Kentucky OL Jager Burton, via Aaron Perkins, KSR
The success of the rebuilt Big Blue Wall will not be defined by the newcomers, but by John Schlarman’s last Kentucky offensive line recruit. Jager Burton carries a heavy weight on his shoulders as the homegrown product attempts to take command of the important role of center for the second time.
“It’s one of the hardest positions in football. There’s a lot going on, from having to line up and make calls and identifying fronts, to the execution piece,” said offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan.
Over the last three seasons, Burton has started in 34 games for the Wildcats. All of those starts were at offensive guard, except for three at center to start the 2023 season. He was moved back to guard after multiple snapping snafus.
Kentucky recruited Evan Wibberley from the transfer portal, who was an All-C-USA Honorable Mention center at WKU. Many presumed he would step into the starting role at center. Those plans changed after Burton logged an impressive offseason in the weight room. Now he’s ready for some redemption.
“I wanted to do it again, just because I wanted to get the bad taste from last time out of my mouth,” Burton told the Herald-Leader.
The Mental Aspect of the Center Position
There’s an old adage in football that if you do all of the little things right, the big things come easily. In spring practice, he did all of the little things the right way, and that’s bled over into fall camp.
The most difficult part of playing the center position is between the ears. A center is charged with dishing out blocking assignments to the rest of the offensive line. Communication is key, and left guard Josh Braun is confident Burton will have everyone on the same page this fall.
“He’s the fifth center I’ve played with. He’s taken to it like everyone else,” said the Super Senior who spent the last two seasons at Arkansas.
“He’s done a great job of knowing the responsibilities, knowing the IDs, and communicating that to the rest of the offensive line.
If we have a miscommunication, he does a very good job of making sure we’re all on the right page before the center snaps the ball. If that means telling Zach or telling Cutter to hold on a second so we can get everything ID’d correctly. He does a good job of making sure we’re all on the same page.”
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Burton has the mental aptitude for the position, and he’s never looked more like an SEC offensive lineman. The last piece of the puzzle feels like the easiest: snapping the football. The center starts every play, and it must be executed to perfection. There is no margin of error. A play can’t be successful if the ball doesn’t make it to the quarterback.
Snapping a football is similar to shooting a free throw. It’s all muscle memory. To create it, Burton has not skipped an opportunity to get in reps.
“Jager has just been awesome. He wants to help this football team any way he can. He’s very unselfish. For his future, being able to play both positions) is super important for him, and he’s worked really hard at it, very conscientious,” said head coach Mark Stoops.
“He’s busting his butt. He’s a guy that before practice, and certainly afterwards — my office looks over the field — 40 minutes later he’s out there snapping and working on things. He’s really working hard.”
There are valid reasons for Kentucky fans to be concerned. In the limited opportunities we got to see practice, the snaps weren’t always perfect. There is still plenty of time to ensure they are by game one. Burton believes his last ride at Kentucky will be a successful one because he believes in himself.
“The difference is, I just have a lot more confidence in myself to be able to do it,” Burton said. “And I feel the confidence from the coaches, too.”
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