UK Practice Report | Gran impressed by O-Line
- Thread starter wildcatman26
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If coach Gran is impressed with our O-line he s going to be REALLY impressed by the SEC D-lines UK is going to face.
The oline last year was Haynes soph Toth Jr Meyers Soph Meadows Soph George true frosh Mosier soph. The talent in this group is there and they are finally experienced as well.
Hopefully you recognize that he's spent 13 years in the SEC.
Heaven forbid the o-line actually improving, right? They surely can't do that.
Goodness, some of you people are absolutely insufferable.
Good post and I will add the line had some impressive running stats considering the lack of a passing game. The top 2 backs averaged 5.8 ypc and 7.1 that's impressive.
That's not quite right. Our starting offensive line last September from left to right was Swindle, Haynes, Toth, Meyers, GAA. Meadows took GAA's starting job around the time the conference schedule began. GAA moved inside this month. Swindle graduated. Chances are the #1 offensive line emerging in April will be Leavitt, Meyer, Toth, GAA, Meadows. If freshmen can shake up the starting unit in August, so be it. But the happier Gran gets with them in April, the harder it will be for someone else to break into the starting unit de novo in August. The good news is that quality depth on our offensive line is the best most of us can remember.
UK has fielded some good teams with average offensive lines filled with kids with far less upsides than this OL. All of this rhetoric regarding the OL talent is not BS like many want to believe.
Yes but Swindle is graduated. I was naming returning olineman. My point is the line was pretty darn young last year. People hammer them for there struggles I was pointing to there strengths which was in the run game.
swindle was a guard being forced to play OT. he did not have the skill set to play that position at the d1 level. meadows was young and raw... as was gaa. tate has better athletic ability to play ot. we may or may not have a good oline this year but it will be better than last year.
The line was young at some positions, not all. Seldom will any team start only seniors and juniors. Swindle was a senior, Toth a junior. Although Haynes was a sophomore, it was his 3rd year on campus and he beat out a senior, West. Our 2 tackles were by far our least effective linemen, and 1 of them was a senior. So inexperience was not the primary problem. The primary problem was that our tackles did not have the ability, whether it was a matter of talent or craft, to block SEC edge rushers. I had no major criticisms of the interior linemen. If our tackles play better this year, our offensive line will be more effective. Meadows is bound to be better now, since he just got his 1st significant game experience in October and November. Leavitt is the key. If Leavitt is as good as his ratings and headlines are telling us, then this will be a significantly improved line, and that would be a big boost to the play of our quarterbacks.
UK's starting OL in 07 AVERAGED about a 5.2, (with really lousy depth) if it wasn't for the fact that some underrated players turned out to be very good this year we could be starting (going by their rating, not what they have proven on the field, ie Toth) a 5.9, 5.7, 5.8, 5.7, and a 6.1, that would average a LOFTY (on ANY team) 5.84 on Rivals Richter scale.
Of course the experience is VERY valuable on the OL so we won't do that, but the upgrade in the OL raw talent at UK is unbelievable, and those lower rated players that will be starting still have very good talent AND valuable experience.
Larubbio and Stenberg hardly ever mentioned 5.7s, Stenberg taller than AA and heavier coming in, if he had enrolled early we might be talking about him a lot more.
This year with the experience our returning OL has we will undoubtedly have an OL sitting on the bench that averages a 5.7 or above.
Much maligned Swindle is our only loss, and I think he has a chance of sticking somewhere in the NFL, and he was a 5.5 coming in.
Lots of individual misses in the rating systems, both high and low, but I think when you take whole teams or whole groups they are very significant.
Swindle has been unfairly criticized IMO, becasue at times he gave up sacks solo blocking guys that will be playing on Sunday this year. he rarely was given help from a TE or a back. I see some of these LTs in the NFL give up sacks every week, it doesn't mean they aren't good and talented players. Here's a clue, the OTs don't win every one on one match-up sometimes the DEs win too.
I would not be shocked to see Leavitt moved to a different spot when Young arrives. It sounds like Meadows is coming into his own. I would like to see the depth chart at 2r
I agree! The sec has the best dlineman in the country period. You don't see the high octane offenses in the sec because quite frankly it is not smart. Doing 5 and 7 step drops and throwing the ball 50 times a game is not a solid recipe in the sec.
That OL wasn't as talented, but we had a 5th year senior QB, TE, WR, and a senior RB. The biggest difference maker was 5th-year senior QB Andre Woodson. No such luxury this year.
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All good and true.
BUT while Woodson was a four star he was a 5.8, and not only was he the only four star on offense but there were zero 5.7s on offense and Little was the only 5.6 on offense. And while Tamme and Burton were late 5.5s (Tamme turned down by UK's Morris, and Burton turned down by UL) Johnson was a two star and Lyons a FOUR POINT NINE as a recruit.
Combine them with an OL that averaged about a 5.2 and what would you expect?
I often wonder what WR coach turned the WRs into our best receiving corp in history, surely not the one most fans love to hate, that had ZERO support from his buddy, mitch------but then, to be fair, so did Brooks.
All good and true.
BUT while Woodson was a four star he was a 5.8, and not only was he the only four star on offense but there were zero 5.7s on offense and Little was the only 5.6 on offense. And while Tamme and Burton were late 5.5s (Tamme turned down by UK's Morris, and Burton turned down by UL) Johnson was a two star and Lyons a FOUR POINT NINE as a recruit.
Combine them with an OL that averaged about a 5.2 and what would you expect?
I often wonder what WR coach turned the WRs into our best receiving corp in history, surely not the one most fans love to hate, that had ZERO support from his buddy, mitch------but then, to be fair, so did Brooks.
I watched the UK video of Gran's interview. He seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the line...quite upbeat. Didn't really seem like he was blowing sunshine up our collective.....well, you know. Maybe his scheme, coupled with more experience from our young talent will make a difference. I also hope he can help coach up these guys, because IMO the jury is still out on Schlarman.
The line had in its top 8 fr, soph,soph,soph, soph that's pretty darn young and lots of experience returning.
You all are talking a lot about age and personnel, but maybe we should also look into scheme. Gran said the line doesn't have to hold their blocks for a long time in his system. Maybe that and the other factors listed are paying dividends.
That's a valid observation. But generally, sacks are made by edge rushers or blitzes. Usually, an edge rusher, beating a tackle. Usually, sacks don't happen in the middle of the pocket, although there are exceptions. In 2013, Kentucky allowed more sacks than any other SEC team. In 2014, Kentucky was 13th, next to last in the SEC. In 2015, Kentucky was 10th in the SEC in quarterback protection. That sounds like an improvement trend, but Kentucky was only about a half-sack per game better than the worst SEC team at quarterback protection. IIRC, I believe you actually attend our football games, correct me if I am wrong. I also attend the games. I don't think people watching games on TV can see how well or poorly our offensive line is playing. You have to be in the stands to focus on individual players play after play. I watched Swindle as a starter for several years, and he is not a very good pass blocker. He is a better run blocker. Over the last 3 years, Swindle gave up more sacks than any other player on our line. Although GAA lost his job in September by giving up too many sacks. In the Louisville game, where we took a 2 touchdown lead into the locker room at halftime, then got clobbered in the 2nd half, Swindle's man beat him on almost every snap in the 2nd half. Drew Barker had an awful game because he was a young, inexperienced quarterback getting sacked or hurried on every pass. If our offensive line doesn't pass block better this year, the same thing will happen again, and Steve Johnson will take Barker's job. There will be a lot of springtime sunshine pumping over Barker in the press. But if our offensive line doesn't play better in the fall, Barker will fail. To succeed, Barker needs time in the pocket. He may become a quicker decision maker as a junior and senior, but he will lose his starting job before then unless our offensive line plays better. That's why Tate Leavitt is 1 of the most important players on this year's team.
If taking that observation literally, I don't necessarily agree with it. Stoops did not suddenly learn to recruit tackles in 2016. Player development and retention are sometimes as important as recruiting. This seems like a case in point. Stoops has signed some solid tackle prospects like Justin Day, Kyle Meadows, Josh Krok, Levon Livingston. Day and Livingston never made it to campus. Krok was on the verge of cracking our playing rotation, but quit suddenly for personal reasons. Meadows, a 4 star with a lot of talent, will be a solid player for us for several years. But he just got his feet wet for the 1st time in October and November. I would not overlook Logan Stenberg, who has a chance to become a solid right tackle in years ahead. That probably depends on what Wills does. If Wills signs with Stoops, then Young and Wills will be the bookend starting tackles for many years and Stenberg could get moved inside.
You may be confusing Krok and Nick Richardson. Krok's time at UK was marked by injuries, he transferred to the MAC. Richardson was the guy who left because of personal reasons.
As for Wills, he could and I emphasize could, move inside if UK were to sign Munford and/or Eze. Inside would be his more natural NFL position.
No, I did not confuse Krok with Richardson. Krok was a 5.7 high 3 star prospect who also had scholarship offers from Louisville, Cincinnati, West Virginia. Long body, long arms, pretty good flexibility. Krok could have been a good football player. It's true that Krok had some injuries, but injuries happen in football. Krok reportedly got discouraged and left. Richardson was a natural guard who received looks as a tackle in practice due to need at the time. Reportedly Richardson left over a girl but IDK. You are right about Wills. Most schools on his list including Alabama and Ohio State have offered Wills as a guard. My friend at Lafayette high school says Wills' interest in Kentucky is due in part to Schlarman's promise to use him as a tackle. But he has the physical build of a guard. If Wills signs with Stoops, Young will be the left tackle and Wills will be the right tackle. Although guard would be Wills' NFL position, nobody on Kentucky's roster could beat him out as a tackle. He is a better player than Meadows or GAA. Munford could play on the right or left in college. If Stoops can't sign Wills, his interest in Munford will rise fast. But Munford might be harder for Stoops to sign than Wills. I think that's why they took Dotson, who will need a lot of development but has excellent physical tools.
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