Cats shuffle O-Line after inconsistent play in opener
Kentucky offensive line coach Zach Yenser (far right) spoke with some of his unit during a recent practice. (Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated)
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
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After an inconsistent showing in the season opener against Miami of Ohio and with its first road game looming in one of the most challenging venues in college football, Kentucky has made some changes on the offensive line depth chart entering its matchup Saturday at Florida.
Opening with a line that featured no players in a position they had previously started -- including redshirt freshmen at both left guard and left tackle -- the Wildcats averaged only 1.9 yards per rushing attempt and surrendered four sacks of quarterback Will Levis in an otherwise solid 37-13 win over the RedHawks at Kroger Field.
"There's certainly some things coming out of the game that we all felt need to be looked at, need to be addressed, need to be improved, and that is being physical and being able to run the football and being able to protect the quarterback," UK head coach Mark Stoops said during his weekly Monday press conference.
"When Will (Levis) had time, he was very good, like he usually is. And really made some incredible throws under duress as well."
That led to senior guard Kenneth Horsey sliding to left tackle this week and redshirt freshman David Wohlabaugh flipping to the right side. Sophomore Deondre Buford, who spent time working at both tackle positions during camp, has moved back inside to right guard behind senior starter Tashawn Manning.
Kentucky has been cross-training players along the O-Line dating back to the spring in an effort to rebuild a "Big Blue Wall" that lost three players -- tackles Darian Kinnard and Dare Rosenthal, and center Luke Fortner -- to the NFL. The unit has consistently been ranked among the best in the college game in recent years.
It's a lot to digest heading into "The Swamp" for one of the most anticipated matchups of the season, but Stoops also noted that fans and media should not read the shuffling as a sign of panic.
"After looking at it, it's never quite as bad as you think it is," he said. "... I remember being in here discussing with you either last year or the year before, several years, everybody hitting the panic mode on the offensive line, and they seemed to pull it together pretty quickly, so I don't think it will be an issue this year as well.
"I felt like we played a little better than we (initially) thought at four of the five positions. Those guys will continue to get better. Jager (Burton) made one mistake that gave up a pressure, but outside of that, he played a really good football game. That's really good to see. Felt like we played good inside. Eli (Cox) maybe had one play, one or two plays, he'd like to have over, but overall very solid. Same with Tashawn (Manning). For a guy who missed quite a bit of camp with a couple of little injuries, he played really well. Jeremy Flax did some good things as well."
Stoops also noted that the staff had intended to get highly regarded freshman tackle Kiyaunta Goodwin into the Miami game, but possessions were shortened in the second half due to the Cats returning a kickoff for a touchdown and turning a defensive turnover into a two-play offensive score. The former five-star recruit, a 6-foot-8, 351-pound athlete, could see some left tackle snaps at Florida.
