Jamon Dumas-Johnson has Deja Vu in his Kentucky Debut

Jamon Dumas-Johnson was one of the most celebrated Kentucky recruits ever signed from the transfer portal. It took almost no time for us to understand why.

On his second play wearing a No. 2 Kentucky blue uniform, the linebacker made a spectacular play. Big Blue Nation did not have enough time to recover from Brock Vandagriff ‘s tipped-pass interception because Dumas-Johnson was making one of his own. He stretched his hand into a passing lane, tipped the ball into the air, and hauled it in for an interception.

“I was just trying to get a hand on it. When I seen it still in the air, I knew I had a chance to get it,” he said after the game.

“I was joking with him on the sidelines,” head coach Mark Stoops said in his postgame press conference. “‘I didn’t think you had it in you.’ He said, ‘I’ve been telling you.’ He’s a little more sudden than you think. He’s done some really good things.”

The play appeared to be miraculous. It was nothing new for the former All-American. The Baltimore native earned those honors in his first year as a starting linebacker for the Georgia Bulldogs. He was Butkus Award finalist in 2022 after finishing with 70 tackles, 9.0 for loss, and 4.0 sacks.

Tonight’s interception reminded him of a play from his time at Georgia, but not one from their National Championship campaign.

“It was kind of like deja vu. During my freshman year at Georgia, on my second play in the game, I caught an interception. It was pick six, but I didn’t get in there this time,” he laughed.

Kentucky Defense Suffocates Southern Miss

In addition to his interception, Dumas-Johnson had two tackles and a quarterback hurry in his Kentucky debut. After letting Southern Miss move the ball on its second possession, the Kentucky defense completely suffocated the Golden Eagles. The Cats had seven tackles for loss, two sacks, and a pair of pass break-ups while only allowing Southern Miss to rush for five total yards on the ground.

Southern Miss converted three third downs on that second drive. The third down defensive woes from 2023 appeared to be following the team. The Kentucky defense did not let Southern Miss convert another third down for the rest of the night.

“In the first half, the two-hour delay, I think that’s what got us,” the linebacker said. “But coming back to the sideline, figuring out what they were doing, we made a few adjustments and took it from there.”

It was a very small sample size, but the upgraded Kentucky defense gave Big Blue Nation plenty of reasons to be excited about the 2024 campaign.

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