Kentucky Football Has a Real Issue Up Front

Vicky Graff Photo

There’s a real debate to be made that being able to protect your quarterback is the most important part of a football team, especially in 2022. The game of football has transitioned so much over the last decade and requires quality quarterback play more than ever.

It’s difficult for even the best quarterbacks to play well behind a struggling offensive line and Kentucky fans have witnessed just that this year.

Though the Wildcats got off to a hot 4-0 start to the season and saw their Associated Press ranking soar to No. 7, that didn’t necessarily mean their offensive line was playing great football. In fact, you can make the argument having star quarterback Will Levis helped disguise just how limited Kentucky’s offensive line is.

Levis took 19 sacks through five games, including three last week at Ole Miss in the team’s first loss of the season. Those sacks and the additional hits Levis took held him out of Kentucky’s game on Saturday vs. South Carolina. The star QB suffered a left foot injury that required a walking boot, even on game day during warmups and throughout the game.

His injury elevated backup QB Kaiya Sheron as the starter. Before Saturday’s game, the redshirt freshman had handing the ball off in Kentucky’s win over Youngstown State as his only college football experience.

While no one should have expected anything heroic from Sheron, the backup playing the full game for Kentucky shed further light on just how much trouble the Wildcats are in with their offensive line play.

Kentucky lost to South Carolina for more reasons than one, but a glaring issue that stalled the Wildcats’ offense for most of the evening was the constant pressure Sheron was under. The Wildcats gave up six more sacks in the loss, bringing the total amount they’ve allowed this season to 25.

Kentucky didn’t have any time to throw the ball deep and couldn’t hold up in one-on-one pass protection. It makes you wonder just how great Levis is that the Wildcats have been able to move the ball through the air as much as they have during their first five games.

Levis is a tough football player and missing Saturday night’s game means he’s truly banged up. And with Mississippi State around the corner, there’s cause for concern that even if he plays that Kentucky’s offensive line won’t be able to keep him upright.

The Southeastern Conference is known as the best football conference in the country for many reasons. One of those being the passionate defense that’s played. The Wildcats have notoriously been known for having the “Big Blue Wall” over the last several years. This season, they haven’t been anywhere close to reaching that standard.