New O-Line coach Eric Wolford comes full circle as UK 'recruit'
Eric Wolford has come full-circle in his Kentucky recruiting process.
The Youngstown, Ohio, native was introduced as the Wildcats' new offensive line coach on Thursday, marking the second time that the 49-year-old has been courted to Lexington.
In the winter of 1988, Wolford was recruited by UK head coach Jerry Claiborne out of Ursuline High School. He ultimately chose another group of Wildcats -- a Kansas State team that was in the midst of a 33-game losing skid in the early stages of Bill Snyder's career -- primarily due to the presence of fellow Youngstown native Bob Stoops as his lead recruiter.
"I had an interesting visit to say the least," Wolford said of his recruiting trip to UK. "So we went to Rupp Arena, and we stayed in the (Hyatt Regency). It was a fancy hotel. I said, 'Dang, this place is nice.' My mom loved horses, so she was excited to be in Lexington."
By 1988 standards, Kentucky had really impressive facilities, Wolford recalled.
So what went wrong?
"Jerry Claiborne tried to put the squeeze on me in the office," Wolford said. "My high school coach had a rule -- and this is the old days, now, back a long time ago -- and his rule was you're not allowed to commit on a visit until you get home. Well, basically Jerry Claiborne told me that if I didn't accept his offer, he was going to offer the next kid that he was going to meet with, and I really didn't want (to reject him) but things worked out for a reason.
"The Stoops family and Bob and coach Snyder and his influence on me at Kansas State has been tremendous, but it was a unique experience to say the least. I enjoyed my visit to Kentucky."
Thirty-two years later, another Stoops brother has completed the task of bringing Wolford to UK.
“I’ve known Eric and worked with Eric for a long time," UK head coach Mark Stoops said. "I knew it would take a special person to fill this role, and we found the best candidate. I know what we are getting with Eric Wolford, and he will continue to build on the legacy that John Schlarman started. He’s intense, he’s detailed, but he also has the unique ability to connect with people.”
Wolford, who has spent the last four seasons on the South Carolina staff, knows he has big shoes to fill. He'll be taking over the position previously held by Schlarman, who recruited and developed one of the nation's best offensive line units in recent years before passing away in November after a two-year battle with cancer.
"John Schlarman is very well-respected in our business," said Wolford, who noted that the two of them often crossed paths on the recruiting trail. "... When you coach in the same conference, you have an opportunity to play a lot against other teams... You watch film against common opponents, and I've always been impressed with what John has done there. Their running game has been impressive."
Keeping that legacy going is important to Wolford. In order to do that, he says he'll lean on the experience he's picked up along 25 years of coaching at the college and NFL level. He mentioned "creativity" several times during his introductory press conference, something that should fit well with what new offensive coordinator Liam Coen is bringing from the Los Angeles Rams.
Wolford has deep well of influences to draw from in his approach to offensive line play. He noted that almost all college teams are currently running inside-zone blocking schemes, but he also plans to use some techniques he learned from the NFL after spending time around Chip Kelly and Kyle Shanahan.
"Those guys are the masters of running the wide zone," he said.
His first task at Kentucky could be replacing four out of five starters from the 2020 team. Center Drake Jackson, guard Luke Fortner, and left tackle Landon Young are all set to depart as seniors. Junior right tackle Darian Kinnard may also be opting to enter the NFL Draft.
Wolford said his first priority will be stabilizing the center position, where sophomore Quintin Wilson figures to be the frontrunner. "That's your quarterback of the offensive line, so that's (the top priority)."
The second point of emphasis will be the competition at the tackles. He needs at least four players to emerge in those battles this spring. Among those in the mix could be junior Naasir Watkins, sophomore Jeremy Flax, and freshmen Deondre Buford, John Young, Nick Lewis, and Jake Pope.
Lastly, building depth at guard with players who can cross-train at center or tackle. Junior Austin Dotson and sophomore Kenneth Horsey gained valuable experience this season as occasional starters, and freshmen R.J. Adams, Eli Cox, and Josh Jones could also move up the depth chart this spring.
Wolford is not overly familiar with his personnel yet but said: "(Kentucky) has done a wonderful job of recruiting. They've been in the weight room with coach (Corey) Edmond and coach (Mark) Hill, so I see players who have muscle mass on their body. They've been trained. As far as specific talent, who's the next man up, I can't necessarily speak for that because I haven't seen a lot of those guys play, but I trust the fact that Mark (Stoops) has done an unbelievable job.
"Just looking at the recruiting class and watching those guys on film, it looks like they've signed some outstanding players. Paul (Rodriguez), David (Wohlabaugh), and Jager (Burton), those guys are really good football players. Obviously special. And I think they've done a great job of finding guys who football is important to them. They play hard. They play with passion. Those are the same characteristics that I see when I watch Kentucky's offensive line play."