A Steady Starting 5 Escapes the Kentucky Offensive Line

The Kentucky Wildcats have had three different starting fives on the offensive line in three games. It’s not an ideal situation for a unit that is replacing three starters.

“It just is what it is. It’s a part of college football, it’s a part of the NFL,” first-year offensive line coach Zach Yenser said Tuesday. “You wish you could stay healthy and play all 13 games with the same five guys. That would be awesome and be able to rotate guys in. The reality of it is doesn’t happen. We’ll just continue to work continuity with those guys and they’re going to come to work. We had a great practice today and we’re going to keep working in the right direction.”

In week one the Wildcats tried David Wohlabaugh at left tackle, in the hopes of keeping Kenneth Horsey at guard. When that experiment didn’t work, Horsey was the starting left tackle at Florida. The Wildcats showed progress, but Tashawn Manning suffered a minor foot injury in The Swamp. He was withheld from action against Youngstown State, giving Quintin Wilson his first start.

Once a dominant force in the run game, Kentucky is averaging an SEC-worst 2.23 yards per carry, in large part thanks to a high numbers of sacks (11, last in the SEC) and tackles for loss (19, 11th in the SEC).

“It’s a challenge,” said center Eli Cox. “We got a lot of new faces that are having to play in spots they haven’t played before but it’s not an excuse for us to play the way we have been.”

Mark Stoops ran into Cox at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility early Monday morning. The head coach provided some encouraging words while challenging a leader on the offensive line to correct mistakes.

“Everything we’re doing is fixable. It’s not for a lack of talent, it’s not for a lack of want-to. This group wants to represent the name of the Big Blue Wall well, it’s just that attention to detail, that continuity that we need to continue to grow,” said Cox.

Mark Stoops expects Manning back in the lineup this Saturday against Northern Illinois. He’s confident the offensive line can return to the high standard set by the Big Blue Wall.

“It’s a matter of getting everybody on the same page,” Stoops said Monday. “Again, it’s not a matter of are we able to do it or we’re talented enough to do it, there are no excuses. We’ve just got to play better, we’ve got to be more disciplined, but again, pay attention to detail. You know, the little things. It’s always a person here or a person there that is throwing us off offensively, and we need to put that together.”