2026 Kentucky Wildcats football position preview: Offensive Line

Right Guard: Tegra Tshabola

Tegra Tshabola comes in with a ton of experience under his belt as was a starter for the Ohio State Buckeyes the past two seasons. Tshabola started all 16 games for the Buckeyes in 2024, which culminated in a national championship. Over his career at Ohio State, he played in 43 games and started in 29 total. At 6'6, 329-pounds, Tshabola brings strength to the interior offensive line and will heavily rely on his experience to raise the floor of this unit in 2026.

Right Tackle: Mark Robinson OR Malachi Wood

This spot is a position battle to watch throughout the offseason, as I have a good feeling the other four spots on the offensive line are set in stone. Mark Robinson is a transfer from UTEP, where he is coming off an exceptional season. Malachi Wood possesses all the tools to be an above average starter at tackle, but in his limited snaps at Kentucky it is something we have yet to see. I would imagine Robinson to be the favorite to win this job as of now as he has better film to this point and also seems to be a more refined player in his current form.

Swing Tackle: Olaus Alinen OR Max Anderson

Olaus Alinen or Max Anderson could fill the role of swing tackle when the Wildcats bring an extra offensive lineman in the formation, which is something Coach Stein would do at times at Oregon. Both of these guys have positional versatility, Anderson is expected to be in the mix at left guard but he was working at right tackle in the spring game. In those personnel groupings that bring an extra offensive lineman on, one of these guys will be the extra tackle and the other will be at left guard. They both have the strength in the run game, as these six offensive line formations are mainly utilized for adding numbers in the run blocking scheme.

This position group on paper should be a strength of the team this fall. They have phenomenal size across the board and the three portal additions of Heard, Price and Tshabola bring a ton of experience to the unit. Typically, offenses will ideally have seven or eight guys they are comfortable with on the field. I expect the starters to be Heard, Alinen, Price, Tshabola and Robinson; after that, expect Anderson, Wood and Selm to be the depth pieces that could see some playing time.

This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Kentucky football: Previewing the 2026 offensive line positions