. Entering his second season with the team as a graduate student (Sneed graduated from UK in 2009 with two years of eligibility remaining) Sneed has seen it all in the SEC. Reports are that no one is farther along in learning the new defense than Sneed, who acts as a vocal leader for the defense both on and off the field, as well as a mentor for younger players. A linebacker playing alongside Trevathan, Sneed is certainly not afraid of contact, and loves to get his nose in the middle of things, recording 60 tackles in 2010. But more valuable than his play on the field are his presence and leadership capabilities in the weight room, the film room and the locker room. That is where Sneed will make most of his impact in 2011.

4) The defensive line – Last season, UK got almost no production out of their guys up front on defense. With hardly any pressure on the quarterback, and a very limited push up front to close running lanes, UK had trouble creating turnovers in 2010, or even getting their defense off the field for that matter. It’s going to take a more determined effort from the line as a whole if they want to help the team win on Saturdays this fall. Guys to look out for on the line are defensive ends Collins Ukwu and Taylor Wyndham, and defensive tackles Donte Rumph, Mister Cobble, Luke McDermott and Mark Crawford. If these big boys up front can hold their own this season, it will make all the difference for one of the SEC’s worst defenses from a season ago.

5) Randall Burden and Anthony Mosley – As Kentucky’s starting cornerbacks, Burden and Mosley will need to step up and shut down some of the conference’s most explosive playmakers on the outside, such South Carolina’s Alshon Jeffrey. With more pressure being brought up front, and an extra safety added to the back end of the defense, both Burden and Mosley should be put in good situations to succeed in coverage. Their senior leadership, like with Sneed, will also be beneficial to UK’s young defenders trying to learn a new system in a matter of months. Mosley and Burden have the potential to have breakthrough seasons in 2011 and show the Bluegrass how the Wildcats can play defense.

The University of Kentucky featured one of the most explosive offenses in the nation in 2010. But with the losses of starting quarterback Mike Hartline, starting tailback Derrick Locke, starting fullback Moncell Allen, starting wide receiver Chris Matthews and dynamic, first team All-American Randall Cobb, UK’s offense is now filled with unfamiliar faces. If the Wildcats want to repeat their offensive success in 2011, these five guys will need to carry the load when UK has the ball.

1) The Offensive Line - Regarded by many as one of the best offensive lines in the conference, UK returns four starters (all seniors) from last year’s team in tackle Brad Durham, third-team all-SEC guard in 2010 Stuart Hines, center Matt Smith and preseason first-team all-SEC guard Larry Warford. They will also add Billy Joe Murphy into the mix at tackle as the team’s only starting linemen not in the starting lineup week one of last year (Murphy, however, has started nine games for his career). With a wealth of inexperience at the skill positions on offense, the Cats will have to rely heavily on this tough, veteran group up front to establish a strong running game and protect new UK quarterback Morgan Newton in the pocket.

2) Morgan Newton - Speaking of Newton, he too will have to be a superstar on offense if the Wildcats want to score points. No position in football is more important than the quarterback, and Newton seems to have all the tools to become a great one. With good size, strength and athleticism, Newton has the arm strength to throw a nice deep ball, and the athleticism to take off from a broken play and turn it into something spectacular. The question here is will he be able to put it all together and command the offense? As a freshman in 2009, Newton started eight games for UK, posting a 5-3 record (including a loss in the Music City Bowl to Clemson) while completing 55.6 percent of his passes for 706 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions. When given a chance to start again in last season’s BBVA Compass Bowl, Newton played arguably the worst game of his college career as UK went on to be outmatched by Pitt. He has shown signs of the four star quarterback that Kentucky recruited out of Indiana, but has never taken over a game like head coach Joker Phillips would like him to. But the job is now all his, making 2011 a do or die season for Newton as the team’s field general.

3) Raymond Sanders - Sanders, a rising sophomore, is slated to be the team’s starting tailback week one when they take on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Small in stature, Sanders mixes moderate quickness with physicality in running lanes to earn his yards on the ground. As a freshman in 2010, Sanders split time with fellow freshman Donald Russell (who has since transferred from UK) in the backfield after Derrick Locke went down with an injury. Sanders rushed for 254 yards on 68 carries (an average of 3.7 yards per carry) and three touchdowns in 2010, good enough for fourth on the team in each category. But Sanders has more career rushes, yards and touchdowns than any other back on the Cats roster, and will need to carry the load behind UK’s mammoth offensive line in 2011.

4) La’Rod King - Last season, UK’s passing game was one of the best in the SEC thanks to the explosive play of receivers like Cobb and Matthews. But those big names have departed the Bluegrass for the greener pastures of the NFL, leaving the position wide open for the taking. La’Rod King seems to be the man to take over as the team’s top target in the passing game. With 46 career catches in two seasons as a Wildcat, King has by far the most career receptions of any receiver left on the Cats roster. With a 6’5” frame and speed down the field, King should be a deep threat for Newton, who completed a few very nice deep balls in spring practice, including a couple to King himself. He also seems to have assumed the role of a leader for the other wide receivers, both on and off the field. If King can make plays in the passing game and expedite the development of explosive but unproven receivers like Aaron Boyd or E.J. Fields, Phillips’ playbook will open up for the Cats, leading to more scoring on offense. As the most experienced player at any skill position returning for UK in 2011, King will have to play a major part in the offense if they are to succeed.

5) E.J. Fields - This guy could be UK’s best secret weapon (oops, looks like I may have let the cat out of the bag). A track star in high school, Fields set numerous Kentucky state records as a sprinter in high school, in addition to playing football. Despite sitting out most of the past two seasons with injuries, and spending most of his time on the field covering kicks on special teams, Fields might be the most athletic member of UK’s offense in 2011. In addition to his speed, his insane leaping ability and determined physicality help him to make highlight reel catches, including an incredible one-handed catch which he made in coverage deep down the sideline during UK’s Blue White Scrimmage in April. With camp just a couple days in, no one knows how much Fields will see the field in Phillips’ offense, or what role he will play when he’s out there, but if this guy can stay healthy and get himself on the field, he could be a real difference maker for Kentucky and a surprise in the SEC in 2011.

The University of Kentucky’s 2010 football season felt like a disappointment. A season which included a 25th consecutive loss to Florida, a 26th consecutive loss to Tennessee and a 27-10 shellacking at the hands’ of Pitt in the BBVA Compass Bowl, felt like a disappointment. The program’s first losing season since the senior class stepped foot on campus four years ago felt like a disappointment.

But Thursday, the Wildcats turned the page with the start of their preseason camp. Veterans arrived prepared to work hard toward a successful 2011, and a plethora of new faces arrived on campus for the first time, seeking to lay the foundation that second-year UK head football coach Joker Phillips hopes will take his team to the top of the SEC.

“I’m really excited. It’s my last year to really make a change on the program, to try to get us to a little bit of a better season than we have been,” said senior defensive back Anthony Mosley. “I’m really excited just to get started and get better for the season.”

Long forgotten are the days when a 4-8 record was enough to tide Big Blue Nation over until basketball season began. The Wildcats have reached six consecutive bowl games under Phillips and former UK head football coach Rich Brooks. But with great success comes great expectations, expectations that the Cats seemingly fell short of a year ago.

Add in the departure of the team’s starting quarterback, running back, fullback and top two receivers, as well as a brand new defensive scheme brought in by new UK co-defensive coordinator Rick Minter, and you have a Wildcats squad that is hungry to establish a new identity.

“We had the (defensive) films that they were supposed to be watching, and now it’s time to go in and see if everybody was doing what they were supposed to be doing, which I’m pretty sure they have been,” said senior linebacker Ronnie Sneed, a vocal leader on UK’s defense. “It’s just time to put everything to the test.

“Really we try to scare the young guys. You know, ‘You may not make it out man, you might not make it out, so you better come prepared.’ We try to shake them up a little bit. But in all honesty, you just tell them it’s time to work hard and learn this defense.”

The core of veterans on the offensive side of the ball also assumed their leadership roles on day one of camp, including junior La’Rod King, who has more career catches than any other wide receiver on UK’s roster with 46 in two years.

“Camp determines whether you are ready for the season or not. You can talk all the stuff you want to now, but once you put pads on and get hit for the first time it’s like ‘Oh, okay, I know where I’m playing now. I’m playing in the SEC.’ “I take what I learned from Randall (Cobb, now of the Green Bay Packers) and Chris (Matthews) and those veteran guys last year and just apply it to the freshmen now, and just take the same steps that Randall took me in. It’s really just follow and repeat. A lot of guys are on board as a team, and a lot of the young guys, they are hungry, so we are going to see who is ready to play and who is not.”

But when asked what the biggest challenge was going into camp, the players were unanimous.

“It’s the heat, definitely the heat,” King said. “My cleats molded to the turf last year, I couldn’t move.”

“The only thing that you can never beat anywhere in the country is the heat,” Mosley said. “It’s just really hot. Sometimes you get a little more frustrated because of the heat, you get a little bit more fatigued than you normally would. That may be the only downfall.”

Well, almost unanimous.

“Me being from Georgia, the heat up here feels like fall, so this is not that bad for me,” said sophomore wide receiver Brian Adams. “It’s about 100 down there in Georgia right now so it’s not bad at all and I just have a good time with it.”