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Kentucky’s starting center this football season figures to be junior Quinton Wilson but he’s already had one other major accomplishment — he graduated in 2 1/2 years with a degree in management.

“The academic people set me up when I needed help,” Wilson, who has spent time trying to help teammates learn new offensive coordinator Liam Coen’s system, said. “One really important thing when I came here was education. My mom would not be happy if I tried to take it easy off the field. She wanted me to push myself and set myself up for other opportunities after football. It’s important to grow as a whole person and not just a football player.”

Wilson is pursuing his MBA in business. His plan is to be his own boss someday and says “building relationships with faculty in upper level (classes)” can help him do that.

“Whether I am in football or out of football, I still want to benefit from my education and lead a good life,” Wilson said.

Wilson won’t always lead a “good life” in practice because he often has to go against nose guard Marquan McCall, a potential breakout star in the SEC this season.

“I have been going against him for a long time now. He definitely presents challenges,” Wilson said. “He did a good job this spring trying to be disruptive. Every now and then we (the offensive line) get him and it is not just him running over us.

“I know he would hate to admit it but we do get him. If you can block Marquan, you are confident you can block anybody in this league. He’s that good. Our whole defensive line is really a good group of guys. They all compete at a high level. They are fun to watch but not always fun to go against.”