Kentucky is prioritizing pass protection in right tackle battle

Kentucky’s offense knows the mission in 2023. For this unit to reach its ceiling, the offensive line must protect the asset. That means creating clean pockets for new quarterback Devin Leary. Offensive coordinator Liam Coen must find the man that can do the job at right tackle.

In the spring, Kentucky got the four other starting positions settled on the offensive line. Eli Cox and Kenneth Horsey moved back to guard. Northern Illinois transfer Marques Cox immediately seized the left tackle spot, and Jager Burton moved to center. That left just one spot available.

Former junior college transfer Jeremy Flax and USC transfer Courtland Ford are now competing for that spot. Fall camp is two weeks old and a winner has not been determined yet. However, UK knows what they’re looking for at the position. It’s all about protecting No. 13.

“No matter who is playing that right tackle position, we’ve gotta feel good about that. Gotta be able to drop back and be able to throw the ball without using a chip or a screen or some sort of way to alleviate pressure,” Coen told reporters on Tuesday when asked about right tackle. “If we have to do that at times, we will. But we gotta get to a point where we can just dropback pass and we don’t worry about that right side. And that’s something that we’re still working towards.”

Protecting the quarterback was a major issue for the Kentucky offense last year. Flax allowed 22 pressures and six sacks in 12 games last season, according to PFF. The backups weren’t much better. Ford is pushing the veteran for a starting spot.

“I told the guys in the spring that we were going to go find guys that we thought were SEC football players,” Kentucky offensive line coach Zach Yenser told reporters on Tuesday. “My whole goal in January and the spring was to create competition in our room.”

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Kentucky now has a legitimate position in fall camp. Flax and the rest of the offensive line realize that pass protection must be upgraded in 2023. If UK can keep Leary clean, good things will follow.

“In the past, passing has been a rough spot for us, but it’s something that we’re definitely working on and definitely going to keep putting a head-on emphasis on to protect Devin,” Flax said. “Because you give him time he will find those guys.”

For now, Flax is focused on banking reps and getting the mental side of the game right. Yenser mentioned that the coaching staff is working with Ford to improve play strength. But at the end of the day a starter will be determined based mostly on pass pro production. This is a true competition.

“At the end of the day, the best player is going to play,” Coen said.