Kentucky leaves open spot in offensive line for late coach on first play vs. Vanderbilt

Coach John Schlarman died at 45 after a two-year battle with cancer.

To start its game against Vanderbilt on Saturday, Kentucky football took the field with only 10 players. But it was on purpose and in memoriam.

The Wildcats lined up without a left guard on for the first play of the game in honor of offensive line coach and Kentucky alumnus John Schlarman, who died Thursday at the age of 45 after a two-year battle with cancer.

Further paying tribute to Schlarman — who played for the Wildcats from 1994 to 1997 — Kentucky senior left tackle Landon Young then took the field while wearing Schlarman’s No. 65 instead of his usual No. 67.

The Wildcats stood were dealt a delay of game penalty, but the Commodores declined it. But of course, none of that was the point.

As the Louisville Courier Journal explains, Schlarman “was diagnosed with stage four cholangiocarcinoma, a rare form of cancer that starts in the bile ducts, in the summer of 2018.”

More about Kentucky’s tributes to Schlarman, via the Lexington Herald-Leader:

Several pregame tributes were done in Schlarman’s honor. The marching band’s regular playing of the state song, “My Old Kentucky Home,” was dedicated to his memory, and a pregame recording of Young and center Drake Jackson was played right before kickoff.

Players wore “J.S.” stickers on their helmets in the game, and a similar insignia was displayed on the scoreboards between the two teams’ point totals.

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