The Offseason Moves Kentucky Made to Rebuild the Offensive Line

The Kentucky football transformation under Mark Stoops was built on a strong foundation in the trenches. The Big Blue Wall became a brand as the Wildcats produced five All-Americans and five NFL Draft picks on the offensive line that was regularly a finalist for the Joe Moore Award. That all went away in 2022.

Will Levis ran for his life as the offensive line allowed more sacks than any other team in Power Five football. An offense that was once defined by a dominant, physical running game ranked 13th in the SEC in rushing yards per game, ahead of only Mississippi State’s Air Raid.

The Big Blue Wall fell far short of expectations. It’s undeniable. The offensive line has spent the entire offseason rebuilding that brand by making changes in personnel and scheme that Mark Stoops expects to pay dividends this fall.

“I feel good. It’s yet to be seen. We have to go prove it. We got to put it all together.” The Kentucky head coach added: “We need to be more consistent. We we have to get back to being more physical.”

Offensive Line Upgrades from the Transfer Portal

Injuries and surprise departures forced Kentucky to shuffle the deck on the offensive line in 2022, most notably sliding Kenneth Horsey out from left guard to left tackle. Kentucky addressed the depth problem by hitting the transfer portal and bringing five new bigs to the BBN.

“The biggest thing was going out and finding guys that fit our culture,” said interior offensive lineman Eli Cox. “Finding guys that want to work hard, have that blue collar mentality that UK built the Big Blue Wall on, it was our biggest emphasis when getting guys out of the portal. I think they fit in really well with the guys. They’ve assimilated really well. They’ve only been here for a couple months, but we’re all excited to have them.”

The two most noteworthy additions were right tackle Courtland Ford (USC) and left tackle Marques Cox (Northern Illinois). The former did not commit to Kentucky until the spring, but the latter immediately turned heads during Kentucky spring practice.

“Marques Cox is a big dog,” J.J. Weaver said. “He’s aggressive at a point. His technique is amazing. He and him go at it. I think he’s going to make me better and I’m going to make him better. I love him on the line. I think that’s one of our missing pieces we needed.”

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Keep It Simple, Stupid

The KISS method is a tried and trued idiom that applies in all walks of life. Unfortunately, the UK offense did not do that last year. Liam Coen’s first order of business was fixing the offensive line, and he started by cutting the clunky complex scheme in the trenches.

“We’re just trying to simplify things so guys can play fast and play free. I think we kind of got bogged down with details last year, but we’re moving onto this season,” Cox shared.

“We’re moving on to Coach Coen’s offense. A lot of the verbiage will be the same. And having another year with Coach Yenser is going to be great, just so everyone can learn how he coaches, the way he wants things done, another year with his techniques and the things he likes to do. The consistency we need to build in that room and the competition we need in that room is the biggest thing for us.”

Continuity was absent from preseason camp as players tried multiple positions and fought through injuries. The lack of experience together was evident on Saturdays. The devil was in the details.

“It’s extremely important because it’s unlike many positions on the field. It’s a cohesive unit. All five guys have to be on the same page at all times just to execute a simple run play, let alone when things get complex.”

What exactly does that mean? Eli Cox elaborates. “For Jager (Burton) when he’s in-between me and Kenneth, knowing where Kenneth is going to be on his single blocks, on his A-blocks. For me, it’s knowing how Jager likes to fit on certain run combos, where he likes to keep his eyes on pass protection. All of those little details are going to help us play better together and put a better product on the field.”

This offseason Kentucky went to great lengths to ensure Devin Leary will be protected this fall. As Stoops said, it looks good on paper, but they have to prove it in the trenches on Saturdays. Octavious Oxendine is confident his teammates will deliver.

“They’re definitely getting back to that Big Blue Wall that everybody knows them as. They have definitely put their caps back on,” said the defensive lineman. “I feel like our offensive line is getting back to where we’re supposed to be.”