Octavious Oxendine explains focus on weight gain

Kentucky Wildcats defensive lineman Octavious Oxendine has been focused on his weight this offseason. In particular, he has been working on gaining weight after having lost some before the 2022 season.

This is an effort that Oxendine explained to the media during spring ball.

“I’m actually doing well in that process right now, just putting on a little bit more for next season,” Octavious Oxendine said. “It just plays a big part of playing in the SEC. So, it’s definitely something I need to get back to.”

Oxendine explained that he originally wanted to lose weight for his agility, but found that he thinks he’d be better off playing at a heavier weight.

“It was fine playing at that weight, just being more quick and things like that, being lighter on my feet,” Octavious Oxendine said. “But I feel like putting the weight back on is going to give me more of an asset to myself in the running game.”

Octavious Oxendine came to Kentucky as a three-star prospect in the Class of 2020 and has since developed into a key contributor for the Wildcats.

Kentucky currently lists Oxendine at six-foot-one and 276 lbs.

“Ox is a guy that we’re counting on,” head coach Mark Stoops said. “He’s been around here for a few years now. It’s nice to see him make a conscious effort to put on some weight, add some strength and be more of a factor.”

Brad White spoke after practice

Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White spoke to the media following practice. There, he addressed some of the challenges that come with coaching college students.

“When you’re dealing with 18-22 year-olds, you don’t know what you’re dealing with, what happened that morning. If they ran out of Lucky Charms and they had to eat Frosted Flakes, now they’re in a bad mood, you just don’t know,” White said.

“But hopefully there will be good competition. You get to this point in camp there’s sort of a natural chippiness and competition. They don’t want to lose their one-on-ones, but they gotta play composed.”

Later, White joked that he’s concerned about the pass rush because they don’t have any sacks yet. However, this is because there hasn’t been live contact with quarterbacks. As he explained, “One thing I won’t have to worry about is our pass rush.”