Remember not too long ago when it was big news if Kentucky football could get a commitment from a mid-level three-star offensive or defensive lineman.
Now coach Mark Stoops and his staff have regularly started landing high-level four-star linemen, a necessity to have a successful Southeastern Conference program.
The trend continued recently when UK got verbal commitments from Detroit offensive lineman Deondre Buford and Tennessee defensive lineman Tre’Vonn Rybka. Both had a bundle of offers. Buford is a top 300 player nationally and Rybka a top 500 player. Both are four-star recruits.
So what is going on that has made UK so attractive to high level linemen in recent years?
“On offense, I think (assistant coach) John Schlarman’s reputation has grown more in the last couple of year as players seen what Kentucky does,” said Josh Edwards, a UK recruiting analyst for The Cats Pause/247Sports. “They rotate guys in and out and a lot get to play early, and that helps. It also has not hurt that they have had some great home-grown talent like Landon Young, Drake Jackson, John Young and Eli Cox.
“When you start seeing four-star players at offensive tackle, that’s how you build a team that lasts in the SEC and Kentucky has that now. Kentucky improving on an annual basis has also certainly helped open eyes because nothing helps more than winning.”
On defense, Edwards says he has been able to sense a “different tone” when recruits talk about line coach Derrick LeBlanc.
“He is getting a lot of respect from recruits to where I think Kentucky is really going to be able to continue recruiting at a high level on the defensive front, too,” Edwards said.
Edwards believes the message Stoops and his assistants deliver about what UK can do not only for players on the f field but also to develop the player as a person resonates well in recruiting, too.
“They are talking about the development as a person that sets you up for the rest of your life outside of football,” Edwards said. “When you can take the on-field production of guys like Josh Allen, Benny Snell, Mike Edwards or Lonnie Johnson and combine that with the family feel they have in Lexington, then you can recruit a lot of top tier guys.”
Edwards noted that Buford gave UK a “silent” commitment in April and waited until this week to make it public. Rybka was a player Tennessee was recruiting heavily and it would not have been a surprise to see him pick the Vols.
“But I had a chance to see him in Lexington in June and just the way he interacted with coaches and players impressed me. He looked so comfortable,” Edwards said. “This coaching staff’s ability to make players feel comfortable before they even wear a Kentucky jersey is huge. There’s still no substitute for on-field success. But if you can win and combine all these other factors, then UK becomes very appealing and it seems like once you start attracting quality linemen, then it is easier to get more to come play with them like UK is doing.”