Freshmen In the House: A total of 28 freshman football players, including 19 scholarshipplayers and nine walk-ons, officially reported to campus Sunday.
The new Wildcats moved into dormitories, were fitted for equipment, underwent physicals, andhad other orientation activities. Orientation continues on Monday with academic and compliancemeetings. The first practice for the freshmen will be Tuesday at 10 a.m. The freshmen willpractice twice Wednesday, at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
“We have a lot of great kids, with great size, strength, and character,” recruiting coordinatorClaude Bassett said. “These are players who wanted to be Kentucky Wildcats and are doing thethings they need to do to get started.”
Although Sunday was the official day for reporting, it was not the first day on campus for mostof the players. Fifteen of the scholarship freshmen were able to spend at least part of the summerin Lexington, taking part in strength and conditioning workouts in order to be better prepared forthe beginning of practice.
The nine new walk-ons are listed below:
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Class Hometown (High School)
Trey Barclay QB 6-5 220 Fr. Mayfield, Ky. (Mayfield)
Jesse Cronen WR 6-3 190 Fr. Louisville, Ky. (St. Xavier)
Justin Haydock LB 6-3 225 Fr. Louisville, Ky. (St. Xavier)
Daniel Hopewell WR 5-10 176 Fr. Harrodsburg, Ky. (Harrodsburg)
Kyle McDaniel P/K 6-2 200 Fr. Huborn, Ky. (Conner)
Jess Meloche LB 6-1 235 Fr. Ft. Thomas, Ky. (Highlands)
Shawn Payne K 5-10 175 Fr. Owensboro, Ky. (Catholic)
Sevin Sucurovic K 6-2 176 Fr. Pulza, Bosnia (Henry Clay)
Anthony Thornton P 6-1 195 Fr. Louisville, Ky. (Male)
Claiborne Hall of Fame Enshrinement on August 11: Former Wildcat player, assistantcoach, and head coach Jerry Claiborne will be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fameon Friday, August 11, in South Bend, Ind.
Activities slated for the Enshrinement Weekend on Aug. 11-12 include a golf outing, reception,enshrinement banquet, and fan festival. Coach Claiborne will be unable to attend. Claiborne’sson, Jonathan, will make the acceptance speech on behalf of his father. Claiborne played at UK from 1946-49 and was an assistant coach under Paul “Bear” Bryant in1952-53. In 28 seasons as a head coach at Virginia Tech, Maryland, and Kentucky, Claiborneposted a 179-122-8 record. He was head coach of the Wildcats from 1982-89.
Fans’ Day Set for August 13: The annual UK football Fans’ Day is scheduled for Sunday,August 13. The event begins at 3 p.m., with free hot dogs and drinks given to the first 2,000fans. Posters and schedule cards will be given away. The 2000 UK football media guides will beon sale for $10 each.
There will be games and activities for the children from 3-4 p.m. in the Nutter Field House. Theplayers and coaching staff will be available for autographs and photos from 4-5 p.m. inCommonwealth Stadium.
Kentucky Football Calendar:
Aug. 7 Freshman orientation, no practice
Aug. 8 Freshmen practice, 10 a.m.
Aug. 9 Freshmen practice, 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.; veterans report
Aug. 10 UK Football Media Day (not open to the public), 10 a.m. to noon, CommonwealthStadium
Aug. 11 First team practice, 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Aug. 12 Practice, 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Aug. 13 Fans’ Day
Aug. 23 Classes begin
Sept. 2 Season opener at Louisville
