Kentucky is close to finalizing a deal to bring Eric Wolford back to Lexington to coach the offensive line, according to a report from FootballScoop’s John Brice.

Wolford spent the last two seasons on the Alabama coaching staff with Nick Saban. Following Saban’s retirement and the subsequent hiring of Kalen DeBoer, Wolford was not retained for the new staff.

It’s not immediately clear what Wolford’s addition specifically means for current UK offensive line coach Zach Yenser, who signed a one-year extension through June 2025 last November.

A Kansas State graduate, Wolford coached at Kentucky in 2021. Before that, he was the offensive line coach at South Carolina (2017-20), an assistant line coach for the San Francisco 49ers (2015-16), and the head coach at Youngstown State (2010-14).

Following a season spent at K-State as a graduate assistant, Wolford has coached offensive lines for more than 20 years at the college level, with other stints at Houston, North Texas, Arizona, and Illinois.

In his lone season at Kentucky, Wolford took an offensive line that needed to replace three of its five starters and turned it into a Joe Moore Award finalist. The Wildcats averaged 5.2 yards per rushing attempt that year (16th nationally).

Wolford is also well-regarded as a recruiter.