UK has an heir apparent for starting spot at center, but he’ll have to fight for it
Drake Jackson started 44 straight games at center for the University of Kentucky. That was three shy of the record set by Jon Toth in 2016.
Stability at that position was crucial in UK’s ascension over the last half-decade, and the turnover there as a result of Jackson’s entry into the NFL Draft has been one of the least-discussed areas of change in an offseason full of them. At first, that was because there appeared to be an heir apparent in Quintin Wilson, a junior who learned directly under Jackson the last three seasons and who spelled him in 10 games over the last two.
UK football’s biggest change in 2021 — offensive coordinator — thrust potential upheaval upon every position on that side of the ball, and shoo-ins to start have suddenly found themselves on more even ground with up-and-comers. That’s no less true at center, even though Wilson is the only offensive lineman specifically listed as one on the Wildcats’ roster this spring.
“Right now we’ve got kind of an open competition at the position,” offensive coordinator Liam Coen told reporters recently, noting that returning senior Luke Fortner and sophomore Eli Cox had been getting reps there in addition to guard. “… The beauty of that room is it’s a pride thing. Those guys want to do it. They want to make the calls, they want to be in charge. It’s really a next-man-up situation and they learned from one of the best in college football over the last couple years.”
Cross-training of linemen is essential, but it seems unlikely at this point that Fortner — who has started 23 straight games at right guard — would be more valuable in the heart of the line than as an interior blocker. Cox, a 6-foot-4, 293-pound lineman who starred for West Jessamine High School, played in eight games last year, mostly in relief of Kenneth Horsey at left guard. If you take the long view, it makes sense for both him and the program to see what Cox can do at center even if he ends up seeing more time at guard again this season and beyond; it creates options.
It might be an “open competition,” but it would seem to be one that’s Wilson’s to lose. Other than having the most experience training at that spot — he was a highly recruited center prospect in high school — he has the advantage of having graduated with his bachelor’s degree in just two and a half years, freeing him up to pursue a master’s degree in business administration while also affording him a little more time to dive into a new playbook.
“My mom wouldn’t have been happy if I’d tried to take it easy off the field and just tried to focus solely on the field,” Wilson said. “She wanted me to push myself on the field and off the field, and I think it really set me up to pursue some other opportunities after football and that’s really important, just trying to grow as a whole person and not just as a football player.”
The shake-up in communication verbiage has been the most notable difference in transitioning from Eddie Gran’s offense to Coen’s, Wilson said. There are schemes and patterns that might look exactly the same but have different names, or added wrinkles for which the center has to account while making adjustments.
Going from a shotgun-oriented approach to an offense where the quarterback spends more time under center has taken some getting used to, too.
“Nowadays not as many people are under center and it takes a lot of reps, but we spend a lot of time, centers and quarterbacks, we get together outside of when we actually have practice,” Wilson said. “We meet up and just try and work on those things and get everybody’s steps down and everybody on the same page so we can eliminate easy mistakes.”
Coen wants whoever ends up starting at center to “take” the job and run with it. Jackson, who’s handing over the reins, issued a similar directive to Wilson, specifically.
“I want to see him assert himself,” Jackson said prior to UK’s Pro Day. “I want to see him go out and lock it down. … I know that they’re gonna try to find the best guy for that spot. I know that the coaches aren’t just gonna hand it over to him. Competition breeds improvement, so those guys are gonna compete and they’re gonna get better.
“Quintin, I have a lot of faith in him. He’s a smart guy, a really hard worker, cares about the game. But so do a lot of other guys.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2021 at 2:30 PM.
