The offensive line is priority 1, 2, and 3 for the program going into the offseason.
Previously, I had said that UK would likely be taking a much harder look at some Group of Five offensive linemen. I believe they will definitely look at that route, but I am also hearing they are very serious about some power conference linemen who are out there.
The word that I've gotten is that Kentucky has evaluated games for every single program in the country over the past month or so and they have a very good idea of who they are going to target, should they go into the portal. I hope to have more on that in time.
People will have their own opinions on this, but I do believe that the offensive line was the source of a lot of the worst struggles this year. Some of the sacks were on the quarterback, some were on the tight ends, some were on running backs, some on receivers at times, but no question the line has to get a lot better and it has to get a lot better right away.
I am hearing that following the decommitment of Tucker Kattus the Wildcats are not going to pursue another high school lineman in the 2025 class. I think Kattus can be a solid player at the college level but he was not one of the more hotly recruited prospects in UK's class.
Have been in touch with UK's other commitments up front and they seem to be solid.
I am now expecting Kentucky to sign one more portal lineman than I originally anticipated.
My honest opinion is the line performed exactly as you probably should have expected going into the season. Marques Cox didn't have a good year after a solid season last year. Eli Cox was solid. Jalen Farmer did some good things. But beyond there, there simply has not been close to enough SEC caliber talent among the top eight OL on the roster. I don't see how anybody could disagree with that. The problem is the talent. It has not been an SEC room talent-wise, and there is legitimate blame to go around for that. They got nothing from Courtland Ford or Gerald Mincey.
My belief is Kentucky is going to allocate a whole lot more resources towards fixing the offensive line as everyone I have spoken with believes they have to "know what they're getting" more and the only way to do that nowadays is to outrecruit and outbid other schools for proven or obviously talented offensive linemen. I think the bar for what you hope for should be pretty high re: offensive line in the portal because they have to get it right this year and it won't be easy.
Previously, I had said that UK would likely be taking a much harder look at some Group of Five offensive linemen. I believe they will definitely look at that route, but I am also hearing they are very serious about some power conference linemen who are out there.
The word that I've gotten is that Kentucky has evaluated games for every single program in the country over the past month or so and they have a very good idea of who they are going to target, should they go into the portal. I hope to have more on that in time.
People will have their own opinions on this, but I do believe that the offensive line was the source of a lot of the worst struggles this year. Some of the sacks were on the quarterback, some were on the tight ends, some were on running backs, some on receivers at times, but no question the line has to get a lot better and it has to get a lot better right away.
I am hearing that following the decommitment of Tucker Kattus the Wildcats are not going to pursue another high school lineman in the 2025 class. I think Kattus can be a solid player at the college level but he was not one of the more hotly recruited prospects in UK's class.
Have been in touch with UK's other commitments up front and they seem to be solid.
I am now expecting Kentucky to sign one more portal lineman than I originally anticipated.
My honest opinion is the line performed exactly as you probably should have expected going into the season. Marques Cox didn't have a good year after a solid season last year. Eli Cox was solid. Jalen Farmer did some good things. But beyond there, there simply has not been close to enough SEC caliber talent among the top eight OL on the roster. I don't see how anybody could disagree with that. The problem is the talent. It has not been an SEC room talent-wise, and there is legitimate blame to go around for that. They got nothing from Courtland Ford or Gerald Mincey.
My belief is Kentucky is going to allocate a whole lot more resources towards fixing the offensive line as everyone I have spoken with believes they have to "know what they're getting" more and the only way to do that nowadays is to outrecruit and outbid other schools for proven or obviously talented offensive linemen. I think the bar for what you hope for should be pretty high re: offensive line in the portal because they have to get it right this year and it won't be easy.
