David Wohlabaugh Jr. is emerging as Kentucky's top left tackle option

Kentucky entered fall camp in 2022 with a big question to answer on offense. The Wildcats needed to head into September with a clear answer at left tackle. There was one favorite entering the battle with a blue-chip true freshman available as a potential wild card option.

Neither of those players — Deondre Buford and Kiyaunta Goodwin — appear to be Kentucky’s LT1 as fall camp finished with classes beginning at the University of Kentucky this week.

Redshirt freshman David Wohlabaugh Jr. appears to be the guy that offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello and offensive line coach Zach Yenser are favoring for their first offense in Lexington after leaving the San Francisco 49ers organization for the SEC.

“He’s done a nice job. He’s kind of emerged out there [at left tackle], and it’s still an open competition, and they’re still battling, but he’s done a really good job,” Scangarello said about Wohlabaugh on Tuesday. “I just like where he’s at as a young player and he’s provided some stability out there.”

“We feel good about Wohlly [Wohlabaugh] over there at the left tackle,” Yenser said. “I think Kiyaunta has done a really good job over there. Deondre…it seems like he feels more comfortable at right, but he’s still been getting reps at left tackle.”

Sources told KSR that the Cuyahoga Falls (Ohio) Walsh Jesuit product received most of the reps with the ones at left tackle in Kentucky’s final scrimmage over the weekend. By all accounts, the second-year player is holding up well. Football smarts and positional athleticism seem to be leading the young player to success.

“I think the big thing for Dave is he understands the playbook,” Yenser told KSR. “He’s done a really good job with the playbook. Dave is reacting to things before they happen. He’s a year older, but he can still use his athleticism, and he has to continue to work on his strength and keep straining through the whistle. What’s helped him is just his athleticism, and knowing the playbook very well, and being able to execute his assignment.

David Wohlabaugh Jr. was a consensus three-star prospect coming out of Northeast Ohio. The prospect possessed good size and showed good mobility on tape as a high school recruit. The class of 2021 recruit picked Kentucky over Arizona State, Purdue, and Syracuse. With a father, David Sr., that played in the NFL and an older brother, Jack, that started multiple years at Duke there was a clear pedigree with the third Wohlabaugh. That background is helping the Kentucky offensive lineman adjust quickly to the college game.

Wohlabaugh credits work done in the film room during the offseason as a big reason for his current success on the field.

“Me and Eli [Cox] watched [film] almost everyday with each other. So I think that’s been a huge improvement for me,” Wohlabaugh said. “I’d say last year I probably played a little more timid second guessing myself and things like that. But this year I definitely feel like I have a better knowledge of the game, and I think that’s a testament to my brother and my dad. I’ve just been surrounded by football my whole life.

Wohlabaugh told KSR that he didn’t expect to be in a position to start as a redshirt freshman when he signed with Kentucky, but hard work has helped put him in a position to play big snaps for the Wildcats this fall. The size, positional athleticism, football smarts and work ethic are coming together at a good time for the redshirt freshman.

“He’s a football guy, he gets it, he’s a smart dude, and I think it’s important to him. He’s done a really good job of taking the opportunity to fight for a spot,” said Yenser.