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John Schlarman has become the heart and soul of Kentucky football.
An All-SEC offensive lineman at Kentucky in the 90s, Schlarman has been coaching at his alma matter since 2013, the first year Mark Stoops arrived in Lexington. That hire has proved to be one of Stoops’ most impactful decisions in his tenure, as Schlarman has built Kentucky’s offensive line into one of the best in college football.
He’s also done so while battling cancer since 2018, which earned him the distinction of being Kentucky’s ‘total badass’ by The Athletic.
And since 2018, Kentucky has ended a 31-game losing streak to Florida and now a 17-game losing streak in Knoxville to Tennessee. Schlarman’s offensive lines had major impacts in ending those dreaded streaks, so it’s no surprise to see him get a game ball following today’s win over Tennessee.
We played for something bigger than ourselves #22OatsStrong #SchlarmanStrong pic.twitter.com/xmTB6CMj5P
— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) October 17, 2020
Warrior. Exemplifies how a man should approach obstacles. Coach won't let his team down. We all played for him and Chris. Our Kentucky team has each other's backs and we will continue to fight. This one was fun https://t.co/NVFoc5WeA8
— Drake Jackson (@THE_DRAKE_52) October 17, 2020
Schlarman also got a game ball in 2018 following Kentucky’s memorable win at Florida.
Our second story is the one that means the most.
— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) September 9, 2018
"Cats Win in the Trenches for @CoachSchlarman , @JPaschalx "
by @guyramsey >> https://t.co/434G3BlH9A#GetUp #SchlarmanStrong #JPon3 pic.twitter.com/L8SUPT18XP
Well done, coach. Well done.