Kentucky honored the memory of assistant coach John Schlarman by leaving an open spot on the offensive line to start Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt.
The Wildcats took a delay of game penalty, which the Commodores declined. Senior lineman Landon Young then took the field in Lexington wearing jersey No. 65, worn by Schlarman during his playing career at UK.
Schlarman, 45, died Thursday following a two-year battle with cancer.
“John was everything we all strive to be — honest, tough, fair, respected. Kentucky football won’t be the same without him but his legacy will never fade,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said Thursday. “He was a fighter and we will strive every day to honor his warrior spirit.”
Schlarman, the team’s offensive line coach and an original member of Stoops’ staff in 2013, was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare cancer of the bile ducts, in the summer of 2018.
He rarely missed a practice and didn’t miss a game until the past two.
Schlarman was a four-year starter on the offensive line at Kentucky from 1994-97, earning first-team All-SEC honors as a senior.