Bush Hamdan calls having strong offensive line critical

Kentucky is trying to revamp its offensive approach this season following the departure of Liam Coen to the NFL ranks, and coach Mark Stoops has tapped Boise State‘s Bush Hamdan to be his new offensive coordinator.

Hamdan arrives after having considerable success at Boise State.

The one thing Kentucky will really have to shore up going forward is the offensive line. After years of being a strength for Stoops’ squad, the unit has been a bit of a liability in recent years.

“Critical,” Bush Hamdan said of the importance of getting better up front. “I mean I think any program you look at it always starts with the fronts on both sides of the football. Extremely excited about Eric Wolford and getting to know him and his pedigree. If we can get those guys playing on the same page it makes things a lot easier for everybody else, as you know.”

Wolford is returning as offensive line coach after having spent the 2021 season at Kentucky. He was at Alabama the last two years working with the offensive line there.

Hamdan knows the absolute importance of fielding a quality group up front. His play-calling won’t do much good if the players on the offensive line can’t hold up on blocks long enough for it to matter.

The new coordinator shared where his attention will start with the offensive line.

“Oftentimes think about the detail, start with where the ball is,” Bush Hamdan said. “The most detail is at that center position and as it moves outward. So creating that rhythm, creating those concepts for those guys again to keep it similar for them, allow them to play fast and be on the same page, is a huge objective.”

Kentucky has a lot of room for improvement. The offense finished ranked 98th nationally last season, while the run game finished ranked 95th. About the only thing the offensive line did well routinely was pass block.

Bush Hamdan arrives off considerably more success. In 2023 he led the Boise State Broncos to the 32nd-ranked scoring offense, averaging 32.1 points per game. Boise State was also ranked 26th in total offense, averaging 436.1 yards per game. A big piece of that was the excellent running game he established, rushing for 214.86 yards per game, which was seventh nationally in rushing yards.

The Wildcats will be hoping he can produce similar results in the Bluegrass State.