Elam’s impact looms large for UK

Joshua+Huff+Columnist

Joshua Huff Columnist

By Joshua Huff

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It is not every day that UK beats out a football powerhouse like Alabama in the pursuit of a five-star prospect. But the tide shifted in January when Kentucky’s own Matt Elam committed to the Cats.

Despite Alabama’s 15 national championships, Elam spurned the Crimson Tide in favor of his home state team.

“I’m an in-state guy,” Elam said. “The coaching change really just opened up my eyes. Before, I probably wouldn’t have come here, I probably would have gone to Alabama. But Coach (Mark) Stoops, Coach Neal Brown and Coach (Jimmy) Brumbaugh – I just know they can help me along with this process and make me a better player. I wanted to come here and be the man.”

Ranked as the No. 13 defensive tackle in the country by 247Sports.com, Elam possesses a combination of immense size, quickness and deceptive power. With a nickname befitting his size – “Big Daddy” – Elam stands above the crowd at a towering 6-feet-7-inches tall and weighing 375 pounds.

The John Hardin High School standout finished his senior season with 85 tackles and four sacks. Elam, named 2013 second-team All-USA by USA Today, joins a stacked defensive line – including All-Southeastern Conference honorable mention defensive end Bud Dupree and third-team All-SEC Za’Darius Smith.

Head coach Mark Stoops knows just how lucky he is to have a player like Elam anchoring his defense.

“Guys like that don’t come around all the time,” Stoops said. “He’s got a bright future because he picks up on things well. He’s extremely athletic for his size. I’m very excited about Matt and his future.”

Defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot was more poetic with his take on Elam.

“Imagine a big train going fast down the track,” he said. “When you see someone that big, you just don’t expect to see an explosion and something so quick off the ball, and he has that.”

Elam brings a skill set similar to New England Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, who has made a career of stuffing running paths and disrupting pass routes. Elam has a long road ahead of him before he can begin to draw true comparisons to Wilfork, and that begins with his performance off the field and in the dining halls.

“He needs to continue to work to get into shape so he can play at a high level in this conference,” Stoops said. “No matter what position you’re playing, that’s hard to do as a freshman, but I really like where he’s playing at, and I anticipate him playing in the first game and being ready to go.”

The biggest challenge for Elam will be the transition from high school to college ball and the change in speed and tempo of college.

“In high school, if you wanted to get something done you just stayed,” Elam said. “Right now you have certain times you have to get something done.”

Staying ahead in the win column will be the biggest obstacle for the Cats as a team this fall, but UK will look to translate its victories from the recruiting trail, like Elam, onto the gridiron.