Will Stein has an Offensive Line filled with Future NFL Draft Picks

This weekend, the epicenter of the football world is at the confluence of three rivers in Pittsburgh, where the nation’s top college football players will hear their names called in the NFL Draft. This ceremony serves as the culmination of years of hard work to realize a dream. Will Stein believes he has created an offensive line at Kentucky filled with players who have a similar fate.

There are many reasons why Stein was attracted to Kentucky. The Wildcats were close in many SEC games, but couldn’t get over the hump. Clearly there was talent on the roster, but that was not the case at every position.

Four of Kentucky’s five starting offensive linemen were seniors. When Jalen Farmer declared for the NFL Draft, Stein had to completely rebuild the offensive line from scratch.

“When I got here, there was like no, no high school commits, barely, at O-line… Everything was depleted. It’s like nobody signed anybody. Like holy crap, man. We have to go get this position, and if we do not get this, we will not win. Like it’s just, it’s a fact,” Stein told Matt Jones on Wednesday morning’s KSR.

“So we went and spent on that position, because in order for us to move the football, we got to protect the quarterback and be able to run the ball.”

Kentucky used a significant chunk of its budget to add experienced players to the offensive line, starting with All-SEC offensive tackle Lance Heard. Offensive guard Tegra Tshabola won a National Championship during his two years as a starter at Ohio State. Center Coleton Price also had multiple years of starting experience at Baylor. Olaus Alinen (Alabama) and Max Anderson (Tennessee) lacked the starts, but still had logged years in the SEC.

After watching this new-look group in spring practice, Stein believes a strength of the Kentucky offense is in the trenches.

“We have a strong unit up front. I feel like it’s going to play winning football consistently,” said the Kentucky head coach. “I think our first five, six, seven guys are as good as I’ve been around in a long time. And I know that’s putting a lot on them. It’s obviously projecting something that has not even happened in a real football game yet. But I just see their size, their strength, their ability to retain information, and play together as a unit, I thought that was really good.”

That really is saying something. During each of Stein’s three years at Oregon, the Ducks’ offensive line was among the top three units in the country as Joe Moore Award finalists. Those are lofty expectations to live up to, but Stein believes Kentucky has the talent.

“When I look at it, I make it in terms of who’s going to play in the NFL? I think, maybe not in the next draft, because some of these guys are going to come back and play for us again, but you’re looking at a starting unit that potentially all five could play in the NFL,” said Stein.

The best teams have the most NFL Draft picks, and according to Stein’s eyes, this Kentucky offensive line is stacked with guys who will play on Sundays in the future.