'It's a multi-faceted issue': Eli Cox addresses what Kentucky must do to avoid another losing season

Eli Cox has seen Kentucky at its highest points under Mark Stoops. The Nicholasville (Ky.) West Jessamine offensive line product was committed to the program when Kentucky went to the Citrus Bowl in 2018. Cox was a first-year starter at right guard in 2021 when Kentucky won 10 games again and made a return trip to Orlando for New Year’s. The super senior has played for John Schlarman, Eric Wolford (x2), and Zach Yenser. Cox played center for sub-100 yards per play offenses in 2022 and 2024, but started at guard for a top-25 yards per play offense in 2021.

Cox has seen the highs. Cox has seen the lows. The four-year starter was asked on Tuesday what Kentucky needs to do to make sure missing a bowl just becomes a blip and not a trend. Kentucky’s captain in the pivot gave a long answer.

“I think there’s a lot that goes into that. I think it goes to adapting to the new age of college football. The world has changed drastically since I entered college. The way you go about building a culture and a program has changed drastically,” Eli Cox explained. “It was out of the norm for guys to transfer and transfer back when I first started college.”

“When I was here and I was learning what college football was all about when I was a true freshman with Coach Schlarman and those guys. Drake, Luke Fortner, Mason Wolfe, Landon Young, Kenneth Horsey, Darian Kinnard, Quintin Wilson, Austin Dotson. I could go on and on down the list of guys who were in this program for four, five, six years that were all here and were roommates and were teammates and were classmates for years and years and years. And they came from similar backgrounds. Just the culture that those guys instilled and built. That’s just in our room but I think it goes for the program as a whole.”

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Since 2021, we have seen Kentucky add 10 offensive line transfers to the roster. None of those players have been drafted and only Marques Cox was a multi-year starter. A position of continuity has had a lot of churn and has shown almost no signs of development. The slippage in offensive line play has gone hand in hand with the program producing three disappointing seasons in a row with 2024 becoming a low point.

Fitting the culture while building through free agency has been a problem for the Kentucky football program.

“You were able to recruit guys that matched that culture and you weren’t caught playing this portal catch-up game that we’re stuck in nowadays. Like Coach Stoops has said in conferences with you guys before, he’s going to adapt. And you can’t go about building programs the way we have before. Because clearly its not been working,” Eli Cox said. “I think there’s been a drop-off and a dip and the product on the field starting really in kind of the last 2-3 years. Starting in 2022.”

“That’s just something we have to learn to adapt to in college football. How can we go about bringing in talented guys but also guys that are brought into the culture of Kentucky? Being a blue collar program. Being a nasty, blue collar operation that Coach Stoops has built the success of this program on.”

Mark Stoops told reporters on Monday that Kentucky has the resources in place to fix the roster. A big portal class is likely needed this offseason, but high school recruiting must remain the engine for this program. Homegrown players must be the culture setters. Kentucky took a step in the right direction over the last two recruiting cycles, but talent development and retention must improve.

The Wildcats signed eight nine school offensive line prospects from 2021-23. Jager Burton, Koby Keenum, and Malachi Wood are the only players left in the offensive line room. There have been transfers, medical retirements, and lack of development. That has created the situation that Kentucky is currently in. The program has taken a step in the right direction to try and correct the problem by signing four offensive line prospects in 2024. Kentucky backed that up with five offensive line commits in 2025. Early returns are positive surrounding true freshman guard Aba Selm and expectations will be high for top-500 prospect Darrin Strey when he arrives on campus.

But this issue will take time to fix. More portal additions will be needed as a bridge while Bush Hamdan and Eric Wolford attempt to fix the offensive line. Kentucky not only needs to find starters at center and guard in what could be a thin market but they also must make sure the culture fit is there. The same goes for all of the other positions that need upgrades via portal recruiting. Finding the right culture fits has been a problem for the Wildcats and getting it back to where it needs to be might take time.

“It’s a multi-faceted issue, said Cox. “It’s not an overnight fix.”