Kentucky added another piece to their offensive line this afternoon as Evan Wibberley officially committed to the Cats. This shouldn’t come as a surprise following the departure of Koby Keenum earlier in the week, but the in-state product filled the gap immediately. Wibberley is a productive center from Western Kentucky who has everything you need to replace Eli Cox in the middle of Hamdan’s offense.
Player Background
Wibberley was a three-star recruit out of Dixie Heights High School in Edgewood, Kentucky. He committed to Western Kentucky to play for Tyson Helton and then Offensive Coordinator Zach Kittley. Kittley left for the Texas Tech offensive coordinator job before Wibberley arrived on campus, yet he remained committed to the Hilltoppers. After redshirting and being a rotational player his first two seasons, Wibberley made a home at center logging 877 snaps in the middle of the WKU offense. As has become a trend with the offensive linemen, Wibberley is a plug-and-play starter at the center position. In the first game of the season, he allowed 1 pressure and 0 sacks in 46 pass blocking snaps against the lowly Alabama Crimson Tide. He allowed zero (yes, zero) sacks on the season for WKU and graded out as an 83.3 in pass blocking according to PFF (that’s really good if you are unfamiliar with PFF grades).
Program Fit
Kentucky needed to get better at pass blocking, and they’ve made a concerted effort to improve this aspect in the portal. Braun, Wollschlaeger, Unamba, and now Wibberley all allowed fifteen or less pressures this past season. At 6’5 and 295 pounds, Wibberley has solid size for the position, and he moves fluidly in both aspects of the blocking game. He earned an All-CUSA Honorable Mention bid this past season in Bowling Green, and it should be expected the transfer will make a big jump in year two as a full-time starter. In a media appearance with Jeff Nations on X, Wibberley was asked about the success of the WKU offensive line and he said “We allowed T.J. (WKU’s QB at the time) to get hit and he got injured and that’s on us at the end of the day so we’re going to take accountability for that and make sure nothing like that ever happens again.” From an outsider’s perspective, he sounds like a leader and someone who should fit in well with the no-b.s. approach Wolford has.
Position Outlook
With the departure of Eli Cox following his sixth graduation, Kentucky had a hole to fill at center. Koby Keenum was a pure center recruit from Alabama who the staff was high, but he announced his decision to enter the transfer portal. Wibberley comes in with a full season of productive center play and great protection numbers (did you forget about the zero sacks). Barring another addition, the Cats will look for guards to fill the backup role at center. Kentucky added a quality starter on the offensive line, and that is always a positive.
