New UKFB safeties coach Josh Christian-Young excited to reunite with DC Jay Bateman

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) – Josh Christian-Young met the media Thursday morning as Kentucky Wildcats football’s new safeties coach, highlighting both his recent experience and a familiar coaching connection that brought him to Lexington.

Christian-Young arrives at Kentucky after spending the past two seasons as safeties coach at Houston. Prior to that, he worked on the defensive staff at both Tulane and Army.

A key factor in his decision to join the Wildcats was the opportunity to reunite with defensive coordinator Jay Bateman.

Bateman served as Army’s defensive coordinator while Christian-Young was on staff from 2015 to 2018, giving the two a shared foundation that dates back nearly a decade.

“We stayed in touch a lot,” said Christian-Young. “It’s kind of been a thing where he has had a couple opportunities to hire me again, and this one luckily he was able to do that. Being with somebody as long as we were, 80 to 90 percent of football we see the exact same.”

The reunion is expected to bring continuity to Kentucky’s defensive staff as the program prepares for the upcoming season.