Kentucky Football: 3 players with most to prove in 2020
3. De’Andre Square
Coming off a season where De’Andre Square was second on the team in tackles and considered a leader on the defense, he looks to continue his growth and to become the next great Kentucky linebacker if he can improve on his numbers and dominance in the run game. If there is anyone to carry the torch and legacy that Josh Allen left at Kentucky, De’Andre is that guy.
Square finished the year with 69 tackles with four of them for loss,1.5 sacks, three quarterback hurries, a pass breakup, an interception and a forced fumble.
De’Andre is only a junior and he will need to be a big contributor at the second level if the Wildcats want to thwart many of the running attacks from the likes of Georgia and Florida who always have strong running games.
Inside linebackers coach Jon Sumrall discussed Square’s sophomore season on the Behind Kentucky Football podcast earlier this year.
"“Square, in stature, is not the biggest guy but he plays a little bit bigger than he is at times. He’s got some physicality. He plays with a little bit of an edge. One of the things I can do better to help Square is limit his total number of snaps early in the year. He probably played a little bit too much last year early and had to carry too much of the snaps at inside backer at times. But he did a good job last season. He’s a steady guy. You know what you’re going to get out of him all the time. He’s really intelligent. I think that’s the most underrated thing about Square. He’s a high-level football IQ guy. He thinks the game well and he’s very advanced for a guy who’s about to be a true junior. Just a really instinctive player, which is huge at inside linebacker. He just has a really good feel for formations and what teams are going to do out of certain formations”."
Square started off hot last season, recording a game-high 11 tackles, 1.5 sacks and an interception in a win against Toledo.
If Square continues his upward trend and can prove to be an impact player on the defense, it wouldn’t be a shocker to see Square on an All-SEC team by the end of the year.