Team work is more crucial in football than it is in any other sport. Kentucky success this season will depend on all areas of working together. Brett Dawson looks at how the offensive line uses team work in his latest article for the Courier Journal.
For Kentucky's offense to have a successful seasons, everyone on the O-line must be working together. “The offensive line has to be a team within the team, and that's what they're becoming,” Phillips said. “Coach (Mike) Summers is building that.”
Coach Summers is in his first season at UK. He is known for building some good O-lines for Bobby Petrino at UL and Arkansas. His goal so far in his short time at UK is to build a "we first" attitude. Summers wants all five linemen to think and play as one. "We have to be able to communicate in a very short amount of time,” Summers said. “Understanding what the guy next to you is thinking, what he's doing and reading his intentions elevate your ability to have success. I don't think you can do that unless there's a relationship between all those guys.”
Joker Phillips likes his offensive line so far. That is becuase of the unity that Phillips has been teaching. “A lot of times at receiver, you're out in space by yourself,” said Phillips, a wideout in college and the NFL. “That offensive line, you might be working with two guys, you might be working with three guys; you've got to know where your help's at.”
The offensive line is led by left guard Stuart Hines. Hines is a junior from Bowling Green who Coach Phillips says has been overlooked during his college career. Chandler Burden made the switch from defensive end to left guard to help Hines out this season. Coach Summers can see Burden growing into the position. “He has a great attitude about wanting to learn how to be one of the top offensive linemen in the SEC,” Summers said. “Every day, because of his lack of experience at the position, he sees something new. He doesn't have years to draw on, but as he works through that, I can see his progress.”
The Cats are led on the right side by Larry Warford who made the All-SEC Freshman team last year. Warford played in 10 games as a reserve last season. Brad Durham and Billy Joe Murphy are still battling it out for the starting nod at right tackle. Matt Smith and Jake Lanefski have been neck-and-neck in recent practices. Phillips favors Lanefski's “nastiness,” he said, but said Smith has been more consistent.
If the line works hard and plays together than the Cats could have a memorable year. Hines knows that doing their job will get the rest of the offense going. “If we're up there blocking as hard as we can, pushing people off the ball, that's going to get people motivated to come work hard, too,” Hines said. “That's going to get running backs motivated to hit the holes hard. If they see us pushing people back, they're like, ‘Man, they're working hard. We've got to follow them.'”
