Olaus Alinen Proves he’s a Ball-Knower

You must have a deep passion for the sport of football to play in the SEC. Now on his second SEC stop, Olaus Alinen has proven that time and time again. Alinen grew up in Finland, a world consumed by hockey. Even though many of his peers were called to the ice, he was drawn to the gridiron. How much does he love football? He stayed up till 2:00 am on Sundays to watch the Cleveland Browns play football. “I got love for the game,” he explained to 11 Personnel at Kentucky Football Media Day. It takes a true sicko to lose sleep to watch the Cleveland Browns play football, but this guy knows ball. An offensive lineman by trade, Joe Thomas and Co. played a brand of football that Alinen loved. “At a certain point, when they had Joe Bitonio, Wyatt Teller, Nick Chubb at running back, their offensive line was pretty elite for a couple of years.” Alinen is joining an elite group assembled by Will Stein at Kentucky. A former four-star talent, he’s moved around quite a bit throughout his career between offensive tackle and guard. He’s expected to start at right guard when he faces his former team, Alabama, in week two. “For me, I’m just trying to go week to week… Playing against your old teammates is always a cool experience that’s happened a good bit in college football for a lot of people nowadays with people moving around a lot. So it’s always good to see familiar faces, get a chance to go against them, and talk to them after the game,” said Alinen. No bulletin board for Alabama: Alinen knows ball. In addition to football, we also talked soccer, hockey, and the chemistry this Kentucky offensive is looking to create over the next four weeks at fall camp. More from the Kentucky Offensive Line If you’re wondering why the thumbnail says, “Yoga,” then you didn’t read Zack’s post from Monday. The extra stretches are challenging for Alinen, but Coleton Price believes it’s giving this Kentucky offensive line a leg up. “Be on top of your body is what we really care about around here,” Price told KSR. “Availability is a really good key for us to be great. You got to have players to be great, so being able to focus on your body, take treatment seriously, stretch, doing all that is what we’re doing.” This Kentucky offensive line is experienced and enormous. The left side has a ton of starts, while the guys on the right have been in college football for multiple years in smaller roles. Alinen and Malachi Wood have been inquisitive this offseason, helping the front five get on the same page before putting on pads during practice. “Being able to figure out certain looks and questions that you are curious about, and being able to ask one another about it, is definitely a good key,” said Price. “Lance, Mal, Olaus, Teg, everyone is very smart, so being to come together and play with one another on the same page is a big deal.” [READ: Coleton Price shares the OL’s Philosophy: 5 Guys, 10 Eyes, 1 Lens]