Kentucky football’s Kenneth Horsey replacement has ‘a little bit of nasty to him’

When West Virginia transfer Dylan Ray showed up on Kentucky football’s Week 1 depth chart as the backup left tackle, Kentucky coaches were asked how the walk-on had exceeded expectations in preseason camp.

Little did they know, Kentucky’s most overlooked transfer would soon be playing an even bigger role.

“We felt like he was a really good pickup as far as the future at tackle, and the ability there, but he has shown versatility,” UK coach Mark Stoops said last week. “He can step in and play some guard for us and he brings a toughness and a nastiness, and he has the size and the length that he can grow into that, too, and get stronger through the years here.”

Stoops was quick to note Ray had three years of eligibility remaining for development, but Kentucky needs his contributions now.

An injury to starting left guard Kenneth Horsey pushed Ray into the lineup there in the season-opening 44-14 win over Ball State. With Horsey expected to miss multiple games, Ray was listed as the No. 1 left guard on the Week 2 depth chart released Monday.

“He played about like we thought he would,” Stoops said of Ray’s Kentucky debut. “I had a lot of confidence in him going into it, and I was impressed with the way he played.”

Rebuilding the offensive line was priority No. 1 in Kentucky’s offseason transfer portal work, but Ray’s addition flew under the radar since he had been a walk-on at West Virginia and Kentucky added four scholarship transfer linemen (Marques Cox, Tanner Bowles, Ben Christman and Courtland Ford).

Ray impressed in summer workouts enough to enter camp as an option to provide depth at both guard and tackle. Listed at 6-foot-6, 305 pounds, Ray has the size to play offensive line in the SEC, but his only reps on offense prior to the Ball State game came with 32 snaps for West Virginia against FCS Towson last season.

“He didn’t get much of the recognition coming from West Virginia kind of out of nowhere,” offensive line coach Zach Yenser said before the Ball State game. “All he’s done is just kind of put his head down and work. The thing about Dylan is when you watch him he really does have a lot of position flex because of his length. He can play inside, and he has a little bit of nasty to him, which is what we really like and we need.

“That’s kind of what he’s put on film: He’s not going to back down from anybody.”

After starring for Noblesville High School in Indiana, Ray elected to walk on at West Virginia, where his father, John Ray, played from 1988 to 1991 before appearing in two NFL games for the Indianapolis Colts.

“That was definitely a difficult decision to let that one slip out of the family, but at the end of the day I’ve got to do what’s best for me,” Ray said. “It’s way better here. I can’t lie.”

At West Virginia, Ray played for former Kentucky wide receiver and offensive coordinator Neal Brown.

Since Brown developed some of his coaching philosophies while working on Stoops’ first two Kentucky staffs, there were some obvious parallels between the programs. It was Brown who brought beloved UK offensive line coach John Schlarman, the architect of the “Big Blue Wall,” to Lexington with him from Troy.

“I loved my coaches at West Virginia and everything, but at the end of the day I just decided,” Ray said. “The coaching staff here is awesome. They took me under their wing, brought me in, helped me out as much as they can. Great guys, off the field, too.”

The offenses run by Brown at West Virginia and Liam Coen at Kentucky are dramatically different, though.

Mastering Coen’s pro-style scheme is a challenge for any player, and one that Ray was still working to overcome prior to the opener.

“He had some really good things in training camp at times and had some things he knows he can improve on,” Coen said. “There were times where he had some great sets, some great run blocks, some great fundamentals and techniques, and there were some other opportunities where we’re scoring a touchdown but he’s not blocking the right guy, doing the wrong thing. That comes with repetition.

“I just told Dylan, ‘Hey man, for me to play you, I’ve just got to trust you. Just got to trust you. I know you’re capable. I know you’re a capable football player.’ I’ve really been impressed with the kid in a lot of ways, but I’ve got to be able to trust you with the game on the line or trust you to protect this quarterback at all times.”

Coen had little option but to trust Ray against Ball State after Horsey’s injury. Ray’s performance in that game clearly has earned him more trust moving forward.

As for the nasty streak that impressed Kentucky coaches during preseason camp, Ray credits his father for that part of his game. That physicality and the chip on his shoulder that comes from being a walk-on figures to serve Ray well in the weeks ahead.

“That’s the main thing: I know where I started at,” Ray said. “You always have that thought in the back of your mind.”

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