‘He hammers people.’ Kentucky star climbing draft boards, making noise at Senior Bowl.
“Nasty” is the word most often associated with Logan Stenberg, an offensive guard who played his last game in a University of Kentucky uniform on Dec. 31.
Stenberg, a senior and the lone starting member departing from an offensive line that finished as a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award, has impressed draft analysts in attendance for the practices leading up to Saturday’s Reese’s Senior Bowl. He is the lone Wildcat participating in this year’s game, which annually showcases some of the top seniors expected to be selected in the NFL Draft. Stenberg will play for the South team against the North, blocking for quarterbacks Jalen Hurts of Oklahoma and Justin Herbert of Oregon and running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn of Vanderbilt, among others.
Jonah Tuls of The Draft Network on Monday named Stenberg as one of his sleepers in this year’s draft as well as the best offensive guard available in 2020. The one word he used to describe how Stenberg looks on film? “Nasty,” of course.
“Stenberg has heavy hands and an unparalleled mean streak that typically results in several pancake blocks each game,” Tuls wrote. “Many SEC fans know Stenberg for his overaggressive nature and tendency to draw personal foul penalties, but if I’m being honest, I love that kind of nasty attitude and toughness. Other SEC players have called him the most hated player in the conference, and I can’t blame them.”
Others who’ve lauded Stenberg leading up to the Senior Bowl include Chris Brown, an “insider” employed by the Buffalo Bills, and Rob Staton, a BBC reporter who also runs a Seattle Seahawks blog that specializes in draft coverage.
“If you like physical, aggressive run-blocking then this is the guy for you,” Staton wrote in a piece published this month. “He hammers people.”
Mike Renner, the lead draft analyst for Pro Football Focus, has Stenberg as the No. 57 overall prospect and as the only top-100 prospect from Kentucky on his “big board.” Tuls in an email to the Herald-Leader said he’d be surprised if Stenberg is picked outside of the top 100 selections in this year’s draft, meaning he expects the 6-foot-6, 317-pound lineman to be, at worst, a high fourth-round pick.
“He looks to finish every block to the ground, sometimes even getting flagged for being too physical,” Tuls told the Herald-Leader. “Several NFL teams are going to fall in love with his mentality and toughness.”
Stenberg’s penchant for penalties drew the ire of fans throughout his career in Lexington. Penalty flags were thrown his way 13 times in 2019 — one per game — and three times in the Wildcats’ 37-30 win over Virginia Tech, his most recent in-game showing. According to The Football Database, 14 NFL players in 2019 committed an amount of penalties numbering in double digits, and only one of them wasn’t an offensive lineman. Offensive tackles Jawaan Taylor (Jacksonville) and Laremy Tunsil (Houston) led the way with 15 each during the league’s 16-game regular season.
It’s an area in which Stenberg will need to prove he’s capable of improving, but it’s sounding like his over-aggressiveness will pay off more than it will hurt him in the coming weeks. That was the case at Kentucky, where a vital supporter never left his corner.
“If I thought there was a lot of selfish intent, then we would have a bigger problem than we do,” Mark Stoops said prior to UK’s most recent game against Louisville, in which the Wildcats ran for a school-record 517 yards. “A lot of times that’s not the case. He understands that. He does not want to hurt this football team at all, in any way, shape or form. And he’s not selfish, but he plays it extremely nasty on every play.”
Senior Bowl
What: NFL Draft showcase for college seniors
When: 2:30 p.m. EST Saturday
Where: Ladd Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala.
TV: NFL Network
This story was originally published January 23, 2020 at 8:45 AM.
