The Back Alley Archives

Coming off an 8-5 season and Music Bowl Championship the University of Kentucky football team takes another step towards being a legit football school this Sat against Eastern Kentucky. Andre Woodson to Keenan Burton, I cant wait. GO BIG BLUE

andre woodson...wasn't he projected to be all-sec first team?

He is ESPN's preseaon All-American at quarterback and yes he is all-sec. He has become a completely different player over the last 3 years.

Just what UF needs...another tough SEC game. LOL

He is ESPN's preseaon All-American at quarterback and yes he is all-sec. He has become a completely different player over the last 3 years.

all-american? i can think of about 5 qbs who are more worthy...booty, brennan, brohm, henne, pat white....list goes on and on.

Kentucky was 8-5? Is this a basketball discussion breaking out?

Historically, doesn't Kentucky suck in any season following a season of success?

I might be the only person, (and Joe, I'm not trying to rag on your team) but I am not convinced that Kentucky will be all that tough this year...

they could conceivably finish 6th in the division...that's right...the division. Vandy has a bowl worthy team and S.C. we already know can be.

Thats the thing with the SEC this year. I think every week every team will have to bring their "A" game or the standings could shuffle up and down with no problem. Except for Miss St. and Ole Miss the entire Conference is stacked

gotta love the delusional rantings of our little green friend.




j/k joe, hope they do well most of the year.

Coming off an 8-5 season and Music Bowl Championship the University of Kentucky football team takes another step towards being a legit football school this Sat against Eastern Kentucky. Andre Woodson to Keenan Burton, I cant wait. GO BIG BLUE

Can you really call the Music City Bowl a "championship?"

Coming off an 8-5 season and Music Bowl Championship the University of Kentucky football team takes another step towards being a legit football school this Sat against Eastern Kentucky. Andre Woodson to Keenan Burton, I cant wait. GO BIG BLUE

Can you really call the Music City Bowl a "championship?"

You can't, but Big Blue can.

just so you're not feelin left out joe








August 28, 2007



On the wildly popular television reality show Survivor contestants are marooned in some remote location, given next to nothing and told to find a way to battle the elements and each other for 39 days in brutal conditions. More often than not the players lie around and wait for something to happen instead of seizing the day.

Kentucky might not be a South American rainforest but the UK football team seems to be treating the final days before its season opener auditioning for a role in the CBS hit. As you might expect UK coach Rich Brooks isn't thrilled with his team's modus operandi.

"It was not a great practice," Brooks said Tuesday morning. "We got pretty sluggish and too many of our players got into survival mode and tried to just finish the practice rather than get better. They are just trying to get through practice without exerting the proper amount of energy if you will."

Entering a season full of expectation the one nagging concern throughout the month-long training camp has been Brooks' continued displeasure with the way the Cats have practiced at times. While there have been good days the consistent effort and intensity has not been what the hardened coach thought he would see from a team wishing to climb the ladder in the rugged Southeastern Conference.

"It's a big concern because it's going to be hot Saturday and I don't want someone just trying to survive until the next play," Brooks said. "That's when we've got a problem."

Brooks told reporters gathered for his Monday press conference to discuss the Eastern Kentucky game that he has raised his voice more times during this camp than he had his first four seasons at UK combined, mainly because he expects more out of this team. The new – and louder – approach carried over to Tuesday when he collaborated with team captains André Woodson and Wesley Woodyard after practice.

"We just had a little discussion about trying to make sure I'm not the only one screaming and yelling to get it right," Brooks said. "It's everybody's team and everybody needs to get the same message."

The message was loud and clear, this isn't Survivor, this is football and the Cats need to start performing the way the fifth-year coach demands.


KELLEY PRACTICES
Braxton Kelley returned to full practice activity Tuesday and should be ready to give the Cats at least some snaps in this weekend's opener barring any setback. Kelley will join Micah Johnson in giving UK a very talented middle linebacker duo this season now that he is back from a high ankle sprain he suffered early in camp.

"Braxton looked pretty good," Brooks said. "It only bothers him when he changes direction, planting and going back the other way, which is kind of the mechanism of a high ankle sprain. Now the key is, because this is clearly the heaviest day, is to see if it flares up on him."

Brooks said late last week the Johnson will start against Eastern Kentucky based on how well he has performed throughout the entirety of training camp.


DEPTH CHART SNAFU
UK released its first official depth chart since before camp opened on Monday but even it wasn't completely official just yet. Junior college offensive guards Josh Winchell and Jess Beets were buried on the third team behind several younger players but apparently at least one was listed incorrectly.

Winchell was placed behind Jason Leger and true freshman Stuart Hines at right guard on the depth chart but Brooks stated during his Monday press conference that Hines would likely redshirt this season. When asked for a clarification on Tuesday Brooks said he forgot to list Winchell ahead of Hines before releasing the chart.

"That was a mistake I didn't clean up before I released the depth chart because he is not now (second team)," Brooks said. "We are very excited about all those freshmen linemen but feel they need more strength and we are in a position with enough people there that we won't have to play Stuart this year and give him an opportunity to not only get better fundamentally but physically, strength wise."

The one true freshman that will play is Brad Durham, who is currently running second team at right tackle behind sophomore Justin Jeffries. The 6-foot-5, 310-pound Rockcastle County native has been impressive in camp and will join Aaron Miller and Garry Williams as true freshmen who played tackle right away.

"The size and strength. He's one of our biggest linemen and he's handled the mental part of it pretty well," Brooks said when asked why Durham was ahead of his classmates. "He's ahead on the run blocking and behind on the pass blocking. We think he'll progress."


Eastern Kentucky (0-0) at Kentucky (0-0)
When: 6 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 1
Where: Commonwealth Stadium; Lexington, Ky.
2006 Records: EKU, 6-5; Kentucky, 8-5


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August 28, 2007



For the first time in 13 years, Kentucky won't be opening its football season with archrival Louisville. Instead, the Wildcats will face another in-state rival in Eastern Kentucky with a totally different set of obstacles, namely great expectations. So after an offseason of praise, will the Cats come out hungry against the Colonels?

"It's always a concern," UK coach Rich Brooks said. "It's a concern whether we think we're so good we can just show up, because that translates to being flat (or) thinking that you're going to waltz because you did what you did last year, so yeah that's a concern."

Although in years past, not even the Cards seemed to inspire a fast start in the Cats, Brooks quipped.

"Maybe we looked past it when it was Louisville, because we sure got spanked a few times," he said. "Didn't look like we were ready last year, didn't look like it to me."

This time around, however, the Cats will be the heavy favorites and their effort against EKU should be an early sign of whether they are still replaying Music City Bowl highlights in their heads. The last time the Cats played the Colonels was 1998 when Tim Couch and Co. torched EKU 52-7, and most would expect more of the same on Saturday. But senior wide receiver Keenan Burton respects the Colonels, especially because he can identify with them.

"They're a good team and will definitely play with a chip on their shoulder, so we need to play with one on ours," he said. "We've been there before with teams in the SEC who have looked at us in the past as a bad loss if we beat them. They have so much to gain from this game, so we need to stay focused and play hard."

And if the Cats don't show up ready against EKU?

"Eastern is a good opponent and if you look past them you could lose," Burton said. "The week after that is Kent State and they're a good opponent. If you look past those two games you could go into the Louisville game 0-2."

Beyond any psychological issues, the Colonels will present the Cats with an experienced quarterback in senior Josh Greco and an offense that could look similar to the one Louisiana-Monroe employed last season. In that 42-40 UK win, the WarHawks used a shotgun option that gave the Cats fits — to the tune of 501 yards allowed — and Brooks expects to see EKU try more of the same.

"It's a multiple offense … Some of their shotgun option stuff is something we struggled with late last year against Louisiana-Monroe," Brook said. "I'm sure they looked very heavily at that film, as we have. We're trying to get better at it. I'm not certain what we're going to see, to be honest. I'm not sure what they'll emphasize most in their offense."

Perhaps the bigger questions though are how the Cats can cope with success on opening day and beyond, and whether they can prove they aren't just "a flash in the pan," as Brooks put it.

"When you want to achieve something special in a season you don't have a lot of margin for errors," he said. "This is a very important game for us. I also know that Eastern will be very fired up to come up here and show us what they can do."

That's the key for this Kentucky team. With a schedule as difficult as theirs is, the Cats cannot afford to waste a game. They definitely can't wait until the Louisville game to find some motivation.


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August 27, 2007


The desk in Rich Brooks' office is sure to be cluttered this week. Play books, practice notes, game plans and detailed agendas will all have their place on the Kentucky coach's desk. Joining the necessary football information will be tablets of Alka-Seltzer given the nerves that come with kicking off a new season.

"I'm scared to death we might lose," Brooks said. "That's what I'm worried about.

"The nerves start acting up a little bit, the stomach starts churning in anticipation of the uncertainty of what's going to happen. The big butterfly floating around is you feel good about a lot of things but you have to go out on the field and make sure you are doing them as good as you feel about them. You worry about some things so you need to go out on the field and see whether those things you need to continue to worry about or not. It's an anticipation that always brings and adrenaline rush at this time of year."

The Cats initiate their most highly anticipated season in years when neighboring Eastern Kentucky comes calling Saturday evening. The fevered pitch usually reserved for openers against hated rival Louisville has been tempered but the expectations have not. UK knows it needs to get off to a fast start to satisfy legions of fans hoping this is the Cats' long awaited breakthrough campaign.

"When you have expectations you want to surpass what you've done," UK receiver Keenan Burton said. "If we let one game slide by then we've already failed and we don't want to fail at all this year. You can't tell how you are going to react until you get into a game but I think we're ready.

"Eastern is a good opponent and if you look past them you could lose. The week after that is Kent State and they're a good opponent. If you look past those two games you could go into the Louisville game 0-2."

The Cats have been riding high since their victory over Clemson in the Music City Bowl late last December but the time has come to put their money where their mouths have been. It's easy to talk the talk but now UK must walk the walk.

"I can say whatever comes to mind but we need to go out on the field and see how well we handle the expectations and whatever success we had last year," Brooks said. "Really all of that right now is totally meaningless. We have 12 opportunities this year to go out and show that we're an improved football team and a team that can handle a small amount of success and see if we can build on it or whether we are a flash in the pan. This is the first of those 12 opportunities. If we can get by the first one then there is 11 left. When you want to achieve something special in a season then there isn't a lot of margin for error."

The players are fully aware of the stakes riding on this season. Approach last year's accomplishments or surpass them and UK football could enter a new era. Drop back and it's another round of 'Kentucky is Kentucky' comments from conference foes.

"It's been a long time coming because you just can't wait to get to a game," Burton said. "Everybody has been talking about football season since the end of the Music City Bowl. Now it's not about talk it's about doing."

To that end, Brooks has demanded more of his team in every aspect of training camp.

"If the players were honest they'd say I've had more outbursts on the field this year than the last four years (total)," Brooks said. "I've lost my patience more this fall than at any other time.

"(Being flat) is always a concern. It's a concern whether we think we're so good we can just show up (and win) because that translates to being flat."

Break out the Tums, the season has arrived.


PRYOR SUSPENDED
The Cats will be without their most experienced defensive lineman against the Colonels after junior tackle Myron Pryor was suspended for a violation of team rules. The suspension leaves UK with sophomore Corey Peters and redshirt freshman Ricky Lumpkin starting on the interior of the defensive line.

"That thins us in a position where we don't have a lot of experience going into this game, which means Ricky Lumpkin will start as a redshirt freshman alongside Corey Peters," Brooks said. "Ventrell Jenkins I think will be available for at least spot duty for this game. He will practice most every drill (this week) and we'll see how he holds up. Hs conditioning will be limited for a little while but it's nice to have him at least be in a position to have spot duty."

The disciplinary action seems to have occurred during the offseason after Brooks referred to the six months time between the Cats' bowl game and the season opener. Either way, it's not something Brooks relished having to do.


"Yeah it hurts," Brooks said. "It hurts anytime a player violates the disciplinary code. You've got to remember over a six months period from the end of last season to the start of this season, maybe that's just one more reason I'm glad we aren't opening with our normal opener when you lose a player like Myron Pryor."

A bowl win is a bowl win kinda like winning the Outback Bowl

Just when did Kentucky get a football team?

A bowl win is a bowl win kinda like winning the Outback Bowl

Yes. Congrats to Penn State.