Why transfers Marques Cox, Tanner Bowles know they can’t fix Kentucky offensive line alone

It should come as no surprise that when quarterback Devin Leary was considering his options as a transfer from North Carolina State he wanted to hear about more than the way Kentucky would showcase his talents and what receivers he would throw to in Lexington.

Leary wanted to make sure Kentucky was addressing the 2022 offensive line struggles that saw the Wildcats rank 126th of 131 teams nationally in sacks allowed.

So how did Kentucky convince Leary the offensive line would be improved enough to protect a quarterback who has twice had a season ended early due to injury?

“I just think the guys that we brought in,” he said Wednesday. “Obviously, the additions of Tanner (Bowles) and Marques (Cox). Really everyone that returned too last year.

“A lot of guys at the offensive line position have a lot of reps under their belt. Really just on top of that, Coach (Liam) Coen coming in and being able to have a stagnant scheme for them, making sure everything is in place. It’s really good to hear a lot of the terminology from 2021 with the guys that have been here sounds very familiar. So, they’re able to pick up on it fast. Adding depth to that room just made that decision much easier for me.”

Kentucky returns four of the five offensive linemen who started the majority of the 2022 games.

Included in that group is center Eli Cox, who coaches praised for his progress late in the season, and super senior Kenneth Horsey, who is expected to move back to his natural guard position after being forced to play left tackle in 2022. Right tackle Jeremy Flax and guard Jager Burton also gained valuable experience in their first season as starters but face competition to retain their top spots on the depth chart.

That competition will come primarily from Marques Cox and Bowles, who transferred from Northern Illinois and Alabama respectively.

“I think just the thing we’ve talked about is just getting that tenacity back, that mean streak,” Bowles said.

At a recent offensive line meeting, players were asked to supply three words they would use to describe the type of line they want to be known as this fall.

“Everybody had different words, but we found out there were a lot of similar words that were brought together to make it what we wanted it to be,” Bowles said. “I think the main one was really just being nasty again, playing with a mean streak.”

Kentucky built much of the success of the Stoops era behind a stout offensive line that paved the way for a physical run game.

The offense has evolved to become more balanced, emphasizing the vertical passing attack again, but the smash mouth identity of the position group dubbed the “Big Blue Wall” is still needed. That identity was still on display in 2021, Coen’s first season as Kentucky offensive coordinator, but the offensive line also featured two NFL draft picks, including center Luke Fortner, who started every game for the Jacksonville Jaguars as a rookie.

While Horsey and Eli Cox are considered Kentucky’s top returning linemen, Flax, Burton and freshman guard Grant Bingham were all rated as four-star recruits out of high school. There is still reason to hope multiple players from the group emerge as NFL-caliber talents, but Stoops made it clear after the season reinforcements were needed.

Marques Cox, who is working his way back from a foot injury that ended his 2022 season after just four games, started 33 games at left tackle across five years at Northern Illinois. When healthy, he will have the chance to prove his production in the Mid-American Conference can translate to the SEC.

Bowles, a Glasgow High School graduate, was rated as a four-star prospect in the high school class of 2019 but failed to crack Alabama’s primary offensive line rotation during four years in Tuscaloosa. He did appear in five games for Alabama’s 2020 national championship team, but most of his game action for the Crimson Tide came on the field goal unit.

Marques Cox is projected to start at left tackle for Kentucky in 2023. Bowles could contribute at multiple positions with right guard or right tackle as his clearest path to snaps.

“I don’t try to say fix (the offensive line) because it’s like some wrinkles and stuff that need to just be improved,” Marques Cox said. “Just an improvement from last year, nothing that needs to be fixed. Me and Tanner are helping to improve the offensive line and offense. We’ve got weapons, we’ve got key players to do so. It’s just not fixing everything.”

Still, the two transfers will be pointed to by many as key to an offensive line turnaround this fall.

In reality, if the offensive line is to live up to its “Big Blue Wall” moniker again, improvement from the returners, schematic help from Coen’s offense and more effective coaching from offensive line coach Zach Yenser will all be needed.

“That’s the No.1 priority when we get there: diving into that position group,” Coen said last week after UK confirmed his return as offensive coordinator. “Both personnel-wise, schematically, fundamentally, technique, attitude, demeanor. All of that needs to get dove into when we get there really quickly because if you remember the first time that I came that was kind of the unit I never really worried about. I never really worried about if they were going to come play. I never worried about third-and-1 not getting a first down. It was never something that crossed my mind when I got there.

“... If those five aren’t on the same page, don’t have the right mentality or aren’t doing what they’re supposed to do it’s really hard to have success as an offense, no matter who is around them. So, it’s an exciting challenge, but it’s definitely a challenge we need to get after.”

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