One question for each Kentucky football player at SEC Media Days

Hype season for SEC football officially starts next week when the head coach and three players from each team gather in Nashville for the league’s annual media days extravaganza.

For Kentucky, Coach Mark Stoops will be accompanied by offensive lineman Eli Cox, defensive lineman Octavious Oxendine and outside linebacker J.J. Weaver, the league announced Monday. UK is scheduled to take its turn in front of reporters on Wednesday, July 19. The Wildcats will share the spotlight with Alabama, Arkansas and Florida that day.

Nashville is hosting the event for the first time. The event has been held outside the Birmingham, Alabama, metropolitan area just twice previously, both times in Atlanta in 2018 and 2022.

Here is one question we have for each UK player scheduled to address the media at the Nashville Grand Hyatt.

Eli Cox

The obvious question for Cox centers on any progress from UK’s much-maligned offensive line, especially after coaches moved Jager Burton to center and Cox back to right guard in spring practice, but no preseason talk about the offensive line will matter until we see if the position shifts and transfer additions actually sparked improvement in games.

I’m more interested in following up on something Cox said in spring practice after Stoops blasted his team for a poor practice, calling players entitled while pointing to a concerning leadership void in the locker room.

“It’s tough to hear that because it’s something being from Kentucky and going into my fifth year means a lot to me,” Cox said after Stoops’ comments. “That’s something I’ve taken pride in. I think it’s something that goes back to we have a lot of new faces. A lot of people come and go with the way the transfer portal is. We always welcome those guys in and wish the best to everyone departing, but at some point we have to bring those in and show those people, this isn’t how it was where you were.

“(No matter) how good of a school that might have been and where you were, this is Kentucky and we’re going to play football. We have to get back to instilling those roots in our players from day one on.”

Since spring practice, Kentucky has signed seven more transfers, bringing the total new faces transferring from four-year colleges to 14 on the 2023 roster. Most of those transfers will be counted on to fill key roles this fall, but there is little path to a successful season without Kentucky’s returning veterans, like Cox, leading the way.

It is noteworthy that none of the much-hyped transfers, including quarterback Devin Leary, will be representing UK in Nashville. That feels like a clear opportunity for the three veterans making the trip to build on the offseason narrative of returning to the identity that helped build UK’s recent success.

Four months after Cox pointed to locker room turnover as part of the reason for any spring malaise, has there been progress made integrating those new voices into the team?

Octavious Oxendine

It is rare for a team to bring a player to SEC Media Days who is not a surefire starter, but Oxendine heads to Nashville still looking to cash in on his preseason hype from a year ago after being passed on the depth chart by star freshman Deone Walker last season.

Whether he starts or not, Oxendine will be an important piece of UK’s defensive line rotation this fall, but the likelihood of him taking a significant step forward could hinge on what weight he plays at. A year ago, there was no shortage of preseason buzz about the slimmed-down Oxendine. The North Hardin graduate expressed optimism losing weight would help him make the most of his athleticism as he returned from a knee injury that ended his 2021 season after six games, but his junior season was instead a disappointment with just one-half tackle for loss in 13 games.

This spring, Oxendine and UK coaches acknowledged the defensive lineman was working to regain some of the weight he lost in hopes of matching up better with the massive SEC offensive linemen he will battle this fall.

“We’re starting to approach that happy medium,” defensive coordinator Brad White said during spring practice. “That’s the goal. I think we can — and he’d agree — still probably push it a few more pounds to the north, but I think he’s far more effective with a little bit more weight in that sense.

“It’s big and it’s tough and it’s rugged in there. I think it’s going to allow him to, one, be more stout, two, his body will be able to hold up more. He knows that. He’s in a good place right now. I’ve been pleased with the progression he’s made sort of since last fall.”

After a full offseason conditioning program, how Oxendine looks in Nashville could be one of the most important storylines for Kentucky.

J.J. Weaver

Of the three players representing UK, Weaver has the best chance to be selected in the NFL Draft in April, but four years into his college career the Moore High School graduate has yet to translate his considerable athletic ability into consistent on-field production.

Weaver could be Kentucky’s best pass rusher since Josh Allen, but the defense will need more than his three sacks in 11 games last season. Weaver’s UK career to date cannot be judged without accounting for the multiple injuries that have slowed his progress though.

After electing to return for his senior season rather than enter the 2023 draft, Weaver has focused on being more consistent on and off the practice field. Dedicating himself to conditioning and nutrition could be key in finally staying healthy for an entire season.

SEC Media Days is an opportunity for the affable Weaver to share his story of endurance through the loss of his father and high school coach with a broader audience. He will surely recount how he has embraced being born with six fingers on his right hand to connect with children who also have extra fingers around the state.

Of Kentucky’s representatives, Weaver is the most likely to produce a headline-worthy quote in Nashville. The media’s predicted order of finish will not be released until after players have spoken, but I’m most interested in hearing Weaver’s take on how Kentucky should be perceived after a disappointing 2022 season.

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