Connect with us

Football

Octavious Oxendine Says It’s a “Blessing” to Play for Mark Stoops and Kentucky Football

Published

1 year ago

on

Kentucky Football defensive lineman Octavious Oxendine celebrating
© Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Kentucky football defensive lineman Octavious Oxendine was recruited out of North Hardin High School by Coach Mark Stoops, and he is forever thankful for that.

Kentucky Uses a “Player-Led” System

In an article by Larry Vaught in the Marshall County Daily, Oxendine was quoted saying, “I feel like it’s a blessing [to play for Mark Stoops] just cause you don’t get that many coaches that’s actually player-led like he says he is.”

Oxendine added, “In and out of everything we do is definitely player-led from the workouts to the play calling to what we just feel comfortable in what we want to do.”

Advertisement

Evidently, Coach Stoops gives a lot of creative freedom to his players and his position coaches as well.

“He just lets it come down to us. It trickles right down the tree. Goes to our position coaches to the DCs, OCs, then honestly just us. Whatever we want to do is definitely a lot player-led.”

Consistency is Key

During his time at SEC Media Days, Oxendine said that Kentucky’s defense needs to be more consistent in order to be successful in 2023.

“In past years, our pass rush was definitely consistent. We had good guys like Josh Allen, Boogie Watson. J.J. Weaver came back for another year. We’ve always been good at pass rushing and we need to get back to that. I feel one thing we’ve been focused on is our pass rush.”

Advertisement

Last season, Kentucky only recorded 20 sacks, with LB J.J.Weaver leading the team with 3 total. Oxendine himself had none. In 2021, UK had 29 total sacks, and Oxendine tallied 2 total sacks.

UK’s ability to cause mayhem up front was lost last season, and they need to find it again if they want to be able to compete with the SEC’s top teams.

Oxendine has acknowledged this as well, saying, “You’re going to play the best all the time, so you might as well just set up a schedule like that just to get your feet wet and see what the road is going to feel like, to see what the path is going to feel like.”

He added, “We’ll have a couple good games before we head into SEC play, so we’ll definitely see how we’re going to play during the SEC-type games.”

Advertisement

Oxendine Once Chose Big Rival Over Kentucky

Octavious Oxendine also took the time to give his take on the Kentucky-Louisville rivalry, saying, “I definitely say it’s one of the best rivalries in college football just because red, blue, right down the street from each other. No NFL team.”

He also talked about how when his family moved to Kentucky from Louisiana, he had to decide if he was going to be a Kentucky or Louisville fan. Unfortunately, Oxendine chose the Cards.

“When we first moved, it was a big thing for us to pick Louisville or Kentucky. We actually picked Louisville, which is crazy I’m at Kentucky. It’s just a big rivalry. I feel like everybody in the States knows about it. It’s a game everybody always wants to be at, and there’s a lot of energy behind it.“

In the end, Octavious Oxendine is “blessed” to be a Kentucky Wildcat under Mark Stoops’ regime, and you can expect him to wreck havoc on the gridiron this fall.

Advertisement

Related Topics:
Advertisement

Football

Kentucky Athletic Collectives Rank 11th of 16 Teams in SEC, Bring in over $11 Million

Published

2 weeks ago

on

December 10, 2024

By

Kentucky ranks 11th of 16 SEC teams in collective fundraising.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

For better or for worse of college sports, NIL is here to stay and it certainly gives an advantage to schools with more money. Just looking at the SEC alone, collectives raised more than $200 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year. Unfortunately, Kentucky is ranked in the lower half of that.

According to documents from the House v. NCAA proposed settlement, Kentucky raised $11,254,204 from athletics collectives for the 2023-24 fiscal year. That ranks 11th of the 15 public universities in the SEC and is just more than half of the top collective, Texas who raised over $22 million.

Full Rankings

Rank
School NameCollective Funding
1Texas22,272,474
2LSU20,137,141
3Georgia18,326,566
4Texas A&M17,228,714
5Alabama15,995,406
6Florida15,802,237
7Oklahoma14,817,595
8Tennessee11,602,164
9Auburn11,588,953
10Arkansas11,544,039
11Kentucky11,254,204
12S. Carolina9,554,700
13Ole Miss8,872,378
14Missouri7,146,859
15Mississippi St.6,467,166
NRVanderbiltNot Available (Private School)

While collective funding is low, Kentucky has been a top 20 athletic program in total revenue, partly thanks to being a school that profits from its basketball program. Looking ahead to 2025, Kentucky is expected to stay in the top 20 nationally in athletic revenue, fifth in the SEC by bringing in an estimated 131,139,792. Ahead of programs like Georgia, LSU, Florida, and Tennessee.

Advertisement

With revenue sharing coming in the near future, even more money is going to be involved in roster and program building. Schools in the Big Ten and SEC have an even bigger advantage due to their new TV deals, giving them up to an extra $70 million or more.

A new era of college sports is here. It’s time to prepare and embrace it.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Football

Kentucky Wide Receiver Calls for “A Lot” More Leadership and Accountability from Staff

Published

3 weeks ago

on

December 2, 2024

By

Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops walks onto the field before the game against the Louisville Cardinals.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

A poor offensive line. Inconsistent quarterback play. A lot of things led to Kentucky football’s abysmal 2024 season. However, they had the talent to finish better than 4-8, only defeating one power opponent this season. So what could have helped?

Kentucky wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin was asked that question after the Wildcats’ loss to Louisville on Saturday. To his credit, he answered honestly and professionally.

“A lot more leadership,” Maclin said. “Holding guys accountable for things. A lot more discipline for all the guys… All around, players and coaches. We’re still a team, I don’t want to point at any one person or specific group. All around we need better leadership.”

Advertisement

Maclin is a junior and could return for another season. Despite talking about Kentucky taking the next step, he has not made his decision and will be returning home to talk to his family to do so. If Maclin does return, it sounds like Kentucky will have a leader in the receiving room.

Despite being a 1,000-yard receiver at North Texas, Maclin was not targeted often. However, on his 13 receptions, he caught four for touchdowns, the most of any receiver on the team.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Football

Kentucky Player Seen At Concession Stand During Kentucky’s 41-14 Loss to Louisville

Published

3 weeks ago

on

December 2, 2024

By

A Kentucky football player was seen at buying food from the concession stand in Kentucky's 41-14 loss to Louisville.

Kentucky’s on-field product against Louisville was poor to say the least, sending 99% of Wildcat fans home early. It even sent an injured player from the sideline to get a snack…

Yes, offensive lineman Gerald Mincey, one of Kentucky’s most expensive transfer portal additions, was seen at one of the concession stands at Kroger Field during Kentucky’s 41-14 defeat.

Watching a 4-8 team is bad, but even worse to do on an empty stomach.

Advertisement

Mincey is a senior and will not be returning next season, but it is nice to see him reinvesting some money back into the program.

Continue Reading

Trending