University of Kentucky Honors Late Coach John Schlarman on First Play of Vanderbilt Game
By Liam McKeone
The University of Kentucky's football program suffered a tough loss earlier this week when offensive line coach John Schlarman passed away at the age of 45 after a fight with cancer. Schlarman has been a part of the team since 2013 and was clearly a beloved figure in the Kentucky football community.
Saturday's game against Vanderbilt marked the first in seven years without Schlarman there to coach. They honored him by leaving the left guard spot open and accepting a delay of game penalty on the first play. Vanderbilt declined the penalty.
This is powerful. @UKFootball left the LT position open on the first play of the game to honor late OL coach John Schlarman who died on Thursday. Vanderbilt declined the penalty. pic.twitter.com/Ukv5ReBOsm
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 14, 2020
If you'd like to learn more about what Schlarman meant to his coworkers and players, here's a wonderful tribute video put together soon after his passing.
This tribute video to John Schlarman is beautiful pic.twitter.com/omKUMsugbX
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) November 12, 2020
Remarkable moments all around.