Jager Burton Leaning on Veterans While Learning to Play Center

After starting 13 games at left guard in the 2022 season, Jager Burton may slide over to the center of the offensive line in 2023; a change that will take some time getting used to.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky football's offensive line will monitored under a very watchful eye throughout the spring and in the lead-up to the 2023 season. 

The Big Blue Wall was broken down by almost any and every defense in 2022, a severely disappointing storyline for the Wildcats, as the one position that had been superbly stout for nearly the entirety of head coach Mark Stoops' tenure was an all-systems failure from game one onward. 

Four of the five primary starters from last year's o-line are back, but don't expect things to look the same in the trenches when week one against Ball State on Sept. 2 rolls around. 

Offensive coordinator Liam Coen made sure to tell reporters on Tuesday that no decisions were set in stone, as practice is just underway, but a new center may be emerging in sophomore Jager Burton.

As a redshirt freshman in 2022, Burton was named to the Freshman All-SEC Team after starting all 13 games at left guard. He's the first Wildcat to make the rookie team since current NFL'er Logan Stenberg did so in 2016. 

Now, he's trying his hand at snapping the football. 

"Something that we decided we were going to try out when Coach Coen got here, just to see what works best for the team," Burton said. "I've really loved it so far, just being able to be more versatile." 

Last season, it was veteran guard Eli Cox who moved over to center, replacing Luke Fortner — who became the starting center for the Jacksonville Jaguars as a rookie. Cox, as well as fifth-year OL Kenneth Horsey had to adjust positions, with the latter moving over to left tackle in 2022. 

Results weren't great. The 47 sacks that were allowed was the third worst of any team in Division I. Coen has since returned to Lexington and is helping Burton and the o-line as a whole go through some major renovations. 

"He's doing some good things. I mean, it's really hard to just kind of jump in and play center, right? You literally touch the football every play as an offensive lineman, and that's not easy to do when you've never touched the ball," Coen said. "So just snapping, the cadence, timing it up, and then having to go block and work your responsibility. That's not easy to do."

Burton said he's snapped footballs "here and there" at camps in the past, but this spring is the first time he's really given it a go. The Lexington native played tackle for Frederick Douglass High School before transitioning to guard upon his arrival at UK. 

"I feel like center is the hardest (position), just because you got to help people with calls, you got make a snap, you got to do what you got to do, too," he said. 

Luckily for Burton, he's not alone in his venture. Coen, offensive line coach Zach Yenser, Cox, Horsey and a heap of others are feeding him advice at will. Former Wildcat center and now assistant Drake Jackson started 44 straight games at the position and was a back-to-back First-Team All-SEC selection in 2019 and 2020.

"I'm super thankful for Drake, because obviously he's done it. He did at a high level," Burton explained. "He's an All-American, so to be able to have him, and then obviously Eli, and even Fortner's back right now — have him around to be able to help me, I feel like that's honestly helped speed up the process a lot."

The potential move to center for Burton frees up Eli Cox to move back to his home at guard, while the transfer addition of left tackle Marques Cox means Horsey can also move back inside from tackle. 

While snapping the football and playing a totally different position may seem daunting at first, Burton can take solace in knowing that two veterans will flank him when he sits atop the football, guiding him by any means necessary as he learns the position. 

"It's kind of like a training wheels thing," Burton said. "Eli and Horsey help me with everything, it's like i'm never gonna — how would I learn it, you know what I mean? It sounds weird. But you know, whenever you get thrown in the water, or thrown on the bike with no training wheels, you're gonna learn or fall. I've fallen a few times and I've learned from those and just keep getting better. That's all you can really do."

A new center means building rapport with new quarterback Devin Leary may take longer, as understanding the basics may take some time. Burton may be green at the position, but his football intellect and overall ability will help things smooth over in the eyes of the veteran QB.

"When he kind of got word, you can tell he was a little bit — not worried, but he was just curious to see how it will go," Leary said of Burton. "Each and every day you see him doing better and better and better at the position. I mean, athletically he's a tremendous offense lineman, very athletic, can move very well."

It helps that Leary, a pro at taking reps in the shotgun, is also learning how to adjust, as Coen wants the NC State transfer to get comfortable under center. The art of snapping the football into the hands of the QB may sound easy, but it's not so elementary when taking reps the first few times.

"It seems very simple, but when you have two guys that haven't done it with each other, I mean, it's gonna take a little bit of time," Leary said. "You know, at the end of the day, it's going to be on me and Jager to put in the extra work outside of practice to make sure we get the repetition of each and every snap and we get a feel for each other."

As a program that has prided itself on its offensive line, 2023 will be a big season for the Wildcats in that regard. It's hard to perform worse than a season ago, but making serious progress and finding the right group of five as soon as possible will be pertinent. 

Burton, regardless of position, wants to be a part of a better-than-ever Big Blue Wall. 

"We take a lot of pride in what we do. Last year, you know, it wasn't good, everybody knows that. So we're gonna get it fixed. And, you know, we're working every day to make people proud and kind of build back that wall," he said. "Brick by brick, just rebuild the wall. That's what we're doing every day."

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