Eli Cox: Kentucky is 'close' to contending in SEC East

Kentucky has been on the cusp of competing for an SEC East title for the past few seasons, but roadblocks in every season have hindered Mark Stoops’ squad from becoming anything better than a middle-of-the-pack team in the SEC.

Returning center Eli Cox, who represented the Wildcats on Wednesday at SEC Media Days, believes UK is almost there when it comes to competing against Georgia.

“I think we’re close. I think this football team has a lot of talent that’s flying under the radar,” Cox said. “I think we have a lot of tools. In our defense, everyone knows how consistent they are. Coach [Brad] White is one of the best defensive coordinators in the country, the SEC. That unit always produces. I think our offense is going to hold up its end of the bargain this year and score a lot of points.”

That success will be based on how well the offensive line performes throughout the season. Kentucky returns G’s Kenneth Horsey and Jager Burton, T Jeremy Flax, as well as Cox at center from last season’s lineup, but have acquired the services of T Marques Cox and G Ben Christman from the transfer portal to beef up their lineup.

Marques Cox allowed just three sacks in over 1,000 snaps for Northern Illinois before committing to Kentucky this offseason, while Christman is a former top 150 recruit per the 2021 On3 Industry Rankings, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.

Kentucky’s poor play up front saw former quarterback Will Levis’ stats were down across the board between his junior and senior campaigns, but the difference in Levis’s stats comes from the talent around him, particularly on his offensive line.

Levis was sacked 36 times in 2022, which ranked Kentucky’s OL No. 128 out of 131 in the FBS. He was sacked 11.80 percent of the times he dropped back in the pocket last season and UK finished the year 7-6.

With more experience out wide, the return of offenisve coordinator Liam Coen and the addition of Devin Leary — a top QB in this year’s transfer portal cycle — and Kentucky’s offensive might surprise some people this coming season.

Leary threw for 6,807 career passing yards and 67 total touchdowns throughout his four-year career at NC State. He ended up missing the final six games of his senior season but finished with 1,265 yards with 11 touchdown passes and four interceptions hanging up his cleats for the year.

He was the Preseason ACC Player of the Year last summer after throwing for 3,433 yards, 35 touchdowns and only five interceptions in 2021. Expectations are only going to be higher in Coen’s offense in the SEC — but that’s all predicated on the play of Cox and the rest of the offensive line.