Jager Burton (Vicky Graff Photo)
Moving Jager Burton from guard to center and shifting Elie Cox back from center to guard were two significant offseason moves for Kentucky to hopefully improve the offensive line play and offensive production.
For two games, Burton’s name was not mentioned a lot. However, that changed in Saturday’s 35-3 win over Akron when he had two high snaps and a costly holding penalty that wiped out a touchdown.
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops was asked Monday if snapping issues are similar in his mind to having a kicker not making kicks.
“I wouldn’t say that. Obviously, there is technique involved in all areas. Having said that, I can’t fix it. I can’t fix a kicker. For a snapper, I have an offensive line coach,” Stoops said.
“We need to continue to improve. We know, we’ve seen issues that have popped up. I saw the Miami Dolphins struggle snapping the ball last night too, right? They’re good enough to overcome it.
“I am not happy with that. They have to overcome it. We overcame one and scored a touchdown, again I don’t want to make a habit of that. We killed one drive. We have to get better.”
Just as he did after the game, Stoops said there were options at center. Kentucky could move Cox back to center and shift Burton to guard.
“We look at other players, we continue to develop other players, we continue to develop Jager (and give him experience and opportunity to grow. All of it we look at,” the Kentucky coach said.
He noted Burton’s snapping issues could be mental since this is his first year playing the position.
“Because Jager, who cares more than him?” Stoops asked.
The answer is no one cares more. Burton bleeds blue and his work ethic/passion have never been an issue. He just made two bad snaps last week.
“He cares. He works hard. He is a great young man. He cares about his performance and what he does for this team. Is there a mental component? I am sure there is,” Stoops said.
“I don’t overanalyze that. As a group, I challenged the offensive line this past week. We will continue to. As a group, we need to continue to grow.”
