Kendrick Law is a “slam dunk draft pick”

UK Athletics Photo

Kentucky will still have three players playing in the East-West Shrine Bowl Tuesday in Frisco, Texas, and Eric Galko, Shrine Bowl director of football operations and player personnel, is a big fan of UK receiver Kendrick Law who was scheduled to play but has had to drop out due to a minor injury.

“He is one of the fastest and most explosive players in this draft class. You saw Kentucky try to use him every way possible last season,” said Galko. “His natural twitch and speed and versatility to do a lot of things make him special. Combine that with a super high football IQ and he is going to have a very obvious role to the NFL with a lot of teams.  He could be a special teams player very quickly.”

He transferred to Kentucky for the 2025 season after spending three years at Alabama. He led the Wildcats in receptions (53), receiving yards (540) and kickoff returns (19.3 yards per return). He ranked second on the team in receiving touchdowns (3) and all-purpose yards (64.6/game). Law also added eight rushes for 53 yards.

“There just are not many players as twitchy and explosive as him. He can generate space and elude tacklers to get up the field,” Galko said. “I think he is a slam dunk draft pick. His experience, natural ability and speed are a pretty rare combination. The NFL finds roles for those guys. NFL teams are always looking for outside guys that can get vertical and make guys miss tackles and he can do that.

“He is so explosive that you want to get him the ball. It’s not as simple in the NFL to get guys the ball and you have to be a complete receiver. At Kentucky, he was the best player in the offense so that just gave it to him. In the NFL there are a lot of good players but he can be one of them.”

Center Jager Burton, offensive guard Josh Braun and defensive lineman David Gusta will represent Kentucky in the Shrine Bowl.

“Jager Burton is one of my favorite players in the entire draft,” Galko said about the UK center. “I met him two years ago at an offensive line camp and met him again this last offseason. He has talent and moves well athletically. He wants to be a special NFL player and does the work in the offseason to where he has constantly got better.

“The draft people see him not just as a center but as a multi-position player. He is big enough to play guard or even tackle if needed. I really think he is one of the better interior linemen in the draft.”

Galko said the Shrine Bowl has 12 “really good” interior defensive linemen he thinks that will all get drafted that Burton will work out against

“He is so athletic. He moves well and can snap the ball and quickly get up the field. He will get one-on-one in drills and win and NFL teams will get excited because they love seeing that in one-on-one drills against top talent,” Galko said.

Burton reminds Galko of former South Dakota State offensive lineman Mason McCormick. He played well at the Shrine Bowl and became a fourth round draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024. He has started 31 games the last two years.

“Mason came to the game and did very well. Jager reminds me of him except Jager is starting with a much higher ceiling,” Galko said.

Gusta transferred to UK from Washington State for the 2025 season. He started all 12 games and had 12 tackles with three tackles for loss, one sack and three quarterback hurries. In his collegiate career he had 36 starts, 74 tackles, nine tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

“He really got a chance at Kentucky to show his athleticism. He tested very well at the combine and I think the best is still ahead for him with the way he moves and how athletic he is for his size,” Galko said. “He can work laterally and that is so valuable for NFL clubs. He’s got so much room to grow.”

Galko said one “great thing” about the Shrine Bowl is that it gives players who were not on overly successful teams a chance to show what they can do.

“We will have guys from teams like Texas Tech, Indiana and Miami along with guys from teams that won two or three games,” the Shrine Bowl player personnel director said. “Here your record doesn’t matter. You are going to go against some of the best players in the nation. You can reset here. This is an all-star event and you are chosen because you had a great college career. I really value guys like the three from Kentucky that have earned this opportunity and it will also be their last time wearing a Kentucky helmet so that makes it even more special.”

Galko has only talked to new Kentucky coach Will Stein briefly but knows plenty about his reputation.

“From talking to different people I know he sets his quarterback up for success and that’s why quarterbacks want to play for him,” Galko said. “Others talk about the creative things he has done and how he manages the offense and his quarterback especially so I expect him to do well as a head coach.”