By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
It didn’t take Landon Young long to crack Kentucky’s rotation last season. Young was thrust into the lineup in the second game of the season at Florida and was a presence on the offensive line for the remainder of his freshman campaign.
Largely because of his contributions a year ago on the offensive line, Young is poised to take over at left tackle after senior starter Cole Mosier tore his ACL during a scrimmage last Saturday. Young was listed second at left tackle behind Mosier on the preseason depth chart. Mosier will is scheduled to undergo surgery Thursday and will miss the remainder of his senior season.
Kentucky sophomore offensive lineman Landon Young will be counted on to fill the void left behind by Cole Mosier on the offensive line Young earned valuable playing time as a freshman last year. (Keith Taylor/Kentucky Today)
“I’m going to do everything in my power to get that job,” Young said Tuesday.
Young filled in for Mosier on the offensive line at times last year. Young recalled the experience similar to getting “dipped in gas and then thrown into the fire.”
“That’s pretty much what you seen from the games, I got in there and it was a little rough at first,” Young said. “I had to get my wits about me, but I feel like after I got the experience and got to see everything, I calmed down and got in my spot. It was a big wake-up moment.”
Kentucky offensive coordinator Eddie Gran said Young’s experience as a true freshman will prove to be beneficial as the Wildcats move forward without one of their senior leaders.
“You can’t put (his experience) in words because he’s been in games,” he said. “It’s not going to be anything mind boggling to him. He’ll go out there and that stuff when you’ve got the bullets flying, I think he’ll be a much better player this year. You can already see it right now in practice.”
Although he battled Mosier for a starting spot, Young said the senior tackle will be missed along the offensive front.
“That’s really rough, especially with him being a big part of our offense,” Young said. “Having someone go down on your team is hard, especially someone who took me under his wing and taught me everything I know and sort of took me in as a little brother as we were competing for everything. That’s really hard to see.”
Nick Haynes, also an offensive lineman, said losing his former roommate was a big blow.
“We roomed together my freshman year when we first got here and we were roommates again last year,” he said. “We’ve been close (friends) since I’ve been here and it was difficult to see him go down. He works really hard. I wish him a speedy recovery and I’m going to have his back. We all have his back. He will be OK.”
Kentucky offensive line coach John Schlarman said the team was down following Mosier’s injury, but added they understand “they’ve got to rally.”
“Some guys are going to have to pull their weight a little bit more now and step up and do the job, based on who rotates and who starts,” he said. “We’ve got options.”
Those options appear to be plentiful. Young and Kyle Meadows could possibly start at left tackle, while Meadows or George Asfo-Adjei could start at right tackle. Newcomer Naasir Watkins and redshirt freshman Mason Wolfe also is pushing for playing time.
“I like what I see out of (Watkins),” Schlarman said. “It’s very comparable to where Landon (Young) was last year. He’s doing some really good things. Everybody has just got to elevate their game. The thing that Cole brought to the table for us was consistency … not real flashy, but he always seemed to do his job. Someone is just going to have to get in there and be consistent. That’s the next step.”
Just a boot: Gran wasn’t concerned about a photo that showed quarterback Stephen Johnson wearing a walking boot on his right foot Monday. Gran said Johnson “was doing good” and said the support on his foot was more of a precaution.
“(He’ll) be out there (Wednesday),” he said. “(It’s) all good. It was just a boot. Just a boot.”
Kentucky quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw said the quarterback race between Johnson and Drew Barker is pretty much an even race. He said both players are making their target throws and their decision-making abilities are similar following the first two weeks of camp.
“When I look at targets, I want to see that they are throwing the ball accurately,” Hinshaw said. “That’s what you want your quarterbacks doing.”
Keith Taylor is sports editor for Kentucky Today. Reach him at Keith.taylor@kentuckytoday and twitter @keithtaylor21.
