My First Impressions of Zach Yenser

There’s a huge difference between judging a coach by watching press conferences on the computer and seeing him answer questions in person. I first interacted with Kentucky offensive line coach Zach Yenser on Tuesday. The result was that I found two walls to run through on my way back to my Corolla in the parking lot. This dude gets it. I could end this post now, but let’s dive deeper.

Zach Yenser is a Football Dude. He’s a powerful offensive line coach that reminded me of the late, great John Schlarman. The passion in the coach’s voice was undeniable, refreshing, and quite honestly, much-needed. He talked about the necessity for his players to have fun. What’s this “Fun” word in which he speaks? Yenser started the media session by describing what he expects from his linemen.

“I want guys to play free. I don’t want guys to think a lot. We have assignments but we want to run through aiming points and we want to move people off the ball.”

Pretty simple right? Yenser inherits an offensive line room that lost three starters to the NFL Draft. That group of future pros includes All-American tackle Darian Kinnard, All-SEC center Luke Fortner, and left tackle Dare Rosenthal. Don’t fret for the new position coach; there is no negativity with this cat.

Yenser actually embraces and craves the Big Blue Wall’s culture and traditions. He relishes being at Kentucky and ran toward the calling, not away. His words were chilling today.

“I can’t say enough about the guys in our O-Line room. It’s a tribute to the culture that Coach Stoops has put together. A tribute to Coach Schlarman’s recruiting before I got here. It’s an awesome group. I’m enjoying it. I think they’re having fun. They’re loose, but when it’s time to get down and to play football they’ve done a really good job. That’s kinda our mentality. It’s too hard to not have fun. If they don’t enjoy coming to this building right here, then I don’t think they can be good football players. They have to enjoy coming over here, enjoy being around us, enjoy watching film, enjoy the things it takes in the classroom, meeting room. They have to enjoy doing that. I think they are.”

Refreshing. He also stressed the importance of getting back to the Big Blue Wall’s tradition of an eight-man rotation. The most pressing personnel question for the Cats is at left tackle. Jeremy Flax appears to have locked down the right tackle spot which leaves Will Levis’ blindside protector up for competition. Deondre Buford and true freshman Kiyaunta Goodwin are contending as is David Wohlabaugh. Yenser is cross-training linemen at multiple positions which will add depth during fall camp and during the season.

High on Kiyaunta Goodwin, Eli Cox

Kiyaunta Goodwin was a major recruiting win for Mark Stoops and Vince Marrow. Once the tackle signed, the reality became that it’s extremely difficult for a true freshman to earn a starting role, especially in the ever-demanding Southeastern Conference.

“Kiyaunta is doing really well for us,” Yenser said of his prized rookie. “Heck, the guy should still be in high school right now. He’s a big son of a gun. His head is spinning a little bit right now but we expect that being a young guy. When he knows what he’s doing, he’s right about 95% of the time right now. Half the battle is the snap count. You go from a high school snap count where he could have been on the silent and on the clap to where we got four or five different snap counts. Snap count’s huge for us. The speed of the game, every day he steps on the field he’s picking up more.”

One thing was clear today, Yenser really likes his center Eli Cox. Cox was a midyear All-American guard who moved to the middle this spring. Kentucky centers have enjoyed a notable history in the Stoops era. Starting with Jon Toth, Wildcat centers have played on an All-SEC level for nearly ten years. Yenser’s expectation for Cox is high.

“I think Eli had a really good year last year at guard. But I think transitioning to center has helped him out tremendously. He’s a very bright guy, gets everybody on the same page. He’s physical, He’s strong. I joke around with him all the time, he’s got big shoes to fill with Fortner and Drake’s in the room again. He’s up to the challenge, I think he’s done a phenomenal job. I think he’s going to continue to get a lot better. He is what makes the O-line run. We go as he goes.”

“We go as he goes” is one heck of a statement and highlights the standing of the center position and Eli Cox’s impact on the 2022 Wildcats. Replacing three starters will not be an easy proposition for the new position coach. However, he has fan-favorite Drake Jackson as an assistant which has made the transition seamless.