Kentucky’s Most Pressing Spring Practice Personnel Issue: Offensive Tackle

Mark Stoops has his staff in place for the beginning of spring practice. His new additions said all the right things on Monday. Now, it’s time to go to work. The overall goal of the spring session is to improve as a team and develop youthful contributors into full-time starters. This three-part series will focus on Kentucky’s most pressing personnel issues, which are at offensive tackle, cornerback, and receiver. First up is tackle.  

Goal-Develop Starting Tackles

2021 starters Darian Kinnard and Dare Rosenthal are at the NFL Scouting Combine preparing for their professional careers. While Kinndard’s departure was a given, Rosenthal’s entry into the Draft was somewhat of a surprise. Stoops is faced with vacancies at both edges. So, who’s next? 

Jeremy Flax played in eleven games last season. Results varied, but the junior wasn’t exactly given a fighting chance to show his worth. He was listed by 247Sports as the top JUCO offensive tackle in the nation coming out of Independence Community College. Flax has preferred measurables at 6’6″, 350 lbs. The Detroit product requires additional reps and should see an abundance of opportunities over the next month. He is a likely starter going into spring practice. 

Deondre Buford is also from Detroit and was a four-star prospect out of Martin Luther King High School. Buford played in just two games in 2021. His lack of game-reps hinders projection. Word is that he possesses traits that could lead to him taking over on the left side. Like Flax, Buford requires reps, reps, and more reps. He’s joined by 5-star Kiyaunta Goodwin. The early enrollee inked with the Cats which brought on plentiful discussions about when the 6’8″, 350 lbs. tackle will be ready for playing time. This is going to sound repetitive, but Goodwin needs football reps against quality competition in order to gauge his developmental level. The sky is the limit for the prized rookie but expectation management should be considered for 2022. Going from high school to being matched up against the best athlete on the defense is a serious jump that takes time. 

There are other options. Longtime starting guard Kenneth Horsey kicked out to tackle to spell Kinnard and Rosenthal. Will a full-time move to the edge take place? We’ll see. Kentucky has plentiful personnel rotation possibilities on its interior. A Horsey to tackle move would free up a starting guard spot. Former 4-star signee John Young saw action in all thirteen games last season mainly on special teams. Young’s offensive line game-reps were mostly at guard. He originally played tackle which brings intrigue for spring practice. 6’6″, 300 lbs. redshirt freshman David Wohlabaugh Jr. has been mentioned as a riser amongst youthful offensive linemen. The Stow, Ohio product played in two games a year ago and maintained his redshirt status. 

What Does All This Mean? 

Mark Stoops hired offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello away from the 49ers to take over for Liam Coen who is now the OC for the Rams. This addition should ensure a seamless transition in terms of philosophy and terminology. San Francisco’s physical nature in the run-game is similar to the one that Kentucky has utilized to its advantage over the years. A key part of the Wildcats’ rushing success has been a powerful offensive line. The Big Blue Wall also has a new leader. Zach Yenser takes over and Stoops seems pleased based on his comments about his new assistant.

“He checks all of the boxes and is the total package. He grew up in Kentucky, he’s connected to John Schlarman, he has great relationships with people and is well-thought of in recruiting. And he has college coaching experience and has spent the last three years in the NFL with the 49ers, an organization I greatly respect. This is a high-caliber hire and I couldn’t be more excited to have him coaching our offensive line.”

Yenser and his assistant Drake Jackson are faced with a difficult task during spring practice. The Big Blue Wall is under major construction for the first time in many years. There are going to be new names and numbers on the Kroger Field jumbotron during starting lineup announcements. Let’s be honest, there’s no replacing Darian Kinnard. Comparing another player to Kinnard would be unfair. The All-American is one of, if not the best tackle in program history. Rosenthal was a late transfer pickup from LSU that started twelve games at left tackle a year ago. Both have departed for the NFL. The former OL coach failed to develop depth at the position by choosing to not consistently add tackles into the game day rotation. Thus, there is a great deal of unknown and unproven talent that will be evaluated over the next few weeks. 

Are the 2022 starting tackles currently on campus or will Stoops dip into the Portal to shore up his front? That’s yet to be determined. What is known is that the Wildcats have a rising star quarterback that will need to be protected on his flanks. This is priority one for spring practice.