Kentucky coach Mark Stoops appointed Eric Wolford the new coach of the offensive line, he announced on Thursday.
Wolford, who has been in South Carolina for the past four seasons as a forward coach, arrives at Bluegrass with 25 years of coaching experience, including two in the National Football League.
“I am honored to have Eric Wolford joining our team,” said Stoops. “I have known Eric and I have worked with Eric for a long time. I knew that it would take a special person to fill that role and we found the best candidate. I know what we are getting with Eric Wolford and he will continue to build the legacy that John Schlarman started . He is intense, detailed, but he also has the unique ability to connect with people. “
This season in South Carolina, the Wolford unit helped pave the way for Kevin Harris’ running back to lead the Southeast Conference by running and rewriting Gamecock’s record books. Harris ended the regular season with 1,138 running yards, just the ninth player in the school’s history to run for more than 1,000 yards in a season. He had five 100-yard games, including two over 200 yards, joining George Rogers and Marcus Lattimore as the only players in the school’s history with several 200-yard games.
“I am excited to come to Kentucky as the offensive line manager,” said Wolford. “I knew Mark Stoops a long time ago and I am very impressed with the way he built his program. I was in the front row, playing Kentucky for the past four years, and Kentucky is a worker, they are tough, they are proud, they have attitude and they have discipline. Your strength trainers, Mark Hill and Corey Edmond, have done an excellent job in developing and recruiting players, their team has done an excellent job in finding players who can play at the SEC and at a high level.
“I am blessed to have the opportunity to train the ‘Great Blue Wall”, added Wolford, “I want to continue John Schlarman’s legacy. He was a wonderful man and watching film and seeing how his line played, it is not difficult to see that great offensive line coach he was. We will always remember Coach Schlarman in our room. Always. “
In 2019, the offensive line helped five different running backs to run for more than 100 yards in one game.
In 2018, Carolina made 7-6 and advanced to the Belk Bowl. Gamecocks averaged 30.1 points, 152.8 yards running, 272.8 passing yards and 425.6 yards in total, the best marks since 2014. They had five games of 500 yards or more for the first time in school history, including consecutive 600-yard games against Chattanooga and Clemson. In their first season in Carolina, the Gamecocks finished 9-4 and defeated Michigan in the Outback Bowl, 26-19.
The number of bags allowed by Carolina dropped from 41 in 2016, a year before Wolford’s arrival, to 29 in 2017 and 23 in 2018, the lowest since the 2013 season. Even more impressive, in the SEC game, the number allowed of bags fell from 31 in 2016 to 18 in 2017, to just 12 in 2018.
Off the field, Wolford was named one of Rivals’ top 25 recruiters after the February 2018 signing date.
Before returning to Carolina, Wolford spent the previous two seasons (2015-16) in the NFL as an assistant coach on the San Francisco 49ers offensive line.
Prior to his stint at the 49ers, Wolford recorded 19 seasons as a high school coach, including five (2010-14) as head coach at Youngstown State University. After a 3-8 mark in their first season, the Penguins have accumulated a 28-18 mark in their last four campaigns, have been ranked in the top ten three times and have broken 32 school records during their tenure. Highlights included a 2012 victory over Pitt – the first victory over a BCS team in school history, and a victory in 2011 over North Dakota’s top ranked team, while overseeing the team’s highest GPA recorded for four consecutive seasons . He finished 31-26 overall at the helm.
Wolford also served as a racing game coordinator and offensive line coach for South Carolina in 2009 under coach Steve Spurrier, after a two-year stint in Illinois, where he held a similar position. Under Wolford’s tutelage, the Illini, who played in the 2008 Rose Bowl game, led the Big Ten in races (2007) and passes (2008), while surpassing the 5,000 yard mark in total attack only for the third and fourth times in the history school. Wolford was a Rivals Top-20 National Recruiter in 2008.
Wolford spent three seasons (2004-06) in Arizona as the coach of the offensive line, where he was part of the same team that Mark Stoops. UA led the league with the fewest bags allowed in 2004 and was second in 2005. He was also an integral part of the first 25 consecutive recruiting classes.
Wolford spent the 2003 season in northern Texas, where his offensive line paved the way for tailback Patrick Cobbs, who won the award for best offensive player of the year. Wolford also helped lead the UNT in its third consecutive run for the New Orleans Bowl.
Before joining North Texas, Wolford spent three years in Houston and in South Florida. While in Houston, he trained in a variety of positions, covering attack, defense and special teams. In 2002, Houston took a dramatic turnaround, going from a winless season to five wins. During that time, Wolford trained five players from all conferences.
Wolford had the unique experience of being a coach in the first three seasons of the USF football program, helping to lead the Bulls to two winning seasons. In the second year, the attack reached more than 400 yards per game.
Wolford began his coaching career at his alma mater, Kansas State, where he worked as a graduate assistant on the offensive line under John Latina. He then spent two years as an offensive lineman and force at Emporia State.
Wolford was a starter for four years as an offensive guard at K-State under Bill Snyder. He started 34 games in his career, including 21 on the right guard and 13 on the left guard. During their final year, the Wildcats won the school’s first bowl game at the 1993 Copper Bowl, defeating Wyoming. After college, Wolford signed a free agent contract with the Arizona Cardinals before returning to Manhattan to embark on his coaching career.
A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Wolford, 49, attended Ursuline High School, where he was consecrated in the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.
He received his bachelor’s degree in social sciences with an emphasis on monetary and banking policy in the state of Kansas in 1994. He and his wife, Melinda, have two children, Stone and Marlee.
Eric and Melinda started a non-profit organization, inspired by their son, Stone, who was diagnosed with Cardiofaciocutaneous Syndrome (CFC Syndrome) when he was a baby. Its foundation is called No Stone Unturned Foundation and is dedicated to embracing, involving and empowering children with special needs and their families, with a primary focus on any child with a disability. For more information about the No Stone Unturned Foundation, visit the website here: NSUF.org.
Eric Wolford Coaching Career
| Year | Position | School | Bowl games |
| 2017-20 | Offensive Line | South Carolina | Belk Bowl (2018), Outback Bowl (2018) |
| 2015-16 | Offensive Line | San Francisco 49ers | |
| 2010-14 | Head coach | Youngstown State | |
| 2009 | Offensive Line | South Carolina | PapaJohns.com Bowl |
| 2007-08 | Offensive Line | Illinois | Rose Bowl (2008) |
| 2004-06 | Offensive Line | Arizona | |
| 2003 | Offensive Line | North texas | Wyndham New Orleans Bowl |
| 2/2 | Offensive Line | Houston | |
| 1997-99 | Offensive Line | South florida | |
| 1996 | Offensive line / strength coach | Emporia State (Division II) |
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