KPGFootball’s take on the preseason Top-30 offensive linemen list

First, we should start off by a disclaimer we make every single time we publish one of our own All-State Football Teams (Middle School, 9th, and 10th-grade). Every single team ever published has undervalued players (players honorably mentioned who should have made the regular squad), overvalued players (players listed who many profess confusion about how that player made the team), and glaring omissions (needs no clarification).

We own the definitive MS, Frosh, and Sophomore All-State football teams and are registered voters on the Media’s All-State Team (Associated Press). We know a little something about this.

That being said, this particular guy, known only (to us) by his BGR (Bluegrass Rivals) handle of “BoyleCo” and someone who appears to be a “Statistician,” annually publishes this list. He has done it every year KPGFootball has been online and I believe we write about it every year.

We are humbled and honored to be a resource consulted by him to arrive at his ranking. He’s has never shared with us we are being used for that purpose, we have neither talked with him nor met him. What makes us sure he reviews our publication among his sources? We’ll tell you.

Somebody, last year, took umbrage with his preseason ranking of the 2019 top-30 offensive linemen. I can’t remember if he was upset a player was not on the list he felt should have been or the player he was advocating wasn’t as well regarded as he thought they should have been but this guy was fairly upset, nevertheless.

Anyway, in a rare departure from BoyleCo’s usual silence post publishing, BoyleCo decided to defend himself and the list. BoyleCo told his critic that Boyle spent “hundreds of hours” researching and compiling the list. Boyle said he watched endless reams of film, talked to coaches around Kentucky, talked with personal trainers and offseason coaches around Kentucky, and consulted All-State teams.

Well, we publish three All-State teams (Middle School, 9th, and 10th-grade) that are the definitive teams at the respective grade levels and the only of the kind in Kentucky history. As further proof we are being consulted, 6 of his top-10, above listed, and 15 of the entire 30 are former or present KPGFootball All-State team members. We are proud of this.

We, like every other person out there, have our own opinions about listed players we feel were undervalued, overvalued, or inappropriately omitted. Here is what we think, though we will not be commenting on players “overvalued” as it isn’t this magazine’s habit nor place to criticize kids.

As for the undervalued, we want to first note that the team is heavily populated by players who play at the 4A classification or higher. As an example, among the top-10, William Long is the only 1A, 2A, or even 3A lineman listed, the highest rated 2A lineman, and the first lineman listed who primarily plays center. Every other member of the top-10 play on the 4, 5, or 6A level. (Burton 5A, Bingham 4A, Brown 6A, Smith 4A, Goodwin 6A, Moore 6A, Bates 6A, Miller 6A, Mudd 4A).

In fact of the top-30, 24 (our count) play 4, 5, or 6A football. Only 6-linemen from Class 3A and lower were ranked (Long, Blackburn, Johns, Johnson, P. Sayers, M. Sayers). With teams like DeSales, CAL, Somerset, Belfry, Breathitt, Bell County, etc., there almost have to be some linemen who could easily have made the list omitted. No one will get them all.

Off the top of our heads, Connor Deaton and Teegan Smith from Breathitt, are examples of young linemen who made the KPGFootball sophomore team who are top-30 caliber guys. All those other schools will have linemen they will hold out as glaring omissions. Doesn’t make the list less valid, it makes it flawed. ALL LISTS ARE FLAWED (important enough to reiterate).

As for undervalued linemen, Anthony Johns will prove himself in 2020 (should we have a season) and show he is a top 5-7 lineman in Kentucky. Drew Johnson could have been top-10. Ryan Stratton is a devastating and punishing blocker and is probably a top-10 type. Jordan Steele could have come in much higher and Owen LeMaster appears too lightly regarded on Boyle’s list in our humble opinion.

Now we aren’t being critical, we are just saying there are guys ranked 20-30 who could have been 10-20 or even 5-15. It is obviously a good year for offensive linemen in Kentucky where an AP-first teamer comes in at No. 29.

The bottom line is this, as far as we are concerned there is a legitimate argument to be made for why every member of that list is among Kentucky’s top-30 preseason offensive linemen. There are others who could have been honored and there would have been an equally legitimate argument to be made for their inclusion. There are members of the list who could have been ranked even higher and members who could have been ranked lower.

The list has done exactly what it is meant to do. We are sitting around in the middle of a National State of Emergency discussing it and not how the pandemic is ruining us. For that, BoyleCo, whoever you are…thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

This is Coach HB Lyon, reporting for KPGFootball, and we’re JUST CALLING IT LIKE WE SEE IT!

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About Henry Lyon 1210 Articles
Have coached at the high school and middle school level. Have worked in athletic administration. Conceal my identity to enable my candor on articles published by this magazine. Only members of the editorial board are aware of my true identity.

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