First issue free. Subsequent issues 25 cents. Newsroom: 257-1915; Advertising: 257-2872 PIGSKIN PREVIEW CELEBRATING 38 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2009 WWW.KYKERNEL.COM Fielding the questions PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ADAM WOLFFBRANDT | STAFF See Colston on page A5 Is UK ready to get out of the Southeastern Conference East Division cellar? Pick up most preseason magazines and predic- tions and UK is predicted sixth in the East, 11th overall. The same Cats that have gone to three straight bowls (which isn’t the feat it used to be, but still) are mostly picked below Vanderbilt and South Carolina, again. It’s almost like those preseason mags have a tem- plate already in place, with UK and Vandy inter- changable at the bottom. Is UK ready to get out of the Southeastern Conference East Division cellar? Pick up most preseason magazines and predic- tions and UK is predicted sixth in the East, 11th overall. The same Cats that have gone to three straight bowls (which isn’t the feat it used to be, but still) are mostly picked below Vanderbilt and South Carolina, again. It’s almost like those preseason mags have a tem- plate already in place, with UK and Vandy inter- changable at the bottom. By Kenny Colston [email protected]By Kenny Colston [email protected]
Transcript
First issue free. Subsequent issues 25 cents.N
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PIGSKIN PREVIEWCELEBRATING 38 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCEFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2009 WWW.KYKERNEL.COM
Fielding the
questions
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ADAM WOLFFBRANDT | STAFF
See Colston on page A5
Is UK ready to get out of the SoutheasternConference East Division cellar?
Pick up most preseason magazines and predic-tions and UK is predicted sixth in the East, 11th overall.
The same Cats that have gone to three straightbowls (which isn’t the feat it used to be, but still) aremostly picked below Vanderbilt and South Carolina,again.
It’s almost like those preseason mags have a tem-plate already in place, with UK and Vandy inter-changable at the bottom.
Is UK ready to get out of the SoutheasternConference East Division cellar?
Pick up most preseason magazines and predic-tions and UK is predicted sixth in the East, 11th overall.
The same Cats that have gone to three straightbowls (which isn’t the feat it used to be, but still) aremostly picked below Vanderbilt and South Carolina,again.
It’s almost like those preseason mags have a tem-plate already in place, with UK and Vandy inter-changable at the bottom.
On many days at practice,Mike Hartline's cleats are thelast ones off the practicefield. As what looks like theentire UK football team trotsoff the field the moment thepractice is over, the quarter-back is conspicuously absent.
Randall Cobb, Will Fi-dler and Morgan Newton jogoff the field in the processionof red, white and blue jer-seys, but UK's junior starterat quarterback isn't amongthem. On a practice field offin the distance, after all histeammates have shed theirpads and are rehydrating,junior quarterback MikeHartline is still perfecting hispasses.
There wasn't a coach whochallenged Hartline to be one ofthe hardest workers on theteam. No teammate asked himto take the initiative and takethose extra snaps. Hartlinemade this decision on his own.
"I feel like I'm at the pointnow in my career where Ishouldn’t be asking the coacheswhat I need to do to get better,"Hartline said. "I should knowwhat I need to do to get better.I'm over that young stage of mycareer. I'm not a young guyanymore, I'm a veteran."
That's good news forthose counting on Hartline toeclipse his numbers from adisappointing sophomorecampaign when he passed for1,666 yards with nine touch-downs and eight interceptions.
Those numbers were es-pecially disappointing aftercoaches and fans became ac-customed to the high-pow-ered offenses led by AndreWoodson and Co.
"We thought we would gobackwards a little bit becauseyou can't compare much to2006 and 2007," said JokerPhillips, UK's head coach ofthe offense. "But we didn't ex-pect to go back that far."
Hartline lost his job aftereight games and was the targetof plenty of criticism from fans,coaches and analysts alike. Butwhen Cobb was injured, Hart-line helped the team to a win inthe Liberty Bowl and enteredfall camp as the clear starter.
The gap between Hartlineand any of his challengers hassince grown considerably. Thecoaching staff is adamant the
job is Hartline's to lose, evenwith a pair of talented fresh-men and a backup behind himwho has plenty of time in theprogram.
“I know, I listen, I hear, Iread, but Mike Hartline is ourguy,” UK head coach RichBrooks said.
To help his teammates andhimself, Hartline put a largedry erase board in his apart-ment this summer. He invitedteammates over so they couldwork on plays and get a betterfeel for each other and the of-fense.
"I knew everybody wasgoing to be here so there's noexcuse why they couldn'tcome and meet," Hartline said."That was just one thing wedid to get everybody togetherand get everybody working to-ward the same goal."
By stepping up as a leader,Hartline showed he was readyto work on all aspects of hisgame. He threw his teammatesunder the bus when he wasbenched last year, but he’s beengetting rave reviews all throughpractice.
Everyone — from re-ceivers, to coaches, to defensiveplayers matching up againstHartline in practice — has saidHartline is among the most-im-proved players in fall camp.
Hartline’s fluttery deepballs were much-maligned lastyear, but teammates said muchof that came from a lack of con-
fidence in his receivers. Thisyear, the wideouts are catchingthe ball with more consistencyand Hartline appears to haveimproved his long throws.
“He’s throwing the ballmore accurately, he’s throw-ing it deep accurately,”Brooks said. “He’s giving re-ceivers a chance to makeplays on the ball, and amaz-ingly we’ve got receiversmaking some plays on theball.”
Brooks and Phillips haveboth repeatedly said that thereceivers, led by Cobb andjunior Chris Matthews, aremuch-improved. Other re-ceivers who had smaller roleslast year, like sophomoresEric Adeyemi and Gene Mc-Caskill, came on strong downthe stretch and are expectedto be more consistent thisyear.
"His attitude is a lot bet-ter," Phillips said. "Some-times when we didn’t havesuccess (last season), Mikewouldn't carry himself theright way. Whenever we sentin a play that he wasn't reallyexcited about, I think youcould see it. You could see itin his body language."
Phillips said that attitudeand body language were twothings the coaching staff alsohad to work on with Woodsonat the same age. Hartline saidthat everything that is so differ-ent about him now — his atti-
tude, his work ethic — is all abyproduct of his tumultuoussophomore campaign.
"You take care of yourbusiness more and grow up,"Hartline said. "I think after thatfirst year, realizing what I hadto go through, what I wentthrough and what it takes to gothrough a year like that andstay positive, it definitelychanged parts of my life."
Hartline may have alsofelt the pressure when fresh-men quarterbacks Newton andRyan Mossakowski arrived oncampus. He welcomed thecompetition at the position,but the buzz surrounding theduo may have been extra mo-tivation for Hartline.
Many believed Newton andMossakowski could push Hart-line for playing time this sea-son. But both have struggled todigest the playbook and havelooked lost at times in practice.Brooks has repeatedly said thatthe freshmen "are playing likefreshmen."
Even though Mossakows-ki insists his shoulder is al-most back to 100 percent andhe was quoted earlier in theyear saying he would be re-luctant to redshirt, he seemedto be more receptive to sittingout the year when talking toreporters at media day.
"It's whatever they want todo with me," Mossakowski said.
When the team depth chartwas released on Monday,Mossakowski and Newton werestill battling for the third-stringquarterback job behind Hartlineand Fidler, respectively.
To improve on last year’srecord and be where they wantto be this season, Phillips said“there’s no question” there hasto be improved production atthe quarterback position.
Watching Hartline work onthose deep throws after prac-tice is one thing, but Brookssaid those extra reps won’tmatter unless Hartline can re-produce those results down thestretch in close games.
“I think the only way youjudge that level of improve-ment is you play games,”Brooks said. “On the practicefield there’s no questionwe’ve seen a tremendous im-provement from Mike Hart-line. Now we have to seewhether that translates togames, completions, touch-downs, lack of interceptions,those kinds of things.”
Junior quarter-back Mike Hart-line makes apass againstSouth Carolinalast year at Com-monwealth Sta-dium.
STAFF FILE PHOTO
QUARTERBACKS PREVIEW
STAFF FILE PHOTOLast year, Hartline completed 55 percent of his passes with ninetouchdowns and eight interceptions.
“I feel like I’m at the point now in my careerwhere I shouldn’t be asking the coaches what I
need to do to get better. ”MIKE HARTLINE
UK quarterback
Friday, September 4, 2009 | PAGE A3
Practice doesn’t mean perfectfor quarterback’s second chance
Whether or not youwould’ve believed it this timelast year, Mike Hartline looks
frame would take the Cats bystorm, filling the massive voidAndre Woodson left behind.
Other fans assumed hisinexperience and lack of helpat the receiver position wouldshoot the Cats in the foot —that is, until Randall Cobbstepped in to scramble hisway toward saving the day.
Sadly, both groups of fanswere right.
Hartline, at times, lookedlike Woodson’s rightful succes-sor. Especially againstLouisville — a game placedunder the microscope each yearbecause it’s early in the yearand it’s the Cats’ biggest rivalrygame — Hartline looked likethe quarterback of the next
three years without question.But that version of Hartline
didn’t show up every week.Hartline was benched in the
midst of losing to Florida by 58.Sure, we’re talking about theall-universe Florida defense thatmade Heisman winner SamBradford look average in theBCS National ChampionshipGame, but Bradford didn’tthrow his teammates under thebus after the loss.
Hartline did.Don’t expect every last
one of Hartline’s problems tovanish this year, but expect tosee a matured, polished SECquarterback.
“He’s throwing the ballmore accurately, throwing thedeep ball more accurately,”UK head coach Rich Brookssaid. “He’s giving receivers achance to make a play on theball and amazingly, we havesome receivers making someplays on the ball.”
Receiver play is one areaout of Hartline’s control thatwill undoubtedly make thequarterback’s job easier thisseason.
Not only will the re-ceivers drop fewer balls, butHartline’s confidence in histeammates will allow him tothrow the deep ball and make
the big play when necessary.“Last year we were short-
handed because of youngguys, one being myself,”Hartline said. “But right nowwe have big, strong targets,guys that know what they’redoing and just want to makeplays on the football.”
Cobb is now considered tobe a wide receiver, though hewill see a few snaps each gamein a special Wildcat package.
Plus, the pair showed aflash of good chemistry whenthe two hooked up for twolate-game touchdowns in acomeback win over Arkansas.
And beyond Hartline’simprovements, the leadingbuzz-maker during fall campmay have been junior collegetransfer Chris Matthews, a 6-foot-5 receiver ready to step inand immediately make plays.
“He’s a very big andphysical receiver, and he canreally catch the ball,” seniorcornerback Trevard Lindleysaid. “I like going up againsthim because I have been try-ing to get better on bigger re-ceivers.
If Hartline can have successthrowing in practice againstLindley, widely regarded as one
Space Deadline: Sept 9Material Deadline: Sept 15Maatat
of the nation’s top defensive backs, he shouldn’thave trouble picking apart any other cornerbackin the league.
But there’s a catch with all of this: None ofHartline’s steps forward so far mean anything ifhe can’t get it done off the practice field.
Practicing well is one thing. Perhaps itsimportance is even overshadowed at times.
But Hartline hasn’t separated himself fromlast year’s ghost quite yet.
By all accounts, Hartline is in great shape,his arm is stronger than ever and his decision
making from a year ago is much improved.Brooks also noted the extra year under
Hartline’s belt would make it easier for audi-bles and checks at the line of scrimmage.
Stronger personnel around him or not,Hartline Present is shaping up to be a muchbetter player than Hartline Past.
Whether Hartline Game is as good asHartline Practice? That remains to be seen.
“On the practice field there is no question thatwe have seen tremendous improvement in MikeHartline,” Brooks said. “Now we’ll have to see ifthat translates to games, completions, touchdowns,lack of interceptions, those kinds of things.”
The Southeastern Confer-ence’s exclusive TV deal withESPN and CBS paired withUK’s string of three straighttrips to a bowl game was sup-posed to make the recruitingprocess easier for the footballprogram. But that doesn’t seemto be the case as only a handfulof players in the Class of 2010have committed to the Cats.
UK currently has the low-est ranked recruiting class inthe SEC for the Class of 2010,according to Scout.com andRivals.com, with only six earlycommitments, none of whichare four or five-star recruits. Bycontrast, traditional SEC Eastpowerhouses like Florida,Georgia and Tennessee havehad no trouble attracting high-er-profile prospects. Florida al-ready has five commitmentsfrom players on the Scout.comTop 100 and six commitmentsfrom the Rivals.com Rivals100in its 2010 recruiting class.
“I'm not concerned onebit. I think you judge a recruit-ing class by what happens inFebruary (on signing day),”said Chuck Smith, UK’s re-cruiting coordinator. “Youmight have one of those big,high-profile recruits, all it is isa verbal commitment, hecould change his mind nextweek, he could change hismind next month, he couldchange his mind the week be-fore the signing date.”
Despite the UK coaching
staff’s efforts on the recruit-ing trail, the star recruits sim-ply might not commit, saidTim Adams, a recruiting ana-lyst for Scout.com.
“Kentucky is looking forthe same recruits as Alabama,Tennessee and Florida,”Adams said. “The problem isthey can’t get the top playersin Florida when they can stayin-state and go play for a na-tional championship.”
So far, UK’s recruiting classis headlined by three-star defen-sive lineman Justin Henderson,according to Scout.com, and apair of teammates, Tyler Brauseand Teven Eatmon from Wyn-ford High School in Bucyrus,Ohio. Brause is a three-starquarterback and Eatmon is atwo-star tight end, according toScout.com.
“(UK) needs to recruit bet-ter, but there is a lure,” Adamssaid. “A lot of the kids I watchin Indiana see them as part ofthe SEC, and that appeals to alarge number of them.”
Scout.com recruiting ana-lyst Chad Simmons has alsoseen UK mentioned more inrecruiting conversations inthe past five years than heever remembers. Simmonsdescribed UK’s program asone on the “up and up.”
Adams believes UK’s im-provements, along with thestruggles of the lower-echelonteams in the Big Ten, like In-diana and Purdue, will, in thefuture, enhance UK’s chancesof landing recruits who viewSEC football as king.
One Indiana recruit debat-ing whether the chance to playin the SEC is a big enoughdraw is four-star receiverDyjuan Lewis, a 6-foot-2 sen-
ior at Pike High School, whohas shown interest in UK.
Even if the higher-rankedrecruits, like Lewis, don’t de-cide to commit to UK, theprogram has made a habit oftargeting two and three-star re-cruits in recent seasons and de-veloping them once they arriveon campus. Smith said the UKcoaching staff doesn’t evenbother looking at Scout.com orRivals.com, because they doall their own evaluation ofprospects.
“We do a pretty thoroughjob of evaluating each player,evaluating athletically, academi-cally and character-wise,”Smith said. “Once we bring himin and he has passed all of thosecriteria for us, we feel like it'sour job of developing him into akind of player we need to winan SEC championship."
Solid recruiting pipelineshave also been established bythe UK coaching staff, no-tably LaGrange, Ga., home tofour players currently on theUK roster and another com-mit, punter Joe Mansour.Many other UK footballalumni, including linebackersWesley Woodyard and Brax-ton Kelley also went to La-Grange. Simmons said UKhead coach of the offenseJoker Phillips is good friendswith LaGrange head coachSteve Pardue.
Ultimately, Simmonssaid, the best way for UK torecruit successfully is to con-tinue to win more games con-sistently.
“(UK) doesn’t have flashor national notoriety,” Sim-mons said. “They need tocompete in the SEC and get afew signature wins.”
Cats chasenation’s top recruits with mixed results
Friday, September 4, 2009 | PAGE A5
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Phillips content with offense,in no hurry to become coach
Joker Phillips may beUK's head coach of the fu-ture, but that's all he'll be fornow. Even with questionsswirling surrounding the fu-ture of UK head coach RichBrooks, Phillips hasn't takenon any additional responsibil-ities with the team.
There are no immediateplans for Phillips to begintaking on any additional foot-ball-related duties in an effortto ease the transition for whenhe is eventually named headcoach. Since being namedUK's head coach in waiting inJanuary 2008, the only realdifference Phillips has seen inhis duties is an increase inspeaking engagements and achange in title, Phillips said.
He was named head coachof the offense on Jan. 15, buthe still performs the duties ofmost offensive coordinators,including play-calling. RandySanders, former UK quarter-backs coach and recruiting co-ordinator, was given the titleof offensive coordinator dur-ing the offseason.
"It's been kind of thesame," Phillips said. "Rich iskeeping me informed of somethings, some more things thatare going on around here. Butmy job here is just to makesure this offense is heading inthe right direction."
Brooks started specula-tion that he could be enteringone of his final seasons ascoach when he told reportersat SEC media day on July 22that he would likely not reachhis goal of becoming UK'slongest-tenured head coach.To break Fran Curci's recordof coaching for nine years,Brooks would have to coach
through the 2012 season.Since media day, Brooks
has avoided any questionsconcerning his future at UK,saying he will wait until afterthe season to make any com-ment on his future with theteam. Brooks said he believesit is not fair to the players todiscuss that during the sea-son, when the team should befocusing on football.
Phillips said the decisionto have the coaching transitionbe all at once was reached byBrooks, UK Athletics DirectorMitch Barnhart and UK Presi-dent Lee Todd. Even thoughhe was not involved in the de-cision, Phillips was pleasedwith the outcome.
"That's the way I wouldwant it," Phillips said. "A lotof coaches in waiting have
deadlines in their contractsand those types of things andI really don't think it's fair toRich to have a deadline, be-cause what happens when weget to the deadline and he'snot ready to hang it up?"
Brooks, Barnhart, andTodd weren't worried that theteam could be divided ifPhillips was given some re-sponsibilities of a head coach.
Phillips certainly doesn'tseem to be in any hurry to takeover the program. For now,he's more than content to callthe offense at his alma mater.
"I like it the way it is,"Phillips said. "I got a greatjob, there's no question aboutit. (Brooks) is great to workfor, and I just love being athome and doing the thingsthat I'm doing now."
STAFF FILE PHOTOUK head coach of the offense Joker Phillips is in no hurry to takeover for UK head coach Rich Brooks, despite being named successor.
STAFF FILE PHOTOUK head coach Rich Brooks created speculation that he could be entering one of his final seasons whenspeaking to reporters at Southeastern Conference Media Day.
Questions aboundOf course, every year UK head coach Rich
Brooks must field questions about his team,just like any other coach. But this year, thereare seemingly more questions.
How’s the defense going to hold up? Andthose young, new defensive ends? Can MicahJohnson and Trevard Lindley make enough ofa difference to cover the holes?
When will Brooks step aside and let JokerPhillips take the reigns? Is Mike HartlineUK’s quarterback for the whole season?
Can UK win at South Carolina and finallybeat Steve Spurrier? What about at Auburn?How about beating the Volunteers?
That’s just a sampling of the questions facingBrooks. Just listing all questions will fill this en-tire column. Answering them won’t be that hard.
UK could finish with an 8-4 record. Theycould end up 4-8. The Cats can count on fourwins: Miami of Ohio, Louisville, Eastern Ken-tucky and Louisiana-Monroe. Throw in should-be wins against Vanderbilt and MississippiState and the Cats can discuss bowling again.
And for the optimists, at South Carolinaand at Auburn are pretty winnable as well (ifyou’re putting money on it, take a win overthe Tigers before the Gamecocks).
But can you set any of those in stone?Would you run and bet UK in any game otherthan EKU and Louisiana-Monroe?
Having seen last year’s offense and know-ing that most of those guys are back, wouldyou really bank on UK scoring more than twotouchdowns a game? Will you count on Hart-line making the Andre Woodson junior leap?
Most of these questions will be answeredby week four of the regular season. But thebiggest question of all will loom until that fi-nal game against the Volunteers. Stuck in the cellar
Brooks makes no bones about it — he re-alizes that upsets of Georgia and LouisianaState haven’t done enough to change the ideaof what UK football should be.
He knows that in order to really make
noise and influence an SEC race is to beatsomeone on their own turf, besides Vandy orMississippi State. It means going Between theHedges to beat Georgia. It means going to Co-lumbia, S.C., to beat Spurrier.
Brooks has come close recently, putting Al-abama and South Carolina on the ropes in re-cent years. Of course, last year Florida and Ten-nessee were the ugly counters to those games.
Put all the other depth chart questions, talentquestions and succession questions to the side.In the grand scheme of all things football, theydon’t matter because they change year to year.
So far, Brooks has gone from a coach whoseseat was in full flames to a coach that has turneda program around. That, in itself, is no small feat.
But there is one big question Rich Brooksneeds to answer before he sets out into thesunset (which will be sooner rather than later).
He took Oregon to the Rose Bowl and a Pac-10 championship in 1994, culminating with theDucks’ first-ever four consecutive bowl gamerun with the best bowl the Ducks could reach.
With Florida and Alabama still prominent,no one in their right mind would force thesame title standard for Brooks this year. Butthis year, instead of another lowly bowl in thestate of Tennessee and another finish in theSEC cellar, it’s time for Brooks to answer thequestions that will take him from being a real-ly good UK head coach to one of the top twocoaches the program has ever seen.
Can Brooks take UK out of the cellar andinto the upper half of the SEC?
Can Brooks return UK to a Florida bowlgame, where they play a good school from apower conference?
And last but not least, can Brooks makeUK football matter enough that SEC schoolsstop marking the Cats down as a highly-likelyhome win? Can he make the preseason maga-zines to scrap their prediction templates?
This is the season that will show us the an-swers to those questions.
Finish 6-6 and we’ll all plug UK in atsixth again next year.
Finish better and UK fans will stop wish-ing Bear Bryant never left town.
Finish 8-4 and maybe Brooks can help makethe new preseason magazine template for 2010.
Inside the Nutter Center, UK’s foot-ball training facility, there’s a giantschedule with every game the Cats areplanning on playing in this season. Atthe bottom, unassumingly listed like anyother game on the normal schedule,there’s the Southeastern ConferenceChampionship game.
While most would seem to thinkthat’s a bit bold of the Cats, JokerPhillips, UK’s head coach of the offense,said the conference championship is nolonger just a hopeful ambition.
"It's becoming an expectation,"Phillips said. "That's our No. 1 goal —to win the SEC Championship."
Even with the strides UK head coachRich Brooks has made with the program,he’s still a combined 1-23 against SECEast foes Florida, Georgia, South Caroli-na and Tennessee.
To reverse that trend, sophomorewide receiver Randall Cobb said theteam will have to focus.
“It’s going to be the confidence leveland we have to play like we know wecan play,” Cobb said. “In the past I thinkthey’ve had the mindset that it’s possibleyou can beat them. You have to have the
mindset that you know you can beatthem.”
After three straight years in low-lev-el bowls, many players and fans aregrowing restless. Cobb said he won’t becontent with another Music City Bowl oranother Liberty Bowl.
“That’s old. You can’t keep going tothe same bowls,” Cobb said. “You haveto make a step. This program, it’s timefor us to make that step, make that leapto the next level and take this thing tothe bigger bowls.”
Last year, the Cats played in eightgames that were decided by a touch-down or less, going 4-4 in those con-tests. This year figures to have plenty ofclose contests as well, with road gamesagainst some weakened opponents andhome games against some of the best ofthe SEC.
Most pundits agree that UK hasplenty of swing games on its schedulethis year, including home dates with Ten-nessee and Mississippi State and roadtrips to take on Auburn, South Carolinaand Vanderbilt.
The outcomes of those games is like-ly to be the deciding factor in the Cats’season.
While there may have to be someluck involved for the Cats to swing some
of those games their way, Phillips saidthere’s no reason why UK can’t breakout this year.
"Every year some team comes out ofno where,” Phillips said. “Why not Ken-tucky? You've seen the Boise's, theUtah's, Vanderbilt came on the scene lastyear, Ole Miss is struggling to make themove and separate themselves. Why notKentucky? I feel like we've got every-thing we need to be successful in thisleague."
The consensus among players is thatthis is among the deepest teams in UK’srecent history — even deeper than the2007 team that knocked off eventual na-tional champion LSU and was ranked inthe top 10 nationally for some time.
The catch is that this squad doesn’thave the proven playmakers that teamhad, several players said.
That’s not the only thing separatingthis year’s team from 2007, when therallying cry for the program was ‘We be-lieve.’
Now, there’s a new buzz around theteam.
“The saying we’ve been saying a lotis ‘Believe the hype,’ ” Cobb said. “Wefeel we have the confidence in ourselvesand this team that we’re going to do bigthings this year.”
Free 21 oz. Drink with purchase of regular footlong sub or a pizza
It seems as though every year a once al-most-unknown steps onto the field at Com-monwealth Stadium and gives UK fans per-
f o r m a n c e sthroughout theseason that makeshim a fan fa-vorite. In 2007that man was Ste-vie Johnson, ajunior collegetransfer wide re-ceiver that didn’tmake a big im-pact in his firstyear with theCats. In 2008 the
emerging star award was given to RandallCobb.
With the season only one day away, BigBlue Nation is looking for the next emergingstar to take center stage. One receiver whohas been flying under everyone’s radar butthe coaches’ is 6-foot-4 freshman La’RodKing.
“He’s having a good camp,” UK headcoach Rich Brooks said. “He missed two orthree days with a bruised foot, but he’s backnow and making plays on the ball. He’s defi-nitely in the mix and in the competition.”
King, a quarterback his senior year inhigh school in Radcliff, Ky., was an earlycommit to UK, saying he’s always been a UKfan. In high school King played wide receiv-er, tight end, safety and contributed on specialteams in addition to his quarterback duties.
What King brings to the Cats at the re-ceiver position is another tall option that cango up and get the ball.
“The guy understands how to adjust tothe ball,” UK head coach of the offense Jok-er Phillips said. “I tell our kids, we have abunch of three point shooters, La’Rod’s a re-bounder. He’s doing well at that. We’ve beenat the goal line a couple times and thrown itup to him and he’s come down and madesome plays over some really good corners.
I’m talking some of the starting corners. Sowe’re pleasantly surprised with him.”
With the receiving position being soshaky from a year ago, another big body thatcan go up to get the ball has been exactlywhat the Cats have been looking for. Phillipssaid UK wants four or five receivers that cango into games. From camp it looks as thoughMatthews, junior Kyrus Lanxter, and sopho-mores Gene McCaskill and Randall Cobbhave solidified four of those spots. Phillipssaid King could add more depth and be anice addition to those four.
“I’ve been pleasantly surprised byLa’Rod,” Phillips said. “He’s one of the sur-prises in this class. He’s a physical guy, big,strong guy. He’s smart and he’s made a lotof plays so far this camp. He’s the surprise ofthis whole class.
“La’Rod King and Matthews, I thinkthose two have a chance to be special. Be-cause not only are they big but they’re toughand they’re athletic,” Phillips said.
With King’s long, athletic frame and bas-ketball background, Phillips sees King as aguy who can block punts and field goals.
Brooks has prided himself on the factthat UK’s turnaround has been because ofathletes that have outperformed their recruit-ing rankings, and King said he would bemore than happy to continue in that role.
“That would mean a lot,” King said. “Be-cause I’d contribute I’m another help and ad-dition so if somebody has to go to the benchI can come right in to the rotation. I knowmy plays; I know my routes; what I’m read-ing. It’d help the quarterback out a bunchand it’d help the team out a bunch.”
King said his best attribute is his listen-ing and learning, having already learned theplaybook in his short time on campus. As asleeper, King said his drive will help pushhim over the top.
“You have to come in here with yourhead high, you can’t come in here thinking‘I’m just like an underdog or whatever,’ ”King said. “I mean I like to be the underdog.The ones who are underestimated are theones who shine the most … The ones whoare under(estimated), they see the opportuni-ty and they go harder to get that.”
“He’s smart and he’s made a lot ofplays so far this camp. He’s the surpriseof this whole class.”
— Joker Phillips, UK head coach of the offenseon freshman La’Rod King
King
SEC EAST PREVIEW
PHOTO BY BRITNEY MCINTOSH | STAFFTwo Georgia defenders tackle sophomore wide receiver Randall Cobb in last year’s game.
Gators favorites to win SEC,national championship
1. Florida GatorsHead coach: Urban Meyer (44-9 at
Florida, 26-8 in Southeastern Conference atFlorida)
Last season: 13-1 (8-1 SEC)Burning question: Has a team ever been
expected to run the table as much as theGators are this year? Will it be a disappoint-ment if this group of seniors doesn’t win anational championship by going undefeated?Most importantly, can the Gators handle theimmense amount of pressure sitting on theirshoulders?
■ They’re the No. 1 team in the presea-son polls for a reason. The defending champsreturn every starter from a defense thatranked fourth in the country in scoring lastyear, allowing less than 13 points a game. Inaddition to the defense Tim Tebow is back.Gone is wide receiver Percy Harvin, but withanother year of experience for running backsJeffery Demps and Chris Rainey, paired withanother great Meyer recruiting class, theGators are serious contenders to run the bru-tal SEC table unscathed.
2. Georgia BulldogsHead coach: Mark Richt (82-22 at Geor-
gia, 48-19 in SEC)Last season: 10-3 (6-2 SEC)Burning question: The Bulldogs de-
fense struggled last year, not finishing in thetop five of the SEC in any major defensivecategory. With the majority of the defensereturning, can the Bulldogs defense carry theload similar to how their offense did lastyear?
■ Gone are first-round draft picksMatthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno,but these Bulldogs still have bite. A.J. Greenis one of the best receivers in the SEC andsophomore running back Caleb King isprimed for a breakout season. They won’thave the goods to contend with the Gators,but playing LSU and South Carolina at homeis a big plus.
3. South Carolina GamecocksHead coach: Steve Spurrier (28-22 at
South Carolina, 15-17 in SEC at South Car-olina)
Last season: 7-6 (4-4 SEC)Burning question: Do the Gamecocks
have what it takes to finally take the nextstep and move from mediocrity, and perenni-al No. 4 in the East, to elite football status?
■ The Ol’ Ball Coach may finally havethe quarterback he’s been looking for. It ap-pears sophomore quarterback Stephen Garciahas finally matured, and if his game can fol-low suit the Gamecocks will have a goodone. Look for freshman wide receiver AlshonJeffrey to quickly become Garcia’s favoritetarget. On defense, senior linebacker EricNorwood anchors a unit that has speed but
lacks depth. It appears the Gamecocks areready for another average 7-5 season.
4. Kentucky WildcatsHead coach: Rich Brooks (32-41 at UK,
13-35 in SEC at UK)Last season: 7-6 (2-6 SEC)Burning question: Can junior quarter-
back Mike Hartline lead the Wildcats andmove them up the SEC pecking order?
■ The Cats are attempting to turn thecorner, and in 2009 they have a favorableopportunity. On offense the Cats will havetwo reliable receivers in sophomore RandallCobb and junior Chris Matthews. Add in ayear of experience for junior Kyrus Lanxterand Hartline will have options out wide.Supporting Hartline will be an offensiveline with great experience. On defense, theloss of senior Jeremy Jarmon cannot be un-derstated, but seniors Trevard Lindley andMicah Johnson are first round NFL drafttalent.
5. Tennessee VolunteersHead coach: Lane Kiffin (first year at
Tennessee)Last season: 5-7 (3-5 SEC)Burning question: New head coach
Lane Kiffin talked the talk during the offsea-son, calling out just about every team in theSEC for one thing or another. Will the Volshave the talent to back up their outspokencoach’s words?
■ The Vols have a new head coach andalso have a lot of words to back up. There’sno doubt about it, after this offseason Ten-nessee will get every team’s best shot and theplethora of freshmen the Vols will be playingare going to have to mature quickly orthere’s going to be trouble in Knoxville,Tenn. The recruiting class was great, but thehard knocks from every opponent will be toomuch.6. Vanderbilt Commodores
Head coach: Bobby Johnson (27-56 atVanderbilt, 12-44 in SEC)
Last season: 7-6 (4-4 SEC)Burning question: The Commodores are
familiar with being known as the doormat ofthe SEC East. After a 4-4 campaign in ’08,can Vanderbilt show that last season was nofluke?
■ Vanderbilt had a breakout year in ’08and saved head coach Bobby Johnson’s job.They’re going to need a lot of that magicagain this year if they want to get back outof the SEC cellar. Returning 17 starters willhelp, but a schedule that features LSU,South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee onthe road won’t. The Commodores won’t beable to top Georgia or Ole Miss at home,meaning Vanderbilt won’t be looking as hotin ’09.
STAFF FILE PHOTOAfter years of underachieving, Steve Spurrier’s South Carolina squad could be posed for a jump into theupper half of the SEC East.
PAGE A8 | Friday, September 4, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009 | PAGE A9
do you bleedBlue
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Vote for the Wildcats at these UK drives:Sept 9
Physical Plant Divison2 to 5 pm
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ives: drese UKVote for the Wildcats at th
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PHOTO BY ALLIE GARZA | STAFFUK defenders Trevard Lindley and Marcus McClinton make a play in last year’s game against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
SEC WEST PREVIEW
Alabama looks to repeat in SEC West as Ole Miss flounders under expectations
1. Alabama Crimson TideHead Coach: Nick Saban (19-8 at Alabama, 12-5 in SEC
at Alabama)Last season: 12-2 (8-1 SEC)Burning question: Who’s going to play quarterback? ■ Greg McElroy is firmly entrenched with the starting
spot after a battle with a pair of freshmen in fall camp. Ifthere’s production at quarterback, then the defense, the run-ning game and Julio Jones will take care of the rest. Nick Sa-ban is relentless, so don’t expect the Tide to let anyone elsesneak up on them. Even though Saban is just entering histhird year, he’s already stocked the program with plenty oftalent to fill holes from last year. The Tide get picked herebecause they’re a much, much better team than Ole Miss atalmost every position other than quarterback. Here’s to a re-peat of last year’s SEC Championship game.2. Ole Miss Rebels
Head Coach: Houston Nutt (9-4 at Ole Miss, 6-3 inSEC at Ole Miss)
Last season: 9-4 (6-3 SEC)Burning question: Can the Rebels handle the hype and
play as favorites instead of underdogs? ■ They have the best quarterback in the SEC this side of
Tim Tebow in Jevan Snead, but Nutt’s teams traditionallyflounder when surrounded by high expectations. The Rebelsalso lost plenty of talent from last year and no one will beoverlooking them. Receiver Dexter McCluster will step in asquarterback in the Wild Rebel, but Ole Miss shouldn’t relytoo heavily on a gimmick offense. There’s more hype aroundthe Grove now than there was when Eli Manning was in theHeisman race. If they can play with a target on their back,they’ll be dangerous. Otherwise, it’ll be just another disap-pointing season for Nutt.3. LSU Tigers
Head Coach: Les Miles (42-11 at LSU, 23-11 in SEC atLSU)
Last season: 8-5 (3-5 SEC)Burning question: Have the Tigers finally reloaded after
losing so much from their 2007 national championship team? ■ Last season’s disappointment will be quickly forgotten
if Miles can get his team to play like they did two years ago,but there’s still plenty of inexperienced players on the roster.A gamebreaker will also have to emerge to make a run in theSEC. Like several other teams in the league, the Tigers arealso searching for an answer at quarterback. Russell Shepardhas been impressive in fall camp, but Miles will likely be un-willing to throw a true freshman into the fire with such highhopes riding on this season. Still, it’s hard to imagine Ala-bama or Ole Miss falling far enough to let LSU back into therace for the West.
4. Arkansas RazorbacksHead Coach: Bobby Petrino (5-7 at Arkansas, 2-6 in
SEC at Arkansas)Last season: 5-7 (2-6 SEC)Burning question: Can Ryan Mallet, a transfer from
Michigan, make the same impact in the West that JevanSnead had last year?
■ Michael Smith is one of the best tailbacks in the SEC,and if Mallet gets things going, Petrino will have anotherdangerous offense on his hands. Don’t be fooled by lastyear’s record; Arkansas is steadily improving. Bobby Petrinoflopped in the NFL but there’s no denying his track record asa college whiz, especially on offense. The Hogs could becompeting for SEC West championships in the next fewyears, but it’s probably too early to expect great things in2009. For now, a lower-level bowl game should be the ex-pectation.5. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Head Coach: Dan Mullen (first year at MississippiState)
Last season: 4-8 (2-6 SEC)Burning question: Can Dan Mullen execute the same
offense he had at Florida without the same players he had atFlorida?
■ Mullen piloted one of the greatest offenses ever in theSwamp, but Mississippi State is a tough place for anyone tosucceed. There are a few good players here, but there willhave to be more for the Bulldogs to be respectable this sea-son. Anthony Dixon, a sledgehammer of a running back, willhave to carry this team until the rest of the offense catches onto the system. The Bulldogs get the nod over Auburn becauseDan Mullen seems to be a better hire than Gene Chizik. Ifnothing else, Mullen has been in the league the last two yearsand will be better-prepared to gameplan against the personnel.6. Auburn Tigers
Head Coach: Gene Chizik (first year at Auburn)Last season: 5-7 (2-6 SEC)Burning question: Where are the players? ■ Auburn is frighteningly low on talent for the first time
in years, and there are plenty of questions about Chizik. Hewas criticized from the moment he was hired after posting a5-19 record in two years at Iowa State, and the boos will flyearly and often if they start the season off poorly. Last sea-son’s squad was painful to watch and there seemed to be acontroversy at every position between two mediocre players.There are major questions all over this squad. The best thingAuburn has going for it this year is a strong home-field ad-vantage, but that won’t be enough to win games against therest of the SEC. It looks like it will be a long road back torelevance for the Tigers, who were competing for nationalchampionships just a few years ago.
PHOTO BY BRITNEY MCINTOSH | STAFFWith Bobby Petrino at the helm, the Razorbacks are slowly climbing back up the SEC West ladder.
PAGE A10 | Friday, September 4, 2009
Eight key Cats facing big questionsChris Matthews (8)Height: 6-foot-5Weight: 210Position: WRYear: Jr.Burning question: Can Matthews do
what other junior college players havehad trouble doing and make an impact
from the get-go? The coaching staff is counting on him to be a starter, and
he has the talent. He just needs the experience.
Zipp Duncan (72)Height: 6-foot-5Weight: 291Position: OTYear: Sr.Burning question: Duncan was a solid
guard, but can he make the move to lefttackle, the most important position on the
offensive line? There’s no shortage of elite pass-rushers to test him in the
SEC, and his development is crucial to the safety of MikeHartline.
break out in his senior year? He has great measurables and should
be a force, but he’s never put it together in his time at UK.Injuries have also been a problem. The tight end positionlooks cloudy behind him.
Derrick Locke (20)Height: 5-foot-9Weight:190Position: TBYear: Jr.Burning question: Is Locke really
back to 100 percent from his devastatingknee injury?
He says he is, but likely he won’t even know until he getsinto real game action. It’s as much a mental hurdle as it is aphysical hurdle for Locke, whose conditioning has also beenquestioned.
Sam Maxwell (50)Height: 6-foot-3Weight: 248Position: LBYear: Sr.Burning question: Is Maxwell worthy
of being a full-time starter in the South-eastern Conference?
He’s been serviceable as a reserve for three years, butfilling the shoes of last year’s NFL-caliber starting outsidelinebackers is no small task. He’ll have one year to provehe’s up to it.
DeQuin Evans (55)Height: 6-foot-3Weight: 260Position: DEYear: Jr.Burning question: Is Evans the answer
to the Cats’ pass-rush prayers? Evans impressed coaches and team-
mates in a big way in camp and will be a starter this fall.There’s no experience returning at defensive end, so he’ll becounted on early and often to get after the opposing quarter-back.
Lones Seiber (36)Height: 5-foot-9Weight: 190Position: KYear: Sr.Burning question: After three years,
can Seiber find his groove and be consis-tent?
Seiber will likely become the program’s all-time leadingscorer this season, but if he falters, talented sophomore RyanTydlacka could poach the kicking job from him again.
Paul Warford (34)Height: 5- foot-10Weight: 200Position: CBYear: Jr.Burning question: Is Warford good
enough to be a big-time player in theSEC?
Plenty of teams won’t even challengeTrevard Lindley on the other side, so Warford is sure to see aton of passes coming his way. It’ll be a trial by fire for the2007 starter who redshirted last year.
