Brad Durham

Thursday, August 16

Going through training camp is starting to get me excited for my first collegiate game against Eastern coming up on Sept. 1. I know it will be an outstanding atmosphere, with the house being packed and the fans wearing blue. I can’t wait for it!

Coach Brooks is a really humble guy. He’s very cool and collected off the field, but on the field if you make a mistake he’ll let you know it. He coaches you so that you get it right. He’s just an overall good coach, and off the field he is definitely an overall great person.

We just found out recently that our quarterback got named to the pre-season ESPN All-America team. Andre’ (Woodson) being named preseason All-American is a great thing not only for him, but also for the recognition for our team. He’s such a great guy, a tremendous leader and competitor, and I know he’ll follow it up and take it on as a responsibility. It makes us O-line guys want to protect him even more. We want him to come off the field each game with a clean jersey, so even though it was an individual honor, it really steps up the play of all of the guys.

Friday, August 10

I hope everybody is staying cool outside. We were first practicing in the afternoons and the heat was tough to deal with. The coaches moved it back (in the mornings) and although it?s still hot, we?re ready for the conditions mentally now.

Jason Leger has really taken me under his wing so far in camp. He went to the same (Rockcastle County) high school I did, and he is just kind of on my shoulder every play trying to tell me to do the right thing and what the coaches expect of me. He?s just leading me in that way which I really appreciate.

He?s my roommate as well and we have a pretty good relationship. I played with him my freshman year of high school and then he obviously came up here. I?m getting closer and closer to him because I?ve known where he?s been and he knows where I?ve been.

Andre? Woodson has really been impressive to me so far. He?s just a natural born leader, and he leads the team out to practice and in the locker room. He leads us in every drill we do and just keeps things positive.

On the other side of the ball, Wesley Woodyard has been unstoppable. He?s so quick. He?s an awesome athlete, and he?s good on his feet so he can just fly to the ball.

By the way, the steak here is fantastic.

Monday, August 6

I want to start out by saying that Fan Day was great. We had a great turnout. I want to thank all of the fans out there for showing us some love and supporting Kentucky. It was obvious to us how excited you all are for this season. We are too!

I am amazed at how many people out there know who I am. I?m here to start a new story at the University of Kentucky, and it?s nice to know that I have the fans behind me and supporting me.

Camp has been going really well, it?s probably the most fun thing I?ve done so far. I just like getting out here and working hard at practice, because I know that it is going to take a lot of reps to get good and be able to play strong in the SEC. I know that sounds kind of odd, but I wouldn?t want to be anywhere else than the practice field.

We?re busy all day and have had a lot of team meetings and position meetings. In the position meetings we just basically get with our position coach and break down the films from practice and put in new schemes and plays. It?s basically repetition; you just keep doing it and keep doing it. During team meetings the whole team gets together and Coach Brooks talks to us a little bit. He lets us know what he expects during practice.

We?re busy all day and really tired, but don?t worry, we are working really hard. Any time that we get free time we just kind of lie down and take a nap.

(Asked if anything unusual or funny has happened)
There?s not much going on in the locker room. I don?t really have any funny story to tell you all. There?s some goofing around, but not too much. We?re here to work hard and start making things happen out on the field.

Saturday, August 4

After my first day of college camp, it?s just a wonderful thing to be a part of a major University program and one that is as good as it is. It?s just a dream come true.

We had media day yesterday and it was a great experience getting to see all of the media out there. It?s definitely different than high school. It just goes to show how big being a part of this team is.

Then we hit the practice fields. The game has picked up a lot faster than it was in high school. It?s a great experience to get out here and work with all of these veterans. They?re showing me the ropes and teaching every other freshman as well. This is a good experience that I?ll only get to experience once, so I might as well enjoy it.

We did a lot of just one-on-one drills and position drills today during practice. We went for about 20 minutes as a team at the end of the day. I got to work with the veterans a little bit. The vets just jokingly around are picking on us freshmen a little bit. The main thing is they are out here trying to help us because they want us to be the best team in the NCAA. That?s why we?re all here. When it comes down to business they show you the ropes and are all about trying to lead us.

With the shortage on the offensive line that we have right now, I?m expecting to do a lot of things. I just have to pick up the game fast, which I hope to do. You?re not going to tell much within the first week, I just have to get the plays down. Hopefully in the future I?ll get a heads up on it all.

I?m excited to be out here with my new team. I want to learn as quickly as possible. The coaches and my teammates have been very helpful and now I?m just looking forward to contributing in whatever way that I can.

Wesley Woodyard

Sunday, August 19

Classes start Wednesday for everybody which means Camp is starting to wrap up. The right answer (in regards to class starting) would be yes, but? I really am looking forward to it. This will be my last semester in school, so I?m really looking forward to going out and meeting some new faces around campus and getting to go back to class is always good.

As my final camp comes to an end, some people wanted to know what I think about Coach Brooks. On the field, Coach Brooks is as tough as they come. A lot of guys don?t think he has a gentle side, but he honestly treats us all like his sons. If we?re not doing something right, he?ll be the first one to be in your face and fix the problem. If you?re not going to class or you?re doing something wrong on the field, he?s going to let you know it.

You fans have surprised us again! They say season tickets have sold out faster than they ever have, so that is something big in showing us players the support carrying over from last year. It shows that a lot of people believe in us and a lot of people want to see what we can do this year. It?s our job now to go out there, play hard and win games to keep the stadium packed.

(Asked about what they?ve been doing in spare time during preseason practice) I?ve been playing college football video games against some of the other guys. A lot of them think that they can play, but I haven?t played a guy that I?ve lost to yet. There are some guys that I don?t want to play, like Rafael Little and Sam Maxwell. They are kind of like the warriors over here, guys that may end my perfect streak.

Tuesday, August 14

As a member of the football team, out here practicing all the time, I don?t really get that many opportunities to thank the fans. I?d just like to take the time to let all of the fans out there know that we?re working hard here at summer camp for you. We?re giving it our all, and I know that you are going to give it your all when it comes to the first game of the season. In order for our program to build up, we need the whole community to be in it together. That goes for all sports?Kentucky needs your support!

Out here in the heat, one thing that keeps us working hard is thinking about running out to a packed house at Commonwealth. We?re always thinking about that moment. We know we have to give it our all in practice, so when it comes down to it on Saturdays we?re ready to go and know that our hard work is going to pay off.

On Saturday, we had our first team scrimmage and it went really well. I think we had a lot of guys flying around out there. A lot of guys made some big plays. We still have a ways to go in order to become the team that we want to be. Basically, it?s all up to us to stay focused and make sure we continue to play hard.

Start getting ready?.only 18 more days!

Thursday, August 9

What?s up everybody? Without a doubt practice has stepped up now that we?re in pads. This heat has really taken me back to my LaGrange (Georgia) days. I can remember it got so hot down there we?d have to cancel practice. We haven?t canceled practice here, but Coach did move our practice from the afternoon to the mornings because of the heat.

The heat forces us to stay mentally tough. We just have to continue to have fun and strive to be better than what we were. That?s what keeps us going.

I think you all would be really impressed so far with (defensive back) Randall Burden; he?s really stepped it up. I?m not just bringing him up because he?s from LaGrange too, but I think he?s a heck of a player. He?s come out here ready to play and is trying to be a really good player.

Another freshman out there working hard is (running back) Moncell Allen. He?s banged a few people out here. He?s a strong and tough back, and I think he?s an example of how the intensity has picked up. We?re doing a lot more physical drills. A lot of the guys have started to realize this is for real now that we?re tackling. The first couple of days in camp it is kind of up and down, we?re not really tired but we just don?t know what to expect when the hitting begins. I think for those of us who are used to it, the intensity is definitely up.

Jacob Tamme has been the most impressive so far in camp. He?s made a lot of really good plays. Nobody has really been able to cover him. He?s a really fast guy at the tight end spot which makes him hard to cover. He?s out there making plays every day and has consistently done it every day.

After practice we all eat together, and we mix it up sitting with offensive and defensive players. We?ve had some really good meals so far. I?ve especially liked the fried shrimp and steak. It?s all good though. That?s one of the best parts about getting to camp, you get to eat three really good meals a day!

Monday, August 6

Fan Day was real crazy. I really got to see how excited the fans were to get the season started. I think all of the fans who got out there were so enthused about meeting the new players. We love getting the chance to sign autographs.

It makes us so excited to see the support out there. Honestly, it makes us that much more ready for the season, knowing that we have that support and so many people are behind us. It overwhelms us and makes us work even harder. I loved my last Fan Day, and I just want to say thanks to the fans for making it a great experience for me.

We?ve been busy since we saw you guys on Saturday night. We have meetings all day and then we try to relax when we get a chance. We all joke around with one another. People get a chance to dance. E.J. Adams and Randall Burden, they dance a lot and crack people up.

Once we?re in camp we are around our teammates a lot. We get a lot of time to talk to people and find out who they are and where they?ve come from. That?s really exciting to start getting to know your teammates even better.

I?ve built a real good relationship with Jamil Paris in these last few days. We?ve gotten closer and have been talking a whole lot. We don?t talk about football necessarily all of the time, we talk about life. We have good conversations about that every day. I think when you build good relationships with your teammates, that builds a bond on the field.

Saturday, August 4

Coming out here for the last time is unexplainable. It feels like yesterday that I was out here competing trying to get into the starting lineup. It?s just an eye-opening experience knowing that this is my last camp. I know what to expect. I know what the coaches expect. Now, I have to continue to go out there and compete, lead my team and keep having fun.

We reported Thursday and had some meetings. In order to get into camp we have to do our physical fitness tests. When we ran our shuttles, a lot of the guys were saying ?Come on Wesley, this is your last time having to run 300 shuttles.? I?ve had a lot of good times here and coming into my last first day of camp and my last media day at Kentucky is just great. Four years have come and gone away.

Friday morning we participated in media day which was a good experience for some of the younger guys. They finally got a chance to see what the college media is like.

We got a little break and then we hit the practice field. Overall, I think we had a good practice today. The younger guys got after it out there, and that was something that we needed to see. We have a lot of guys out there who have a chance to compete. We had a couple of receivers out there giving the defensive backs some competition. We can?t really do much tackling so, we do a lot of stuff with our feet and techniques for the first few days until we can get into pads. We also do a lot of mobility and agility drills.

It?s still full-speed running every play; we just can?t tackle. Everybody is out here competing hard and it?s great to be back. We?re motivated to get out here and take care of business, but we?re having fun too. It?s great to have everybody together and get this thing going.