Stoops could have kept Summers, who wanted to stay. Stoops hired Schlarman on Neal Brown's recommendation. Another young, energetic coach that could relate to players and recruits. Which is Stoops' style. Some believe Stoops gave Brown a blank check to hire all offensive assistants at will, which could be true given how much Mitch Barnhart paid Brown to get him away from TTech. Now that Brown is gone, all of his hand picked assistants are inherited by Dawson. Eventually, Dawson might be given some control over his offensive staff. Schlarman was well liked as a Kentucky player and is well liked now as a coach. He is proving his worth as a recruiter. He snagged commitments from GAA, Leavitt, Jackson, Young. They sure won't make a change while Wills' recruitment is on the table. But this begs the question of how well Schlarman is developing his linemen. There are 2 schools of thought. Some would say that Swindle keeps committing dumb penalties, therefore Schlarman showing he can't coach the position. Others would say Schlarman gets a pass while he is coaching up Joker's recruits, but must do better when guys like Leavitt, GAA, Young, Jackson become the mainstays. We can cut Schlarman a certain amount of slack because he has never had a true, difference maker left tackle in his program yet. I don't count Darrian Miller in that category because his career development was screwed up long before Schlarman got here. Some of you may disagree with me there. I count the development of Leavitt and Young as the litmus test for Schlarman. Jackson is strong as an ox, should be a solid multiple year starter after Toth graduates. GAA needs to move inside to play guard. No brainers. Your pass protection on the edges is the money maker and the litmus test for Schlarman. If he gets Wills, he might be set in Lexington for a long time. But I don't think that is a given yet.
