Former Kentucky All-American offensive lineman Bunchy Stallings still remembers the impact then offensive line coach John Schlarman had on him and others before his passing.

“Schlarman still influences me,” Stallings said. “I still think about him all the time. He never liked to yell it unless the situation really needed it. I remember times when coach Schlarman would yell and you knew if he raised his voice it had to be important for him to get the point across. He always treated people around him so well. I never forgot that.”

Stallings played in the NFL two years and then had COVID shut down football when he was trying to catch on with smaller professional leagues. He went to work in the corporate world, but football was all in his passion and now he is the assistant coach at East Jessamine High School.

Even though his last season at UK was 2018 when Benny Snell set the career rushing record, Stalling still tries to go around the UK football program to talk with some players.

“I at least want to be somebody who can encourage them and tell them you got to stick to it. It starts in the weight room and I tell them to make sure we are doing that the right way and everything else will fall in place,” Stallings said. “Make sure you are living right.

“I tell them the biggest thing I fought for was to make sure I had a good relationship with the guys around me. Our guys loved each other when I played. We are always with each other and that makes a difference.”

That offensive line continuity made me wonder about UK’s potential plan to start four, or maybe five, transfers in the offensive line in 2025 even with starting guards Jalen Farmer and Jager Burton returning.

Kentucky offensive line coach Eric Wolford brought in five offensive linemen from the portal – Bowling Green tackle Alex Wollschlaeger, Western Kentucky center Evan Wibberley, New Mexico State left tackle Shiyazh Pete, Arkansas guard Josh Braun and New Mexico tackle/guard Wallace Unamba.

Stallings said the transfer portal has created a different world for college football.

“The guys we did get all have one or two years (of eligibility) left. They have all played a lot of football. They should be able to plug in and go, but I would not be surprised if we play a rotational style,” Stallings said. “We have a bunch of younger guys who are able to play and it could come down to who feels comfortable with each other, but I do believe one of the tackles and the center start for sure.”

Stallings felt UK coach Mark Stoops and Wolford had to bring in competition, something UK missed last year, to rebuild the offensive line.

“When you have great competition, that makes you appreciate going out there and fighting for this name across your chest,” Stallings said. “We talk about the Big Blue Wall and I see all this and that, but it really is a mentality. It was always a group of people who did not give up and no matter what defenses did we were running the ball.”

Stallings was the run game coordinator for East Jessamine High School last year and will also be coaching the offensive line this season. He enjoyed meeting with head coach Trenton Fields last season and was the coach’s “eyes in the (press) box,” which was a new role for him.

“I think this will be a really fun year. I have some things in mind to show people what I can do with the players I have,” the former Kentucky All-American said. “We are going to put the work in. What I learned from Schlarman and how to go about things the right way is really needed in today’s world.

“My long-term goal is to gain all the experience I can and move up as high as I can if I get the chance. I would love to land a college position one day and help as many players as I can understand what it takes to be successful.”

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Kentucky had an amazing 2024 baseball season that ended with the Cats playing in their first College World Series. Part of what made Kentucky so good was its aggressive base running and coach Nick Mingione does not plan to change that philosophy this season.

“Guys we have brought in (new this year in the transfer portal) have over 100 stolen bases,” Mingione said. “We time our guys on stolen bases. It is a mathematical equation. We have different ways to steal bases and are doing things to try and create more (ways). We want to have at least five guys with double digit stolen bases.”

Mingione knows his aggressive coaching can lead to second guessing at times, but that does not worry him.

“Easy coaching is just sitting back and doing nothing. That’s easy. I am not interested in doing that,” the Kentucky coach said. “I am interested in putting pressure on them (opponents).

“Our guys will make mistakes. As long as they are being aggressive, I am OK with it. We want them to play with brains and guts. We are dealing with 18- to 24-year-olds and we want to create pressure. We are going to keep adding things to give our opponents something to think about.”

Mingione is not ignoring defense.

“Defense is crucial to us. Two years ago we led the nation in defense,” he said. “When we started in the fall we were not close to that standard, but we are getting better and will continue to get better.”

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Former Newport star Taylen Kinney had plenty of family and friends at Woodford County High School when he helped Overtime Elite’s RWE beat Huntington Prep in an exhibition game and scored 13 points in the win. His late free throw clinched the win.

It was a sold-out crowd that included Kentucky coach Mark Pope. The Wildcats are one of 15 teams on the junior point guard’s current college list.

Kinney said the “intensity” had him a bit nervous early in the game and he definitely noticed that Pope was sitting courtside with his wife and UK commit Malachi Moreno of Great Crossing. However, he also appreciated the way so many youngsters got to see him and teammate Jasper Johnson, a UK signee, and other college-bound players perform.

“A lot of kids look up to me now. Just showing them that hard work can take you anywhere was important,” Kinney said.

Johnson likes that Kinney challenges him in practice daily and he does the same for his younger teammate.

“Us challenging each other, picking each others’ brains, watching film together and stuff like that. I definitely think he’s taking the game at a great pace. Being a point guard out there, getting us in our sets and stuff like that. I feel like he’s performing highly,” Johnson said.

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When Kentucky gymnastics coach Tim Garrison needed a new beam coach, he didn’t have to look far for the best candidate.

His wife, Rachel, was an accomplished club coach and when UK officials encouraged him to hire the best possible candidate, he knew that was his wife.

“She did still have to apply for the position, but I thought about it and I knew who the best candidate possible was,” Tim Garrison said. “I asked if she would be interested in doing it. She took some time, but then said she would. She got the job and the beam team has been phenomenal.”

Rachel Garrison’s coaching experience spans over 20 years and this is her seventh season as UK gymnastics associate head coach after a four-year stint as assistant coach. In 2018 and 2023, she was named the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women National Assistant Coach of the Year.

“She is our recruiting coordinator because she has a great eye for talent. She finds athletes others might miss and things you look for to make a successful college gymnast,” Tim Garrison said. “She will find somebody in a gym I have never heard of competing under the radar and bring them in and help them achieve their potential.”

Tim Garrison has a simple way to avoid conflict with his wife during meets.

“I stay as far away from the beam as possible. I don’t offer advice unless asked,” the UK head coach said. “Beam is different and you have to be dialed in. I stay as far away as I can. She is very good at what she does and I feel very comfortable with the decisions she makes.

“At home we have discussions about lineups and other things, but we have enjoyed a lot of success in this program. I enjoy working with her so much.She has her own office. We do our own thing, but having her on the staff is nothing but a positive.”

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Going into this season, Kentucky softball coach Rachel Lawson made it sound like she might use three catchers this year or was at least strongly contemplating that scenario.

“I have never only wanted one (catcher), but it worked out that way because the other catches were better in other spots,” the Kentucky coach said.

“I have always tried to recruit two everyday starters (at catcher),” Lawson said. “It really affects their legs when it comes to offensive performance (when they catch too much). It would be my preference to have two.

“Because Kentucky is not dealing with the same (NIL) money and depth, what you see on the field is what you get. It’s hard to develop players when you put all your money into one spot. I am looking forward to when we have a couple (of catchers) and can save their legs, not get them beat up and help their offensive production.”

Junior Karissa Hamilton was ranked as the No. 27 catcher nationally in her recruiting class and has played in 97 games the last two years. She has driven in 32 runs and hit .217, but last year did hit .250 in 52 games and drove in 23 runs.

Ella Emmert, a redshirt junior, has played in only 13 games at UK with only two hits.

Senior Hallie Mitchell has the most experience as she has played in 109 games the last three years but hit only .194 with 35 runs scored and 10 RBIs.

“Hallie Mitchell is completely different physically,” Lawson said. “She has done a good job buying into nutrition. She was awesome offensively (in the fall) and did a really good job behind the dish. She can also play in the outfield.

“Ella will get more time behind the dish. Karissa is a lot calmer behind the dish. She has really improved her receiving skills. She can really pick balls because she’s doing a better job anticipating the pitch.”

In the first-round games, Mitchell and Hamilton both started two games and Emmert played in two games.

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Quote of the Week: “This is not a coronation for us. This is a journey for us. We are not walking into every gym where we are going to out talent and out physical everybody and that’s OK. The pain of this journey will make this whole thing sweeter. We are going to get somewhere special with this team this year,” Kentucky men’s basketball coach Mark Pope, on his team’s season.

Quote of the Week 2: “I think this year’s team will be better than last year’s team even though we (fans, media) don’t know anybody. Somebody is going to be surprised. Either I will be surprised and it will not happen or the rest of the country will be surprised,” Kentucky softball coach Rachel Lawson, on this year’s team before its 4-0 start.

Quote of the Week 3: “We talk often. I’ve known him since we were little kids, talking to him and playing against him, stuff like that. Our relationship is really close. Our dream is about to come true, slowly,” Kentucky men’s basketball signee Jasper Johnson, on future UK teammate Malachi Moreno.