Jarmon’s next act could be his best

Posted by ESPN.com’s Chris Low

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Jeremy Jarmon might be Kentucky’s resident actor, but he’s as real as it gets when he talks about this program, the challenge of doing things that haven’t been done here in more than 50 years and the motivation of being one of the forgotten ones during the recruiting process.

One of the most accomplished pass-rushers in the SEC, Jarmon also played a lead role this spring in the UK Theatre production of the play “Weak/Side/Help.”

His role on the football team is to bury quarterbacks and ball-carriers. He thinks he’ll have more help in that area than ever before this season.

“The defense takes a lot of pride in knowing that we’ll possibly be the backbone of this team,” said Jarmon, who was fourth in the SEC last season with nine sacks. “Not that the offense is going to have a down year, but the offense doesn’t have as much firepower as it has in the past. That’s OK, because we feel the defense can perform at a level that no defense has played at here in a long time.”

Why the confidence, especially for a unit that finished last in the SEC a year ago in scoring defense and 10th in total defense?

Jarmon looks around him and sees bona fide SEC-caliber players (with experience) at every position for the first time since he’s been at Kentucky.

And with the way the defense dominated the offense in last weekend’s scrimmage, it appears the defense had better be pretty good if the Wildcats are going to make three straight bowl trips for the first time since 1949-51.

Jarmon, who had 13.5 tackles for loss last season, predicts that defensive tackles Myron Pryor and Corey Peters are both in for huge seasons. He doesn’t stop there, either.

“Look at the LSU game last year and how Corey Peters more than held his own,” Jarmon said. “If Myron Pryor stays healthy for us, he’s going to have a breakout year. In my opinion, I think he’s the best defensive tackle in the league. I feel we have the best interior line in the country.”

Peters was the only one of the three that was highly recruited. In the secondary, cornerback Trevard Lindley was also a recruiting nobody. He’s now one of the best cover cornerbacks in the league.

“Our coaches have done a great job evaluating,” Jarmon said. “That shows despite what all the scouts and recruiting experts say. They say this guy is a five star and this guy is a four star. That means nothing. Our coaches don’t get lazy. They go out there and actually find talent.”

Jarmon, who’s from Collierville, Tenn., wasn’t recruited by Tennessee. He was about 245 pounds as a senior in high school and only 17 when he graduated. He’ll play at 285 pounds this season.

“I played with a good motor. I just didn’t play the recruiting game and go to all the camps,” said Jarmon, who remains motivated by something Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said to him during the Kentucky-Tennessee high school all-star game in 2005.

Jarmon was more than holding his own that week against some players that had signed with Tennessee, guys that had played right down the road from Jarmon in high school. He said a couple of them introduced him to Fulmer.

“Coach Fulmer looked at me and said, ‘Yeah, I know who you are. You’re a good player. You’re going to be a better player when you grow into your feet,’ ” Jarmon recounted vividly. “Whatever that meant, I don’t know. I absolutely took it as a slap in the face.

“I still don’t know why they didn’t recruit me. I guess they felt that there were guys from other places, California or somewhere, that would better fit their program.

“That’s fine, though, because I ended up where I wanted to be.”

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