Mark Stoops Explains to Cole Cubelic Why They Rotate on the Offensive Line

Earlier this week Kentucky head football coach Mark Stoops spent 15 minutes on The Cube Show talking with Cole Cubelic.  If you don't know by now, the former Auburn lineman and SEC Network analyst is basically America's best at evaluating work in the trenches.  The interview began with a question about Benny Snell, but quickly transitioned into the trenches. "We definitely feel really good about our run game and our running back position, and certainly with Benny coming back, but it really starts with our offensive line," Stoops said. "We have quite a few offensive linemen that rotated in a year ago.  We only lost one player in Jon Toth, who was a heck of a football player for us.  We played about nine guys on the offensive line last year and we feel like we'll be seven, eight, nine deep again by the time the first game rolls around." Kentucky's rotating offensive line is uncommon in football.  There might be one or two positions that rotate to make it a seven-man offensive line, but nine?  Nobody does that.  Stoops' explanation makes so much sense, it makes me wonder why more people don't do the same. “Not only does it develop your team for the future, it was just better for our guys," he said. “We were playing some young guys, but had a nice mix... We have a rotation of older guys with experience, talented young guys, and it bodes well for the future of the program. “It’s a benefit two-fold. It gets us better as the season goes on. It keeps up healthy. It helps guys stay fresh. It also builds for the future of your program.”   They don't just talk about the offensive line.  Stoops shares what he likes about his young skill players, how the talented linebackers have improved and much more. Listen to the entire interview here starting around the 18-minute mark.