How board games have brought the Kentucky football offense closer as a group

In between the program’s two summer scrimmages — the second one wrapping up on Saturday — members of the Kentucky football team took a short mid-week break for some R&R.

The location? Cabins in the woods on a Kentucky lake. Although the guys have been together for several months at this point, with the season-opener fast approaching, it provided another opportunity for everyone to get a little bit closer. In the new world of college athletics, where football is treated more like a professional career than it ever has before, it’s becoming tougher to balance the line between treating this like a job while still having fun as a college student along the way.

A one-day break on the lake was a way to find that fun.

“We had a little team retreat this past week,” Kentucky offensive lineman Josh Braun told reporters Saturday. “I think the way you balance it is that when you cross the white lines, when you’re on the field, it’s business, it’s your job. But once you’re past the field and you’re in a team situation like we did this past Wednesday night, that’s when the fun begins. But in between the lines, on the field, it’s all business.”

This past week we went away on a retreat to continue to grow our family bond and togetherness. pic.twitter.com/5OfqojEDGo

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) August 17, 2025

What started as a seemingly normal lake day, however, turned into something more eye-opening. After spending most of the afternoon in the water, another offensive lineman, Shiyazh Pete (who else?), busted out a board game, RISK: Europe. There were no TVs in these cabins, meaning the PS5s that a few players bought were unusable. Suddenly, a group of guys who had spent the last half a year together were learning something entirely new about each other — they all enjoy board games.

“Pete, me, Jager (Burton), (Zach) Calzada, Cutter (Boley), (Josh) Kattus, basically most of the offense, we’re playing Risk: Europe. Maybe a little later than we should have been,” Braun said, noting that Burton was the winner. “It’s things like that we’re gonna remember for the rest of our lives and that’s why I think it was important.”

“We could have been playing Risk every Friday night for the last 20 weeks,” he joked.

Braun, who came over from Arkansas, noted how, especially in the transfer portal era, building team chemistry is different from how it was even just a couple of years ago. Kentucky, in particular, brought in a massive portal class this offseason. You have to find ways to “fast-track” team bonding with so many new faces. It was a game of RISK: Europe earlier this week, but it’s been the game of chess during camp season.

“We’ve been playing chess all through training camp,” Braun said. “Me and (Pete), Calzada, Coach (Corey Edmond). And it’s things like that, that yeah, you can play video games and that’s all fun but I think there’s a level of intimacy when you’re across the board from someone and it’s different than just being on the screen and the headset.”

The culture inside Kentucky’s offensive line room has done a complete 180 from last season. We’ll see how it pays off on the field when the Wildcats host Toledo on August 30.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.