Octavius Oxendine
Former North Hardin standout Octavius Oxendine was a major recruiting bonus for Kentucky in the 2021 class but saw only limited playing time last season. This season expectations will rise for him and defensive coordinator Brad White said the defensive lineman was “up and down” during spring practice.
“He has had practices I was really excited about and other practices not up to par,” White said before UK’s final spring scrimmage last week. “it is a continual work in progress but we have got to remember our younger defensive linemen have been on campus only a year.
“Ox only had five spring ball practices last year. He’s still in the process of growing. Consistency is what it comes down to. You can play great against Mississippi State and Tennessee but if you do not show up and play consistent again then you have a performance like we had against Missouri (last year).
“Are we perfect? No. As coaching staff are we perfect? No. But we are going to come back the next day and do it again.”
Oxendine weighed about 315 pounds when he got to UK and his weight went to 320. He says he’s now at 295 and “loving it” and plans to maintain that playing weight.
Defensive line coach Anwar Stewart has emphasized that “eyes are power” and admits his biggest obstacle “right now is my eyes” and figuring out what he should and should not be seeing.
“I have to be more consistent with my eyes,” Oxendine said. “Our new offense has a lot of movement upfront and that makes it really hard. You have got to stay locked in on your keys.”
He’s all ready for what he hopes will be a more normal 2021-22 school year.
“When I first got here (in January of 2020) there was not much COVID. I got to see the transition to Zoom classes. Zoom is harder because you are not in person. I am just really ready for a normal year,” Oxendine said.
