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.
We took a delay of game penalty to begin the game in loving memory of @CoachSchlarman 💙
Then @Landon_Young_67 stepped on the field wearing #65 in #SchlarmanStrong honor https://t.co/NT2QmVikY7 pic.twitter.com/VmIPKSM9o5
— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) November 14, 2020
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.”
#65 – @Landon_Young_67 #SchlarmanStrong 💙 pic.twitter.com/sxBmjyyDe7
— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) November 14, 2020
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.
John Schlarman is gone but never forgotten.
His legacy and impact at @UKFootball will live on forever 💙 #SECNation pic.twitter.com/MKgPKqjSeO
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 14, 2020
