By Alex Forkner | Football columnist

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Mark Stoops isn’t used to this cold weather, having spent much of his career in sunny Tallahassee, Fla., and Tucson. Ariz. The climate in Lexington is a far cry from those balmy locales, and so is the quality of football.

But one ray of sunshine, albeit a dim one, has come bursting through this cold, cloudy UK football season to warm Stoops’ heart.

From the season opener in Nashville, Tenn., to last weekend’s loss at Vanderbilt University, the defense has improved significantly.

“I was really pleased with the effort our team gave at Vandy,” Stoops said. “I thought we really played as hard as we have all year. The outcome was not what we wanted. I felt like the team really played extremely hard. I thought we really had the best game defensively since I’ve been here.”

For three quarters, UK’s defense held the Commodores in check before finally faltering in the fourth quarter. Of course, UK didn’t receive much support from the offense. Some more points on the board would have went a long way in helping sustain the defense’s effort.

If the defense could’ve created its own points, the outcome could have been different. But a major struggle for UK this season has been creating turnovers, especially interceptions.

The Cats have only picked off one pass this season, and that was by a linebacker. No defensive back has snagged a ball yet this season, but defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot is staying optimistic.

“It’s right there sometimes and just hasn’t gone our way it seems like,” Eliot said. “But it will, it will. We keep putting them in position, those kids keep fighting hard. We’ll start making our side of the plays.”

The lack of interceptions aside, UK’s defense has made major strides as the year has progressed.

Aside from two games, one could argue the defense has played well enough to win the rest if the offense had only held up its end.

But those games are in the past, and two remain for this season. Looking ahead to next year, UK will suffer some big losses to its defensive ranks.

One of those departing seniors is quite literally large. At 6 foot 3 inches and 320 pounds, Donte Rumph had one of the best performances of his career against Vandy, totaling 10 tackles.

“He was the point of contact a lot and he got off blocks. (He) was an anchor point when we needed him to be an anchor point,” Eliot said. “He had his best game of the year and that’s very important in the run game to have a good three technique, somebody who can hold a point and get off blocks and make plays.”

Eliot said he foresees Rumph playing on Sundays next season.

Another guy UK will lose but the NFL will gain is middle linebacker Avery Williamson, who has played about 99.9 percent of defensive snaps this season, if we’re to believe Eliot. Williamson’s importance to the defense is obvious: The senior has accumulated 88 tackles, 35 more than the second-leading tackler.

But his value also lies in areas that are less quantifiable.

“I wish we had Avery for another year, because I think he’s always been just a terrific kid and goes about his business the right way,” Stoops said. “And I think more and more, he’s feeling comfortable and really stepping out more with the leadership role, which we really need, obviously.”

Williamson has played through injury, led by example and been the best player on UK’s defense all season long.

Come next season, Eliot is hopeful they won’t lament his absence.

“When you lose a good senior, sometimes it’s hard to fill that spot,” Eliot said. “But somebody will step up. Somebody will not only be a good player for us in that role but will be a good leader somewhere on the defense.”

The sun is setting on this season, and Stoops and Eliot only have a few more chances to let their defense shine.

And if the progression they’ve seen this season is anything to go on, Stoops might have a defense that will keep opponents under fire — and keep him warm come next winter.