Kentucky offensive line named Joe Moore Award semifinalists

Following an offensive display that saw 528 total yards and 401 rushing yards in Kentucky football’s victory at Vanderbilt this weekend, the UK offensive line is being rewarded.

Today, John Schlarman’s unit was announced as one of 10 semifinalists for the Joe Moore Award, an honor given to the Most Outstanding Offensive Line Unit in the nation.

For the fourth consecutive season, the UK offensive line has helped the Wildcats rush for 2,000 or more yards, despite Kentucky losing three starting linemen and the school’s all-time leading rusher from last season.

This season, four players have rushed for more than 300 yards this season, with quarterback Lynn Bowden Jr. leading the way with 822 yards, followed by running backs A.J. Rose (619), Kavosiey Smoke (484) and Christopher Rodriguez Jr. (341).

Overall, the Wildcats are averaging 231.4 rushing yards per game, good for second in the SEC and 16th nationally.

Here is what the Joe Moore Award Committee is saying about Kentucky’s offensive line:

“You can tell this is a coachable bunch,” the Committee said, per release. “They all do a very good job of working their feet into position to get blocks sealed and hand placement has clearly been drilled into them because they are good at it.”

The UK offensive line is led by returning starters junior center Drake Jackson, senior left guard Logan Stenberg, and redshirt junior left tackle Landon Young. From there, the unit also receives help from senior Mason Wolfe, junior Luke Fortner, sophomores Austin Dotson, Darian Kinnard and Naasir Watkins, along with redshirt freshmen Kenneth Horsey, Nick Lewis and Quintin Wilson.

The unit is led by former Kentucky offensive lineman John Schlarman, who is in his seventh season at UK.

The finalists will be named on Dec. 10. Selection of the 2019 Joe Moore Award winner will be made public after a surprise visit to the winning university’s campus in late December.

After the finalists have been selected, a vote will be held to select the 2019 recipient of the Joe Moore Award by a voting body of 200-plus members. This voting body includes all of the current offensive line coaches at the Division I/FBS level, as well as former players, coaches, colleagues of Coach Moore and select group of qualified media members.

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