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The Kentucky Wildcats are going to be loaded next season on the football field.
They Cats are returning 18 of 22 starters, including Terry Wilson and Davonte Robinson. All eyes are set on the SEC East title in 2020.
What’s even more impressive is how stacked Kentucky will be in the trenches—where the game begins and ends in the SEC—especially on the offensive side of the ball.
According to PFF grades, Kentucky will return four of the top seven offensive linemen in the SEC next year. That’s absolutely ridiculous.
#SEC Highest-graded returning O-linemen
— Brent Rollins (@PFF_Brent) February 19, 2020
Darian Kinnard, UK - 89.2
Jamaree Salyer, UGA - 81.3
Trey Smith, UT - 78.6
Landon Young, UK - 78.3
Drake Jackson, UK - 78.0
Ben Cleveland, UGA - 77.4
Luke Fortner, UK - 77.0
Carson Green, A&M - 76.3
Trey Hill, UGA - 73.6@PFF_College
While Kentucky loses one of its most important—and polarizing—offensive linemen in Logan Stenberg, it returns everyone else, and has as much depth as anyone in the country.
Drake Jackson will be one of, if not the best, centers in the country next season. Darian Kinnard is on his way to becoming a first-round draft pick in 2021. And Landon Young is ready to explode onto the scene.
This group will second-to-none next season.
This leads me to my next point: John Schlarman is one of the best offensive line coaches in the country.
It’s no secret Mark Stoops has put together a solid staff during his time in Lexington and Schlarman is no exception.
Here’s a list of the top-10 highest paid offensive line coaches, according to Football Scoop:
1. Matt Luke, Georgia — $900,000
2. Will Friend, Tennessee — $805,000
3. Bill Bedenbaugh, Oklahoma — $750,000
4. Justin Frye, UCLA — $700,000
5. Eric Wolford, South Carolina — $700,000
6. Kyle Flood, Alabama — $650,000
6. Herb Hand, Texas — $650,000
8. Robbie Caldwell, Clemson — $640,000
9. Ed Warinner, Michigan — $625,000
10. Josh Henson, Texas A&M — $605,000
Scharman should be on this list soon. He only makes $490,000 at the moment, despite being just as good, if not better, than most of the coaches on this list.
The results speak for themselves. The offensive line is loaded with talent and coached by one of the best in the business.
Once again, Kentucky fans should enjoy watching their favorite players run behind the famous Big Blue Wall in 2020.