Alabama hires Kentucky OL coach Eric Wolford, per report

UPDATE

ESPN reports that Eric Wolford has accepted the offer and will leave Kentucky to become the next offensive line coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

This is a big loss, but Mark Stoops has consistently made good assistant coach hires since the program really took off in 2016. And with the amount of talent this unit possesses, Kentucky should be able to hire a quality replacement.

Saying this, Wolford was becoming a force on the recruiting trail, which may end up being the biggest loss Kentucky suffers with him heading to Bama.

The Alabama Crimson Tide are reportedly going after Kentucky Wildcats offensive line coach Eric Wolford for the same position.

First reported by BamaOnLine, The Tide are going after Wolford to replace their offensive line coach from this past season, Doug Marrone, who is still on staff at Alabama but could be heading back to the NFL.

2021 was Wolford’s first season with the Wildcats program after coming over from South Carolina. Kentucky was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award, awarded to the best offensive line in the country.

The offensive line paved the way for Chris Rodriguez to rush for over 1,000 yards on the season and quarterback Will Levis to throw for more than 2,400 yards.

Wolford took on the task of following the late Jon Schlarman after the 2020 season and became a valuable asset to the Kentucky program.

The hole to fill Wolford will be difficult if he leaves, but not impossible given the reputation that John Schlarman and the Big Blue Wall have built over the years.

Another thing going for Kentucky is how much young, blue-chip talent there already is in the trenches with guys like Kiyaunta Goodwin, Jager Burton, Grant Bingham, Nikolas Hall, John Young and Deondre Buford. That should make it much easier to find a quality replacement for Wolford.