Communication is Key for Kentucky Offensive Line

Things move fast in the trenches. Collisions occur as soon as the ball is snapped. In a matter of seconds, offensive linemen must create a lane for a running back or a pocket for the quarterback. If they aren’t all on the same page, the play never has a chance. That is why Kentucky offensive line coach Cutter Leftwich is beating his group over the head with one word this spring: Communication.

The first tenet of Will Stein‘s core DNA-traits is connection. “The most connected teams win the most games.” A team cannot be connected if it is not effectively communicating.

The Kentucky offensive line is receiving a communication stress test this spring. All five players must act as one in the trenches. As Stein mixes up starters and reserves in blue and white teams, an offensive lineman may sometimes be lined up next to someone new, forcing the players to over-communicate before the snap.

“You get different people playing next to different people, testing people’s communication… The communication aspect of things really ramps up the more you mix up with the groups,” Leftwich said earlier this week.

The chatter starts with the center. Coleton Price has three years of starting experience at the position for Baylor. The athletes are faster, but the IDs remain the same. Stein’s pro-style scheme comes with a little more nuance, which requires Price to be in lock-step with quarterback Kenny Minchey.

“He’s a leader,” said Price. “I do my best to be a leader as well on the field, getting snaps, you know, under center. I’m not sure if that’s weird or not. But I would say I’m pretty close with him, going out to dinner and stuff with him. I would think it creates a bond between us, not just only me and him, but between the O-line, because we want to block for that guy. Like, I would die for him, you know what I mean?”

The importance of communication is amplified by the speed at which this Kentucky football team operates. While the offense will not use tempo 100% of the time, there is plenty of it in practice. Kentucky is stressing its offensive line during spring practice to ensure they’re prepared for the rigors of SEC football.

“We’re gonna go on road environments. It’s gonna be loud, right? How can we be calm in the chaos, how can we be able to reset our mind, reset our focus that this play’s the most important play mentality,” said Leftwich.

“I think it really helps with the communication. Going back to that piece from earlier, there’s a lot of moving parts, a lot of things going on. How we can be able to focus, be able to communicate up front, I think, is extremely important.”