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Lexington OL on Cats' radar after camp season

Lexington (Ky.) Frederick Douglass offensive tackle Jacob O'Buck doesn't have an offer from Kentucky, but he does have some offers from smaller programs, including Tennessee-Martin, and he's on the Wildcats' radar after camp season.

Given O'Buck's location relative to the University of Kentucky it's understandable that John Schlarman and the UK coaching staff would know about him. Frederick Douglass players often make trips to Kentucky for games, junior days, practices and summer camps.

Kentucky hosted several camps in early-mid June and O'Buck attended a weekend event that was one of the marquee showcases of the summer.

"I did really good," O'Buck told Cats Illustrated this week. "I feel like I did really well. I performed to the best of my abilities. Of course I have stuff to work on and stuff I want to do better. They told me what I need to work on. They just want to see me get better from my sophomore to my junior season, in my pass block abilities, better speed and coming off the ball. Stuff like that."

O'Buck now knows where he stands with the Kentucky staff and he's got concrete advice on what steps he needs to take to move up the Cats' board.

O'Buck also knows that he enjoys working with Schlarman.

"I love Coach Schlarman," O'Buck said. "He's awesome. I love the way he runs practices. When I watched them practice earlier this year, I think I was there in February, you could tell he likes to have fun and you could tell he loves what he's doing.

"I love the way they practice and how Coach Schlarman treats his players. He listens to his players. You can tell his players like him and he has a good relationship with them. It was fun to watch."

O'Buck said he's spoken with Kentucky commitment Eli Cox a couple of times. He knows Walker Parks, a major Kentucky target, very well. O'Buck also knows Drake Jackson's younger brother, Dane, from a couple of camp events.

In addition to Kentucky, O'Buck was at Marshall, UTM and Eastern Kentucky this summer. He was supposed to visit Louisville but transportation issues kept that from happening.

This fall, O'Buck said he plans to attend at least one game at Kentucky and he's also like to make trips to EKU and UTM.

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