It's not taking long for Kentucky linebacker Avery Williamson to establish himself as one of the Southeastern Conference's top tacklers this season, and he put some distance between himself and the competition on Saturday.
Chasing around the prolific Louisville offense fueled by prized NFL draft prospect Teddy Bridgewater, Williamson made a season-high 15 stops in the Wildcats' 27-13 loss. Eight of those were solo stops, and one resulted in a loss of yards.
That gives Williamson (6-foot-1, 240 pounds), a senior, 35 stops on the season. As the top playmaker on a defense that has struggled to prevent first downs, the middle linebacker prospect should get every chance to surpass the 100-tackle mark this season as long as he stays healthy. The UK defense has spent too much time on the field for Williamson not to have been in on so many tackles. He made 135 stops last season.
Georgia's Amarlo Herrera entered play on Saturday leading the SEC with 24 tackles.
Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter @ChaseGoodbread.