Ayden Bussell is looking for a school that can develop offensive linemen

Towering over at 6-foot-6, Ayden Bussell already possesses impressive size for a rising high school junior.

A three-star, 290-pound class of 2023 offensive lineman, Bussell knows just how big and talented he is at his young age. The Mount Juliet High School (TN) prospect has plans to continue his football career at a school with a history of success developing his position–which Kentucky is quickly doing. Bussell mentioned UK among some high-class company.

“I really want a college that–Notre Dame obviously, they have a history of super good offensive linemen and it’s the same for Kentucky too,” Bussell told KSR on Tuesday. “That plays a big part in recruiting. If it’s been proven in the past that they’ve had guys go to the NFL, guys that get All-SEC and All-American, that helps a lot.”

Kentucky is becoming that college. Former Wildcat offensive linemen Landon Young, Logan Stenberg, and George Asafo-Adjei have been drafted by NFL teams since 2019. Notre Dame also has three offensive line NFL draftees since 2019.

Bussell took an unofficial visit to Lexington on Tuesday and was excited to talk about what went down during his short day trip. It was his first time visiting Kentucky and the first time meeting the coaching staff face to face. From the jump, he described the entire experience as “awesome”.

“Honestly, it was awesome,” Bussell said. “The whole time–obviously, I haven’t been there before, it was my first time visiting on campus. I liked everything I saw. The facilities: top of the line, I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. Meeting (offensive line) coach (Eric) Wolford for the first time, that was super awesome.

“I got to see the stadium for the first time in person. That was super cool. I was the only one up there whenever I went, so just taking it all in. I’ll be coming back to watch a game so that’s gonna be awesome.”

Meeting Coach Wolford, the man who extended the offer to him back on April 29, was one of Bussell’s favorite parts. They got to relax and chat for a bit, discussing football and family.

After a great conversation with @FBCoachWolf I am very blessed to receive an offer from The University of Kentucky! @UKFootball @UKCoachStoops @perryt33 @nickorick63 @shaeeflatt @ChaseHowland66 @BuckFitz @TheStone64 @CSmithScout @SaintsNashville @CoachTBarr pic.twitter.com/Hqdi5odyMQ

— Ayden Bussell (@AydenBussell) April 29, 2021

But Coach Wolf also wasn’t afraid to shoot Bussell straight.

“One thing [Wolford] told me–he was really funny–but he was like, ‘I’m gonna kick your ass sometimes but at the same time I’m gonna tell you what you did wrong if you ever mess up‘ and that was one thing that I liked.”

That’s exactly what Bussell is looking for in a college head coach, too. He wants to become a better leader, and has used an untimely chest injury earlier this summer to help take the younger players at Mount Juliet under his wing. But once he gets back on the field, he wants to be feared. His competitive side came out when breaking down how he expects to play as a junior this fall.

“During the season, when I’m playing I wanna be the nastiest dude out there,” Bussell said sternly. “I don’t care if I hurt anybody’s feelings, I’m gonna be a wrecking ball. I just want to be the best. I want to be able to play with my teammates, coach them, be a leader there and off the field, I want to strive my hardest to be the best. That’s pretty much my goal. I’ve already got the work ethic part down, but everything else will come to it.”

“It” has already crept up in the form of five Divison I offers: Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, and Eastern Kentucky. Thus far, it’s been the ‘Cats, Volunteers, and Commodores reaching out the most.

“The schools that have really hit me hardest are Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and Tennessee,” Bussell said. “The other two, Virginia Tech and Eastern Kentucky–I don’t really talk to Eastern Kentucky much anymore. I don’t know if they just cut off contact or whatever. Mainly Tennessee, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt have been the top three. I talk to Vanderbilt pretty much every week, the same as Kentucky and Tennessee. They’ve been hitting me pretty hard.”

In reality, Bussell is already above EKU’s talent level–that’s where the contact went. His offer sheet should expect to grow soon, too, with the likes of Notre Dame, West Virginia, Virginia, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Ole Miss, and a few others reaching out with interest. Bussell mentioned Notre Dame by name early on in his conversation with KSR, so it sounds safe to say an offer from the Fighting Irish would be a nice feather in his helmet.

But Vandy was the first team to offer him, with Kentucky coming in roughly a month after. Bussell takes heavy stock in the coaching staff that gets on him early.

“I think schools that jump on me first and have been building the relationship, in the end game, that’s gonna play a big part,” Bussell explained. “By the time other schools–whenever I’m a junior, going into my senior year, they start to offer me, I’m already going to have established relationships with these coaches… I appreciate them jumping on early.”

Had a great time visiting Kentucky
#BBN @FBCoachWolf @UKCoachStoops @perryt33 @nickorick63 @shaeeflatt @LeverageLineman @CoachTBarr @CSmithScout pic.twitter.com/6H8YZhbe7I

— Ayden Bussell (@AydenBussell) June 22, 2021

In the end, though, it could come down to the school that can offer the best opportunity to make it to Sunday football.

“I want a school that the offensive line coach can accelerate me to be one of the best and also a school that has a strong history of breeding lineman,” Bussell said. “Along with having a good academic program for what I want to go into–engineering–I want a good school for that. I really just want a place that I can feel at home, one of those type of schools.”

As mentioned above, Kentucky is becoming one of those types of school–on and off the field. Bussell hasn’t been on many college campuses yet, but he sure was blown away by what he experienced on Tuesday.

“I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I first came here,” Bussell added. “I had friends who had came here, they said it was awesome. So it had a high standard but whenever I came here it pretty much blew me away. It went above my expectation whenever I came there. Everything I learned–every hour, every minute–I was learning new things about the school and the history and I was loving it, so it definitely met and went over my expectations. ”