Thoughts about the OL

[gamecockcat]

1. Supposedly, some whispers about 'concerns' from sources while JJ Weaver stated the OL was doing very well and the war between DL (our presumed strength) and OL have been very competitive. So, which is it? Wolford has proven he is a good coach and I believe, somewhere in that room, we have 7-8 SEC quality OL who will be able to be an above average SEC line this year. Which 7 or 8 will rise to the top is anyone's guess, I think, although there are a few that are clearly in that top tier.
2. We need to OL to perform close to prime BBW level as the RB room does NOT have 'the' guy that we know will carry 15+ times per game and pick up 85 yards, and the tough short yards and punch it in close to the goal line when everyone knows he's getting the ball.
3. Absolutely HAVE to play cleaner, i.e., very few penalties which wrecked multiple drives last year, and almost never completely miss an assignment, also a regular occurrence last year. If nothing else, I have faith that Wolf will not be very patient with a player who makes these mistakes and he'll find someone who won't.
4. With BVG's height and running ability (and what I assume will be more inside zone blocking), I'm guessing the OL will have an easier task than previous years.
5. I also expect BVG to be better at getting rid of the ball quicker to avoid standing in the pocket while the rush descends upon him. From what little I've seen of the offense in action, Hamden looks to be modifying the offense to fit the personnel and we won't see as many plays where every route is 10+ yards down the field (I hope).
6. We saw some improvement last year over 2022. With the same or a bit more improvement this year, certainly not a huge ask, I believe the OL will be pretty good. Not great and dominant but much closer to that level than we saw in 2022, for sure, and a noticeable improvement over last year.

 

[Boz]

OL is better at OT with Cox and Mincey. Not sure about the interior line- we have two under performers in Eli Cox and Burton with a new RG in Farmer. I think we will have trouble running between the tackles all season long because of OL and average Rb's

I think BVG has lots of potential. I expect him to have a nice year if OL can protect him.

 

[trueblujr2]

I definitely hope Wolf coming back helps. And we DO have what's expected to be a very stout defense, so they are being challenged in practice. I think Chip Trayanum will be a solid 3rd down back capable of punching it in at the goal line. He's a big bodied back. I remember watching him punch in the game winner for Ohio State over Notre Dame last year. So I'm not too concerned about the short yardage situations from that perspective, but I want to know who's going to have that breakaway speed and be able to break of the longer runs. I'm hopeful one of the youngsters step up and prove to be the next Benny Snell or Chris Rodriguez, Heck, I'll take the next Boom Williams too.

 

[K_TIME]

1. I see no world this Oline will be above average SEC Oline....I'd argue average would be their ceiling....and I'd gladly take that.
2. I do agree Wolford is a much better coach than Yenser...who was a terrible hire in development and recruiting.
3. But it comes down to:
- Marques Cox is a very solid LT...mainly at pass protection. But he's not above average in run game IMO. Or at least he didn't show it in 2023
- Maybe Farmer will be a really good guard.....but he's an unknow (but I am at least glad he upseated Dylan Ray/Jager Burton)
- Eli Cox at Center....I really don't know. He was fine in 2021 but was awful in 2022 and didnt' get back to form in 2023
- If Jager Burton is still starting...I am struggling to see how that is a good thing. He's been terrible in 2022 and better but still not soldi SEC OLine as a RS JR. I would have loved to see Ben Chrisman take a spot....but we'll see how it goes.
- MIncey at RT....I'm glad he is at UK. But we'll see if he's ready to lead this OLine...> Ihope he is our best Oline.

- UK does have better depth.....Courtland Ford, Dylan Ray and some potential with Malachi Woods and Ben Chrisman, etc....so if he get dinged we should be in better spot than years past.

 

[cathouse]

I'm still not convinced on Wolf being the answer to our OL issues.
Where and when did he prove himself as a "good" O Line coach?
Just curious. Bama’s weakest group last year was the OLine. And that was with two deep 5 stars almost across the entire line.

There is a reason he was not retained there.

Maybe he is an improvement on recruiting but hoping to see better results from the product on the field than his first year here.

Many UK fans believe he was responsible for the downward spiral of the BBW.

Hoping he learned something under Nick that will help improve our OLine. We are about to find out.

Just because he is from Youngstown.......

 

[Boz]

I'm still not convinced on Wolf being the answer to our OL issues.
Where and when did he prove himself as a "good" O Line coach?
Just curious. Bama’s weakest group last year was the OLine. And that was with two deep 5 stars almost across the entire line.

There is a reason he was not retained there.

Maybe he is an improvement on recruiting but hoping to see better results from the product on the field than his first year here.

Many UK fans believe he was responsible for the downward spiral of the BBW.

Hoping he learned something under Nick that will help improve our OLine. We are about to find out.

Just because he is from Youngstown.......

Bama last season had huge humans on the OL. Second half of the season they ran over everyone including UGA

 

[gamecockcat]

I'm still not convinced on Wolf being the answer to our OL issues.
Where and when did he prove himself as a "good" O Line coach?
Just curious. Bama’s weakest group last year was the OLine. And that was with two deep 5 stars almost across the entire line.

There is a reason he was not retained there.

Maybe he is an improvement on recruiting but hoping to see better results from the product on the field than his first year here.

Many UK fans believe he was responsible for the downward spiral of the BBW.

Hoping he learned something under Nick that will help improve our OLine. We are about to find out.

Just because he is from Youngstown.......

I think some of the underperformance during Wolf's first year can be attributed to several misses in recruiting. Look at the classes during that time period and there haven't been many solid SEC OL that came on board. Not to excuse Wolf, but it's hard to make all-SEC linemen out of low 3* material. Lack of developing depth may also be attributed (somewhat) to lack of material to work with. We've had some transfers out, several injuries, guys who just didn't cut it, etc. I mean, Burton is STILL starting and, from what he's shown so far in his career, he definitely wouldn't have started in previous BBW years. Now, he may finally be the guy everyone's talked about for 3 years in 2024, but I'm gonna wait and see.

Average OL in the SEC? I expect that we'll be better than Vandy, USC, Miss St, AR. probably FL, maybe Auburn. I would guess there's GA, Bama and TX clustered at the top and several teams next tier down (TN, maybe MO, OK, LSU, A&M, UK and Ole Miss). So, we could be right in the middle of the SEC and I don't think there would be much difference between #4 and #9, TBH.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Jager is the player to watch. They showed without doubt hes playing no matter what. The ol will be as good as he is since hes our weakest link.

I can see this ol not being what we hoped overall. We messed up when we tried to change our OL identity from physical to athletic and now back again. That means we'll have guys recruited for an athletic ol while we are trying to play power football.

I know im the biggest gran stan on this board but they absolutely should get him involved somehow.

We all loved schlar, but before gran got here we, like usual, couldn't run the ball at all. 3rd and 1 was an automatic punt like it always was. Then gran gets here and everything immediately changes. Not only was short distance suddenly a layup but we literally destroyed most opponents on the ground. Never thought id see the day and we did it with the same players.

I don't think they could get him back on the field because although some now realize exactly how good he was, many more would be irate. Good news is i think hamden is a very practical guy in a similar mold. So maybe we can at least be similar and see those gran type coaching style again.

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

1. Supposedly, some whispers about 'concerns' from sources while JJ Weaver stated the OL was doing very well and the war between DL (our presumed strength) and OL have been very competitive. So, which is it? Wolford has proven he is a good coach and I believe, somewhere in that room, we have 7-8 SEC quality OL who will be able to be an above average SEC line this year. Which 7 or 8 will rise to the top is anyone's guess, I think, although there are a few that are clearly in that top tier.
2. We need to OL to perform close to prime BBW level as the RB room does NOT have 'the' guy that we know will carry 15+ times per game and pick up 85 yards, and the tough short yards and punch it in close to the goal line when everyone knows he's getting the ball.
3. Absolutely HAVE to play cleaner, i.e., very few penalties which wrecked multiple drives last year, and almost never completely miss an assignment, also a regular occurrence last year. If nothing else, I have faith that Wolf will not be very patient with a player who makes these mistakes and he'll find someone who won't.
4. With BVG's height and running ability (and what I assume will be more inside zone blocking), I'm guessing the OL will have an easier task than previous years.
5. I also expect BVG to be better at getting rid of the ball quicker to avoid standing in the pocket while the rush descends upon him. From what little I've seen of the offense in action, Hamden looks to be modifying the offense to fit the personnel and we won't see as many plays where every route is 10+ yards down the field (I hope).
6. We saw some improvement last year over 2022. With the same or a bit more improvement this year, certainly not a huge ask, I believe the OL will be pretty good. Not great and dominant but much closer to that level than we saw in 2022, for sure, and a noticeable improvement over last year.

Poor ole Brock Vandagriff, he transfers and fans still want to call him BVG, he is BV. Just messing with you man, UGA fans did the same thing with his name. Mark Richt had a DC back in the day who we called BVG, and Brock just inherited it.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Poor ole Brock Vandagriff, he transfers and fans still want to call him BVG, he is BV. Just messing with you man, UGA fans did the same thing with his name. Mark Richt had a DC back in the day who we called BVG, and Brock just inherited it.

Usually the staff takes jucos for a reason and at the very least for insurance. So i think you are right. Its up to the youngsters to take those spots.

 

[tdcat]

Interesting. Reading these posts, you would think the UK OL is bottom of the barrel.

With that in mind, I searched for SEC preseason OL rankings and found two. Both had UK OL ranked seventh in league and one commented they could well be higher.

I suspect UK front seven on D will be one of strongest in the league against the run...and we practice against that most every day. That is a big plus.

I understand the skepticism respecting the UK OL but like I read in those two articles, I believe this OL will be a pleasant surprise to most UK fans.

 

[Chad Rock]

As far as our OL this year, new personnel, a new OC and scheme, new QB, several new RBs, new attitudes and another year of experience might just be enough to mold a respectable version of our BBW this season. That’s my hope!

 

[UKfirst]

I think having a mobile QB and having a more simplified scheme which allows the OL to just do their jobs and not have to overthink things will make things way better than the last 2 years.

 

[Eccain01]

I'm still not convinced on Wolf being the answer to our OL issues.
Where and when did he prove himself as a "good" O Line coach?
Just curious. Bama’s weakest group last year was the OLine. And that was with two deep 5 stars almost across the entire line.

There is a reason he was not retained there.

Maybe he is an improvement on recruiting but hoping to see better results from the product on the field than his first year here.

Many UK fans believe he was responsible for the downward spiral of the BBW.

Hoping he learned something under Nick that will help improve our OLine. We are about to find out.

Just because he is from Youngstown.......

The 2nd half of the season bamas line was good. He wasn’t retained because his boss retired lol and he wasn’t to blame for bbw falling apart. He was just an easy scapegoat. We just flat out missed in recruiting multiple classes in a row.

 

[cathouse]

The 2nd half of the season bamas line was good. He wasn’t retained because his boss retired lol and he wasn’t to blame for bbw falling apart. He was just an easy scapegoat. We just flat out missed in recruiting multiple classes in a row.

Wasn't he the recruiter on at least one of those classes that " missed"?

 

[Cobb4uk]

Interesting. Reading these posts, you would think the UK OL is bottom of the barrel.

With that in mind, I searched for SEC preseason OL rankings and found two. Both had UK OL ranked seventh in league and one commented they could well be higher.

I suspect UK front seven on D will be one of strongest in the league against the run...and we practice against that most every day. That is a big plus.

I understand the skepticism respecting the UK OL but like I read in those two articles, I believe this OL will be a pleasant surprise to most UK fans.

I found the same info, it's out there if you take time to look. No one knows, everyone's just speculating, the season start at the end of the month, then we'll know.

 

[mrschwump]

Wasn't he the recruiter on at least one of those classes that " missed"?

Might've been but he was lead on Walker and Barion Brown among others.

 

[bluecoon1]

In a perfect world we would have developed a center by now and have Eli Cox move back to guard where he was a freshman AA.

 

[YaketySax]

Can someone link to the whispers the OL looks bad? Thanks!

 

[Eccain01]

Wasn't he the recruiter on at least one of those classes that " missed"?

He was here for just a year lol so no. The guys he ran point on panned out. Barion brown and deone as the biggest ones

 

[cathouse]

He was here for just a year lol so no. The guys he ran point on panned out. Barion brown and deone as the biggest ones

I didn't know Barion and Deone were on the O Line. That's great.

 

[Cole World]

I didn't know Barion and Deone were on the O Line. That's great.

No need to be disingenuous

Nik Hall, Grant Bingham and Kiyanta Goodwin were his o-line commits that year and 2/3 were highly rated and transferred out. Nik Hall suffered a season ending injury before last season.

Not hard to find that information.

 

[mrschwump]

I didn't know Barion and Deone were on the O Line. That's great.

They're not of course but they were from Wolford's recruiting territory, TN and Michigan.

 

[BC_Wader]

I definitely hope Wolf coming back helps. And we DO have what's expected to be a very stout defense, so they are being challenged in practice. I think Chip Trayanum will be a solid 3rd down back capable of punching it in at the goal line. He's a big bodied back. I remember watching him punch in the game winner for Ohio State over Notre Dame last year. So I'm not too concerned about the short yardage situations from that perspective, but I want to know who's going to have that breakaway speed and be able to break of the longer runs. I'm hopeful one of the youngsters step up and prove to be the next Benny Snell or Chris Rodriguez, Heck, I'll take the next Boom Williams too.

We've been sort of spoiled the majority of Stoops time here in having some very good rbs. Hopefully we'll see a similar result this season.

 

[K_TIME]

No need to be disingenuous

Nik Hall, Grant Bingham and Kiyanta Goodwin were his o-line commits that year and 2/3 were highly rated and transferred out. Nik Hall suffered a season ending injury before last season.

Not hard to find that information.

Totally agree. Granted they didn’t own out…at the time we beat out Alabama, Michigan Ohio st, Tennessee, etc for those guys

 

[270Cat]

A QB run scheme can mask a lot of OL weaknesses, not saying we have that. Keep defenses from stacking the box and open up gaps. Get a couple solid runs piled on top of a QB run threat, opens a lot for the whole offense.

 

[jlkirk]

No need to be disingenuous

Nik Hall, Grant Bingham and Kiyanta Goodwin were his o-line commits that year and 2/3 were highly rated and transferred out. Nik Hall suffered a season ending injury before last season.

Not hard to find that information.

Morrow was lead on Goodwin

 

[blue cincy]

Thoughts:
1. SEC big guys
2. SEC strength and ability.
3. Not mean and nasty enough over the past 3 to 4 years.
4. Wofford needs to be teaching them attitude and Lineman violent intent just as much as anything else.

We have the size, we have maturity, we have the smarts, we lack attitude. Get the attitude. We should have a 15 yard penalty early this year for un-sportsman like conduct on someone on the oline in the first game. We should see guys blocking past the whistle.

 

[Cole World]

Morrow was lead on Goodwin

That wasn't the point

 

[gamecockcat]

I think it's good to see 2 OL already being mentioned as trending up on the front page article (Selm and Farmer, both OGs - watch out Jager!). A lot of tough competition for every snap can only be a good thing. And, practicing against a very solid DL every day can only make the OL better. Right?

 

[BigBlueManSouthCentralKY]

Cox and Burton out and they insert Ray and Crease. Mincey goes to LT so Crease RT. Thought that Ford was the swing guy and Crease was OLT?

 

[WildcatofNati2]

I'm still not convinced on Wolf being the answer to our OL issues.
Where and when did he prove himself as a "good" O Line coach?
Just curious. Bama’s weakest group last year was the OLine. And that was with two deep 5 stars almost across the entire line.

There is a reason he was not retained there.

Maybe he is an improvement on recruiting but hoping to see better results from the product on the field than his first year here.

Many UK fans believe he was responsible for the downward spiral of the BBW.

Hoping he learned something under Nick that will help improve our OLine. We are about to find out.

Just because he is from Youngstown.......

I don't know if Wolford not being retained at Alabama means anything. Generally, a new head coach wants to select his own staff rather than rely on holdovers from a previous staff. This is the case, even when the departing coach retires in good standing, like what happened at Alabama.

 

[Blueaz]

1. Supposedly, some whispers about 'concerns' from sources while JJ Weaver stated the OL was doing very well and the war between DL (our presumed strength) and OL have been very competitive. So, which is it? Wolford has proven he is a good coach and I believe, somewhere in that room, we have 7-8 SEC quality OL who will be able to be an above average SEC line this year. Which 7 or 8 will rise to the top is anyone's guess, I think, although there are a few that are clearly in that top tier.
2. We need to OL to perform close to prime BBW level as the RB room does NOT have 'the' guy that we know will carry 15+ times per game and pick up 85 yards, and the tough short yards and punch it in close to the goal line when everyone knows he's getting the ball.
3. Absolutely HAVE to play cleaner, i.e., very few penalties which wrecked multiple drives last year, and almost never completely miss an assignment, also a regular occurrence last year. If nothing else, I have faith that Wolf will not be very patient with a player who makes these mistakes and he'll find someone who won't.
4. With BVG's height and running ability (and what I assume will be more inside zone blocking), I'm guessing the OL will have an easier task than previous years.
5. I also expect BVG to be better at getting rid of the ball quicker to avoid standing in the pocket while the rush descends upon him. From what little I've seen of the offense in action, Hamden looks to be modifying the offense to fit the personnel and we won't see as many plays where every route is 10+ yards down the field (I hope).
6. We saw some improvement last year over 2022. With the same or a bit more improvement this year, certainly not a huge ask, I believe the OL will be pretty good. Not great and dominant but much closer to that level than we saw in 2022, for sure, and a noticeable improvement over last year.

when has Wolford proven to be a great coach? I am serious, not trying to be an ass. Maybe I have missed something

 

[Boz]

Wolford is a good recruiter but average coach. He is still an upgrade

 

[gamecockcat]

when has Wolford proven to be a great coach? I am serious, not trying to be an ass. Maybe I have missed something

Well, he worked for Saban as OL coach. I'm guessing Saban could pretty much take his pick of OL coaches and find one who was a great recruiter and at least a good OL coach. He didn't hire slackers - he didn't have to. So, by inference, Wolf must be not only an outstanding recruiter but a good OL coach. Certainly, Bama's OL seem to really improve of the course of last season and at least some of that should rightfully be due to Wolf.

 

[Blueaz]

Well, he worked for Saban as OL coach. I'm guessing Saban could pretty much take his pick of OL coaches and find one who was a great recruiter and at least a good OL coach. He didn't hire slackers - he didn't have to. So, by inference, Wolf must be not only an outstanding recruiter but a good OL coach. Certainly, Bama's OL seem to really improve of the course of last season and at least some of that should rightfully be due to Wolf.

If if were such a great coach for Saban... he probably wouldn't have moved on.
His two years there, are not super impressive for the elite talent he had... the sacks and rushing yards
When he was here, iirc... many said he was a great recruited (but decencies at coaching). I guess time will tell, but when looking at his stops at USCjr, Youngstown and Bama.... no eye popping stats. Hope I am wrong
Remember Bill Curry was once the HC at Bama

 

[K_TIME]

when has Wolford proven to be a great coach? I am serious, not trying to be an ass. Maybe I have missed something

1. Wolford did a solid job as head coach at Youngstown St (from 3 wins to 7=8 wins in a few years)
2. He did a good (not great) job as South Carolina Oline coach mainly during the Muschamp era. That was during the Jake Bentley QB and Rico Dowdell and Deebo Samuels era
3. I though his 2021 year at UK was really good. Moved Luke Fortner to Center (covered a big hole), Eli Cox had his best year at, Horsey had his best year under Wolford and integrated Dare Rosenthal seamlessly. Kinnard has great during and before Wolford IMO.
4. His 2 years at Bama....not amazing but Bama lost Bryce Young, Jamison Williams, Jamyr Gibbs, etc... and had a decent offense once Milroe got established at QB.....pretty good offensive team last year.

I think UK fans got hung up on the way Wolford left in 2021 (which he did leave poorly and lacked some class) and secondly Wolford got blamed for not developing kids for 2022 team and went away from rotating like Schlarman did (but those younger Oline proved to not be good players....so i'd be hesitant to pull Fortner, Horsey, Kinnard off the field for snaps either).

We can debate if Wolford is good/average/great.....but this isn't debatable IMO....he's better in all phases than Yenser...that guy truly was poor at UK and he was poor at Kansas, So I think UK is better at Oline coach than 2023 regardless.

 

[mrschwump]

1. Wolford did a solid job as head coach at Youngstown St (from 3 wins to 7=8 wins in a few years)
2. He did a good (not great) job as South Carolina Oline coach mainly during the Muschamp era. That was during the Jake Bentley QB and Rico Dowdell and Deebo Samuels era
3. I though his 2021 year at UK was really good. Moved Luke Fortner to Center (covered a big hole), Eli Cox had his best year at, Horsey had his best year under Wolford and integrated Dare Rosenthal seamlessly. Kinnard has great during and before Wolford IMO.
4. His 2 years at Bama....not amazing but Bama lost Bryce Young, Jamison Williams, Jamyr Gibbs, etc... and had a decent offense once Milroe got established at QB.....pretty good offensive team last year.

I think UK fans got hung up on the way Wolford left in 2021 (which he did leave poorly and lacked some class) and secondly Wolford got blamed for not developing kids for 2022 team and went away from rotating like Schlarman did (but those younger Oline proved to not be good players....so i'd be hesitant to pull Fortner, Horsey, Kinnard off the field for snaps either).

We can debate if Wolford is good/average/great.....but this isn't debatable IMO....he's better in all phases than Yenser...that guy truly was poor at UK and he was poor at Kansas, So I think UK is better at Oline coach than 2023 regardless.

Wolford also had a first round draft pick in '24. But don't you know? Soon as a guy is hired by UK he becomes a bum.