I think it will be significantly improved. But whether that translates to a "good" or even average offensive line is yet to be seen. The fact is that we are just so bad in that area that we could improve greatly and still not be even a middle-of-the-pack SEC line. But here are the reasons the line will be better:
A. We return 4 starters --- that means improvement...how much improvement? That's yet to be seen, but improvement nonetheless, even if just a small amount,
B. We'll have a more talented unit overall with the influx of young talent -- again, maybe not significant, but still at the end of the day we'll have more pure talent at the position, and that means improvement in my book,
C. We'll have a stronger, quicker line than last year (unless all of our players took a year off in the weight room, which I doubt),
D. We'll have more quality depth at each position along the line
But at the end of the day, here's the thing. I could have said all of the things above last year, but that doesn't mean that the line was good. All it means is that it's improved.
The line improved a lot last year, but it was still bad. I think we'll make a step up from terrible to mediocre this year. Not good by any means, but improved. The line just takes longer to build than skill positions.
But again -- the line improved dramatically from year one to year two under Stoops (as did most everything). We just forget that we were so terrible our first year that even though we improved so greatly we were still only so-so after all that improvement. You can't go from terrible to good in one year.
It's still going to be a pretty rough offensive line, but I'd be shocked if it's not noticeably improved. This coaching staff has shown that when they have time to work on things (offseasons, bye weeks, etc) they know how to work on areas that need improvement.) To me that's always the sign of a good coaching staff.
But I'm glad that we're finally starting to have this discussion about the line.
It's easy to get caught up in the skill positions, but the problem for Kentucky has rarely been the skill positions. The things that are separating us from the top half of the SEC right now aren't the skill players. Our skill players can compete with just about anyone in the SEC right now. Everyone has a team full of skill players that can run 4.5 forty's, etc. What everyone doesn't have are the handful of 6'5, 300-pound athletic linemen that teams like Georgia, Alabama, LSU, etc have.
Are our skill players on the level of those teams? Not overall, but we have enough to be competitive with them in the skill area -- our QB and WR's can play with their DB's. We had one of the best pass offenses in the SEC last season. Our corners and safeties can work with their WR's. We ended the season ranked in the 40's in pass defense last season. We're decent at the skill positions. Not great, but decent. We can compete (aka we don't need to be worrying about areas where there isn't a huge discrepancy in competitiveness *cough* *cough* skill positions).
But our offensive line can't handle the other team's defensive line. We were horrible at rushing the ball (b/c there weren't holes to run through) and we were HORRIBLE at protecting the QB (we gave up 36 sacks with a strong mobile QB that could scramble). Our defensive line routinely got manhandled. The reason is because it takes longer to build the offensive and defensive line that it does skill positions. With skill positions it's a lot like college bball. You can roll a couple true freshmen out there and they can at least use their pure athleticism to compete. But with the lines it takes time to build those guys' bodies and you usually have to redshirt them. It just takes a little more time (but not a decade like some would suggest).
I'm just glad we're finally starting to realize the problem is the offensive and defensive line. The good thing is that the coaches seem to be placing an emphasis on the position (in recruiting) like no other coaching staff I can remember. Whether that will translate to success is yet to be seen, but at the end of the day as the offensive and defensive line go, so will this coaching staff. It's that important.
Offensive and defensive line are the reason Kentucky football has been Kentucky football over the years. It's the hardest unit to recruit and to build, but it's the most important.
