Last Saturday, Kentucky?s dominating defense was the talk of the day. This Saturday, however, UK?s offense was the main topic as the offense put up 345 yards of total offense and three touchdowns, showing much improvement in the second full-scale scrimmage of 2004 spring practice Saturday afternoon at Commonwealth Stadium.
The first-team offense, guided by senior quarterback Shane Boyd, played six series against UK?s first-team defense.
It looked as if the first defense would dominate again as the offense was stopped on the first two possessions. However, on the third series, Boyd directed a 65-yard drive down the field with three straight completions, including a 21-yard pass to wide receiver Scott Mitchell and a 16-yard throw to receiver Tommy Cook. Boyd ended the first series by scrambling 14 yards for the touchdown.
?There was significant progress today,? Coach Rich Brooks said. ?Shane (Boyd) was very good today. He did throw the one interception, but he did a better job of recognizing things and doing what we asked him to do.
?It helps if the quarterback can execute the offense reasonably well. That makes the rest of the guys look good,? Brooks said. ?But last week we had seven, eight or nine guys doing the right thing while two or three would screw up. This week we had closer to 10-11 guys doing it okay or well enough.?
Freshman tight end Eric Scott showcased his catching ability on two occasions during first-team play. He got open for a nine-yard reception from Boyd down the middle and then caught a 23-yard pass from Boyd on the next series in a fourth-down situation. Scott?s catch gave the Cats a first down to set up Boyd?s six-yard pass to Cook for another touchdown.
One of the team?s leading rushers, junior tailback Draak Davis, saw limited action before being sidelined with a bruised hip on the first play of the scrimmage. Davis recorded one rush for two yards.
Also putting up some receiving numbers was wide receiver Scott Mitchell. The junior college transfer caught two nice passes from Boyd, a 21-yarder and a six-yarder.
The first defense did claim a turnover, an interception by cornerback Earven Flowers caused by a quarterback hurry from senior defensive end Vincent ?Sweet Pea? Burns. Linebacker Chad Anderson had a pass breakup and senior defensive end Ellery Moore charted a sack.
“It’s good and bad that the offense had a better performance,” defensive coordinator Mike Archer said. “You know the offense has pride and was going to work to get better, which they did today. At the same time, it shows our guys that it doesn’t matter what you did last week. They need to maintain their focus and we didn?t do that today.?
The second-team offense met the second-team defense for four series and although the second-team defense allowed no points, several offensive players showed improvement from last week and stood out to the coaching staff. Redshirt freshman Andre Woodson was one of those players as he quarterbacked the second-team and completed 8-of-11 passes and rushed for 20 yards.
?Andre was night and day compared to last week,? Brooks said. ?He showed the type of ability that we expected earlier in the spring.?
Woodson moved the offense down the field finding consistent targets in freshmen wide receiver Jacob Tamme and tailback J.J. Bennett. Tamme had four catches for 43 yards while Bennett rushed four times for 11 yards and recorded a three-yard reception.
In the first series Bennett rushed three straight times followed by an 18-yard pass from Woodson to Tamme. The second-team defense regrouped and held the offense on downs in the next three plays. In the second series, the defense began to dominate the young offensive line as linebacker junior college transfer Dennis Johnson charted a sack followed by back-to-back sacks from junior linebacker Jon Sumrall and junior cornerback Antoine Huffman. The defense also held the second offense on the third series and free safety Dominick DeVastey recovered a fumble in the fourth and final series.
The third-team offensive and defensive units played just two series against each other, led by senior quarterback Trey Barclay. He directed the second scoring drive of the day that ended with a 5-yard TD run by junior tailback Andrew Hopewell. The big play on the drive came when sophomore wide receiver Johnny Knight II caught a 14-yard pass from Barclay surrounded by defenders to set up the five-yard TD run by Hopewell. Hopewell looked impressive during the series, leading all rushers for the day with five carries for 39 yards and a touchdown.
Totaling his work against the first team, Boyd completed 11 of 18 for 122 yards and one INT. He also rushed five times for 22 yards and one TD. Woodson quarterbacked the second team offense and completed 8 of 11 passes for 76 yards. He also carried the ball eight times for 20 yards. Senior quarterback Trey Barclay finished 2-of-2 for 20 yards and had one rush for four yards.
UK’s young offensive line also showed improvement. Senior offensive guard Jason Rollins saw several snaps at center and the line allowed only one sack against the first-team defense.
In the special-teams segment of practice, backup punter Sevin Sucurovic punted a majority of the time and sophomore Kris Kessler debuted with one punt for 45 yards. Starting punter Anthony Thornton continues to be out with an injury. Sucurovic punted five times for a 38.4-yard average. There were no field goal attempts in the scrimmage.
The Wildcats return to the practice field Monday at 3:40 p.m. at the Nutter Training Facility. The annual Blue-White Game, signifying the end of spring practice, is set for Sat. Apr. 24 at 1 p.m.
Scrimmage Statistics (includes first, second, and third team stats but does not include the goal-line scrimmage):
Rushing: Hopewell 5-39 1 TD, Boyd 6-22 1 TD, Burton 2-20, Woodson 8-20, Bennett 4-11, Lewis 2-5, Barclay 1-4, Johnson 1-3, Davis 1-2, Bwenge 4-1. Note: rushing totals include one quarterback sack of Boyd and two sacks of Woodson.
Passing: Boyd 11-18-1, 122 yards; Woodson 8-11-76 yards; Barclay 2-4-0, 20 yards
Receiving: Scott 4-54, Tamme 4-43, Cook 3-42 1 TD, Mitchell 3-32, Knight 2-20, Parker 2-10, Burton 1-9, Jackson 1-3, Bennett 1-3, Bwenge 1-2
Punting: Sucurovic 5-38.4 avg.
Gray Featured on Live Chat: Kentucky defensive line coach Michael Gray will be featured in a live chat session on ukathletics.com on Tuesday, April 20, at noon. Fans may submit questions in advance or during the chat session by clicking on the link on the front page of uakthletics.com.
Brooks Call-In Show to be Held April 20: Coach Rich Brooks will have his spring practice radio call-in show on Tues. Apr. 20 from 7-9 p.m. at Damon’s Restaurant in Lexington. The show is produced by Host Communications and UK play-by-play announcer Tom Leach will serve as host. Brooks will give his observations on the team’s progress during the spring as the Wildcats prepare for the Blue/White Game.
Kentucky Football Calendar:
Mon. Apr. 19 Practice, 3:40 p.m. at Nutter Training Center
Tue. Apr. 20 Rich Brooks Call-in Radio Show, 7-9 p.m., from Damon’s Restaurant in Lexington
Wed. Apr. 21 Practice, 3:40 p.m. at Nutter Training Center
Fri. Apr. 23 Practice, 3:40 p.m. at Nutter Training Center
Sat. Apr. 24 Blue/White Spring Football Game, 1 p.m. at Commonwealth Stadium
