Scouting Profile: Luke Kandra - OG - Cincinnati
Sales Pitch: Experienced and disciplined guard with good burst out of his stance. Below average fluidity and power limit him to zone schemes only.
*Gold Numbers Indicate NCAA T-25 for 2024*
Scouting Report
Luke Kandra is a former 3-Star guard recruit from the state of Ohio. He spent his first three seasons at Louisville, mostly as a reserve player, before transferring to Cincinnati in 2023. Kandra started all 24 games for the Bearcats over the last two seasons, and was awarded two All-Big 12 honors, with an All-American nod in 2023, for his efforts.
Kandra is a wide bodied lineman with big hands and good burst. He is an experienced and disciplined player with only 2 committed penalties on over 2,000 career snaps. Kandra is at his best as a zone blocker - which Cincinnati’s offense ran at over a 65% clip during his time there - due to his athletic ability. He is quick out of his stance to get his head across his assignment, with the footwork to reach and seal. He takes good angles when asked to cut off 2nd level defenders and is quick to get his hips around his target. Kandra is a technically sound pass protector with quick accurate hands. He is a proactive puncher who works to keep his chest clean and disarm rushers out of their stance. His wide frame and aggressive set points make it difficult for rushers to get quick wins on the interior.
Kandra is a good linear athlete but he lacks fluidity and bend on the horizontal plane. When he takes incorrect angles in space, he struggles to quickly redirect and cut off smaller players. His lack of agility mostly shows up in pass protection in true dropback spots. Kandra relies on his first step to win in his pass sets and when asked to mirror for extended periods of time he lacks the foot speed to keep up. Top end rushers that beat him up the field are quickly able to turn the corner and attack the passer. Kandra’s lack of bend shows up most notably in his knees which limits his play strength. He displays average pop out of his stance and struggles to displace defenders at the point of attack. He typically relies on positioning as a run blocker because he lacks the raw power or length to control defenders in the run game.
Kandra profiles best a guard in a play action scheme that runs a lot of outside zone. His ability to to win as a blocker on the move combined with solid pass protection technique gives him low-end starter upside in the right scheme. Kandra projects as a Day-3 pick because he is scheme specific ,but could end up as a teams starting RG fairly quickly.