Kendrick Gilbert is sliding inside to help improve Kentucky's defensive line depth

Kendrick Gilbert was a nice recruiting win for Kentucky in the 2023 high school cycle. The Indianapolis (Ind.) Cathedral prospect visited Iowa and Notre Dame before ultimately flipping from Purdue to Kentucky during the late signing period. Expectations were high for the talented defensive lineman.

In his first season on campus, Gilbert did not make much noise and then suffered a shoulder injury. During that rehab process, the former four-star recruit lost a bunch of weight and slipped to 258 pounds on the spring roster. But some injuries in the room created opportunity.

The loss of Josaih Hayes and Tavion Gadson opened up an opportunity at nose tackle. Kendrick Gilbert has added 12 pounds and is now getting reps at nose tackle behind Keeshawn Silver as the Wildcats look to steal some snaps from a second-year player who was playing 3-4 defensive end before the injury situation arrived.

“With Josaih Hayes being out and Tavion Gadson, which are two really good nose guards for us, I have to come in and be able to fill that position. It’s been hard from playing field end and moving to inside,” Gilbert told the media on Tuesday. “Kind of getting that strength back and putting weight on, I’ve been getting better each day and I’ve just been trying to stack those days.”

Throughout the offseason, Kendrick Gilbert has been working with Kentucky’s strength and conditioning staff to put on weight and add strength to that shoulder in the rehab process. Corey Edmond and Mark Hill have been working have helped the redshirt freshman get to fall camp in a position to contribute.

“When I had shoulder surgery, I had dropped 20, almost 30 pounds. Right now I’m back up to 270 and trying to get back up to 275. Putting that muscle mass on has really helped me a lot,” said Gilbert. “Working with Coach Ed and Coach Hill, they’ve been focusing more lifts on my shoulders. So it’s been pretty good rehab and everything like that.”

“Keep eating — reminding him to eat, eat, eat. Coach Ed and them are doing a great job putting the muscle on him but his body, man, it’s transforming,” defensive line coach Anwar Stewart said.

Nose tackle depth behind Silver is a concern, but Kendrick Gilbert has given the coaching staff some options. The second-year player is ready to play snaps and contribute now. Some more body development is needed, and some scheme shift out of true nose fronts could be required, but Kentucky has another young talented player ready to contribute on the defensive line.