1-On-1 with Logan Stenberg: Catching up with UK's next NFL offensive lineman

There is one voice that I listen to when evaluating college football offensive linemen. That opinion belongs to the SEC Network’s Cole Cubelic. Cole is the most knowledgeable analyst in the game. I reached out to Cubelic to give his perspective about Logan Stenberg the NFL prospect. He described the Kentucky guard as, “one of the top 4 or 5 most physical players in the draft. He can change the attitude of the room.” Strong words that are consistent with his takes on Stenberg over the past four seasons. Logan Stenberg enjoyed one of the most successful and colorful careers for an offensive lineman in program history. He started 39 consecutive games and was named 1st Team All-SEC and 2nd Team All-American. His senior season average game-grade was 85% and he allowed zero quarterback sacks in 2019. The 6’6, 330-pound Madison, Alabama native also led the Cats with 95 knockdown blocks. Extremely physical by nature and an original founder of the Big Blue Wall, Stenberg had a league-wide reputation as the Wildcat’s enforcer. As he gets ready for the next phase of his football career, Logan and I conducted a social-distancing interview via email. Here is our conversation:

Describe the Big Blue Wall members with one word: Stenberg: Drake Jackson, Dedicated; Luke Fortner, Smart; Darian Kinnard, Athletic; Landon Young, Tough. What’s the funniest thing you ever saw during a game? Stenberg: I will never forget the game at Georgia this past year, Drake Jackson was climbing to a second level defender and caught the defender on his heels. Inadvertently the defender proceeded to absolutely demolish Drake and knock him on his ass. Drake then comes to the sideline and claims “he tripped.” Describe how you’ve been preparing for the NFL Draft. Stenberg: I have been working with Corey Edmond and Mark Hill of the UK strength staff. I’ve also been working with TEST (a football-specific gym in CT). Most recently due to COVID-19, I have been working out and trying to stay fit in my friend’s family gym. What was your NFL Combine experience like? What was one of the craziest questions asked in Indianapolis? Which participant did you hang around the most? Stenberg: The NFL Combine experience is underrated. It’s absolutely exhausting. Meetings with individual teams are ongoing and seem endless. The medical evaluations are all crammed into two days, but the information and tests they’re trying to run would easily fill a full week’s time. Med Evals and coaches' meetings are all prior to the “testing” which is the 40 and drills that fans actually see. You go into the drills on the final day definitely not feeling 100%. I was roommates with Simon Stepniak of IU and ended up spending all my time with him. Do you think that you were unfairly singled out by officials during your senior season? Stenberg: I definitely believe that officials were unfair towards me in my final season. Not saying that I never did anything wrong because I did PLENTY wrong. It just seems unfair when opposing coaches have pregame meetings with officials warning them to “look out for #71." Describe how you’ve been communicating with NFL teams since the quarantine. Stenberg: All communication has been through Zoom, FaceTime and over the phone. Using Zoom and FaceTime for more in depth football-focused meetings and just normal phone calls for teams that just want to get to know me or pick my brain. How will you experience the NFL Draft? Stenberg: The NFL Draft for me will be spent with my family on my parents' cattle farm in Tennessee. Be honest, did you enjoy the “Enforcer” label you had during your UK career? Stenberg: Honesty, loved it. Many people know that OG is definitely not a glamorous position so having any type of recognition/hype around your name because of the job you’re doing was very rewarding for me. What would you tell an offensive lineman that UK is recruiting? Stenberg: I would tell them the truth. UK as a school was a great place to spend five years. I had so much fun outside of football and even more in football. The coaches at UK are not normal D1 coaches. They care about you as a person. The facilities at UK are incredible and made it easy to feel comfortable and at home when on campus. Possibly the best part about coming to UK is being able to spend a few years in Lexington. I have fallen in love with the horse and Keeneland culture as well as the great balance of small/big town feel.

Kentucky was the three-star’s only Power 5 offer coming out of high school. I took notice of his talents during the Alabama vs. Mississippi High School All-Star Game. To me, Stenberg projected as a multiple-year starter. He achieved that and more. Plain and simple, the Wildcats will miss Stenberg. I will miss Logan Stenberg. 39 consecutive starts at an all-conference level will be difficult to replace. Moreover, he’ll be missed in the locker room. Being around the game for decades, I hardly ever use the phrase, “one of a kind.” Stenberg is just that. A mixture of badass and intellectual with an unmatched sense of humor. I enjoyed watching Logan develop as a football player and young man. Consider me a fan. Always have been. Sure, the penalties were there throughout the years. So what. So were his unquestionable effort, nastiness, and desire. Every team needs an enforcer. Every team needs a Logan Stenberg.