After starting the portal season with two defensive additions, Kentucky made a MASSIVE splash on the offensive side. Joshua Braun, an offensive guard who spent his last two seasons at Arkansas, officially committed to Kentucky Monday morning. Braun is only one part of rebuilding the Big Blue Wall, but there are not many players in the portal with the profile of the 6’6 340-pound guard. For example, Braun has been married for over two years to his wife Azucena. Now let’s see what Kentucky is getting on the actual football field.
Player Background
Braun was a four-star and top twenty offensive tackle in the country in the 2020 class. After playing high school ball an hour from Gainesville, Braun committed to the Florida Gators. Braun was immediately moved to guard his freshman season and earned playing time early for the Gators before taking his game to Fayetteville for the past two seasons. Braun thrived at right guard for the Razorbacks, earning AP All-SEC Second Team honors in 2023. Statistically, Braun had an even better season in 2024 as he only allowed 11 pressures in 458 pass blocking opportunities (a ridiculous 2.4% allowed pressure rate).
Program Fit
The Kentucky staff has shown a commitment to getting better in pass protection after a miserable last three years in that aspect. Joshua Braun is exactly what you are looking for if you want to improve pass protection. Braun has great movement that displays itself in elite pass protection and versatility in the run game. He has good timing with his hands and shows a good ability to pick up stunts and confusion from the defensive line. Braun has 2,435 snaps of proven SEC production yet has only been called for seven accepted penalties in his career. Culture has been a problem with transferring offensive linemen, but this should not be a concern with Braun as both of his parents spent their college careers at Army West Point. On paper, Braun is everything BBN wanted in the new offensive line transfers, and this is a HUGE win for the Kentucky staff.
Position Outlook
As of the time of his commitment, Kentucky currently has both starting guards returning from the 2024 team. One of those guys will surely be moved to a backup role (or transfer) as Braun immediately becomes the best offensive lineman on the roster. As the great Freddie Maggard always says, “it’s not personal, it’s personnel.” Dylan Ray is a valuable depth option and Aba Selm is a redshirt freshman garnering a ton of praise from the coaching staff, but the rest of the room is young after a couple offseason transfers. Assuming Kentucky keeps one of their starters from last season, Ray, and Selm, I believe Kentucky would feel much better about the guard position heading into next season.
