Twice during Mark Stoops’ most successful time at Kentucky, the offensive line was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award in 2018 and 2021. That trophy goes to the top offensive line in college football. Since then, the big guys up front have had trouble protecting the quarterback. Last year’s group did a better job than in recent years. However, four of the five starters graduated, and a fifth, Jalen Farmer, declared for the NFL Draft. As a result, new coach Will Stein had to find new pieces quickly, and do it they did. Let’s look at the newcomers as Kentucky is rebuilding the Big Blue Wall.
Cats Use Portal To Rebuild
Bringing In Some Top Names
Currently, Kentucky sits eighth in the nation in the portal rankings and fourth in the SEC. A big part of that is the players, Stein and new offensive line coach Cutter Leftwich have brought in.
There’s none bigger than center Coleton Price. The former Baylor starter is the top-ranked interior offensive lineman in the portal. The 6′-3″, 318-pounder was a three-star player coming out of Bowie, Texas. Midway through the 2023 season, he became a starter and never looked back, and has started 31 straight games. A season ago, he only allowed one sack in 526 snaps. He has one year of eligibility remaining.
As we continue looking at how Kentucky is rebuilding the Big Blue Wall, let’s look at a couple of more impact players.
Big Time Talent
Offensive guard Tegra Tshabola comes to Kentucky by way of Ohio State. Coming out of Lakota West High School in Cincinnati, Tshabola was recruited by the previous staff. However, he took his talents to Columbus.
Originally an offensive tackle, he switched to guard, and that move paid immediate dividends. He became the starting right guard and helped lead OSU to the 2024 championship. In addition, he has 25 starts and over 1,500 snaps in his career. The six-foot-six, 325-pounder has one year of eligibility remaining.
Lance Heard heads up Interstate 75 from Tennessee to Kentucky. Coming out of high school in Louisiana, he was a five-star prospect who stayed home to play for LSU. However, he transferred to Tennessee after the 2023 season. While in Knoxville, he became one of the best left tackles in the SEC. In fact, he earned Offensive Lineman of the week honors when the Vols beat Kentucky last season.
The fourth-ranked tackle and 27th-best player overall has one season of eligibility left.
Let’s look at a few more players coming to Lexington as we finish up showing how Kentucky is rebuilding the Big Blue Wall through the transfer portal.
Pushing For Playing Time
The Cats brought in another player from Tennessee, Max Anderson. He was a four-star player coming out of high school in Texas in 2024. He redshirted his first year in Knoxville, then played in three games last season. Anderson has three years of eligibility remaining.
Kentucky stayed in the SEC for its next portal get. Olaus Alinen comes to Lexington from Alabama. Originally from Finland, Alinen came to the United States for his junior year of high school. Playing in Connecticut, he quickly rose up the recruiting rankings to the 12th-best offensive tackle in the nation.
He redshirted his first year, then played mostly on special teams and in a reserve role for the Crimson Tide. Ailnen has two years remaining.
Lastly, the Wildcats picked up Mark Robinson, formerly of Texas-El Paso. The six-foot-five Robinson played in all 12 games for the Miners last season. He was an Honorable Mention All-Conference USA player.
Final Thoughts
Stein and Leftwich needed impact players, and it appears that’s just what they’ve done. If you are scoring at home, they brought in the top-ranked center, the fourth-best tackle, and the fourth-best guard. That’s something that can only be looked at as a positive in trying to protect new quarterback Kenny Minchey.
Thanks for checking out our look at Kentucky’s rebuilt Big Blue Wall here at Last Word On College Football.
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