April 17, 1999
Sophomore Dusty Bonner, in his first scrimmage after being namedthe University of Kentucky starting quarterback, put on a strongperformance in the Wildcats’ one-hour, 45-minute scrimmage Saturdayafternoon at the Nutter Training Center.
Bonner completed 27 of 39 passes for 438 yards, five touchdowns,and no interceptions. He led the offense to five touchdowns in 12possessions. He had been chosen as the starting quarterback on Monday.
“We had a good scrimmage offensively. Dusty had a great day andso did (sophomore wide receiver) Dougie Allen and (senior tight end)James Whalen,” Coach Hal Mumme said. “Dusty looked more relaxed. He’sgetting a lot more reps and is polishing up well. He showed goodleadership and had good control of the offense.”
Bonner’s favorite target was Whalen, who caught six passes for105 yards, including touchdowns of 16 and 13 yards. Allen caught threepasses for 83 yards, including TD plays of 33 and 12 yards. Junior widereceiver Quentin McCord caught the other touchdown, a 32-yard play, andfinished with two catches for 59 yards.
Other top pass catchers were senior wide receiver Jimmy Robinson(five for 44 yards), redshirt freshman tight end Chase Harp (4-40),senior halfback Anthony White (2-48), and sophomore wide receiver MittCrowe (2-34).
“I hope Chase is as excited about playing tight end as we areabout him playing tight end,” Mumme said. “He has a great future atthis position.” Harp began the spring as a contender for thequarterback job but moved to tight end on April 7.
Redshirt freshman Mike Scipione, the second-team quarterback,completed 9 of 14 passes for 53 yards with no touchdowns and oneinterception. He played five series.
The offensive line showed much improvement in pass protection.After surrendering 16 sacks in the previous scrimmage a week ago, theline allowed eight sacks during today’s workout.
“The offensive line got much better this week,” Mumme said.”The defense threw a lot at us and we picked it up better. I was veryhappy with the way the O-line played today. Coach (Guy) Morriss hassettled them down this week. We’re not completed jelled yet but we’recoming along.”
Senior outside linebacker and senior defensive end Anwar Stewartled the defense with two sacks each. Sophomore defensive end DennisJohnson was credited with one and one-half sacks. The defense continuedto shut down the running game as the UK running backs combined for just28 yards on 18 carries. Freshman fullback Artose Pinner picked up 26yards on seven carries but junior fullback Derek Homer had nine carriesfor a net of zero yards.
The defense also got on the scoreboard when junior cornerbackEric Kelly intercepted a pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown.Sophomore free safety Anthony Wajda also had an interception but it wasnullified by a defensive penalty. The defense also recovered twofumbles.
All totaled, the UK offense scored five touchdowns on 17possessions.
A strong, gusting wind challenged the UK kickers and punters during thescrimmage. Junior kicker Seth Hanson made a 47-yard field goal and alsomissed from 47 yards. Senior Andy Smith punted five times for anaverage of 40.4 yards. Junior Joe-Mike Anderson punted three times fora 32.3-yard average.
“We’re going to polish hard this week (the last week of springpractice). We’re going to let Dusty see the No. 1 defense two moretimes,” Mumme said.
The Wildcats return to the practice field Monday and Wednesdayat 2 p.m. Spring practice concludes Saturday at 3:30 p.m. with theBlue/White Spring Game at Rawlings Stadium on the campus of GeorgetownCollege.
Kentucky Football Notebook
Tim Couch the First No. 1 Pick in School History: FormerKentucky quarterback Tim Couch, selected as the first pick in Saturday’sNational Football League draft, is the first Wildcats athlete to be thefirst player selected in the first round of a professional draft.
The previous best in football was Art Still, taken as the No. 2pick in the first round by Kansas City in 1978. Men’s basketball alsohad a No. 2 choice when Sam Bowie was tabbed by Portland in the 1984 NBAdraft.
Clinic Attendance Record Shattered Again: A total of 486 coachesattended the University of Kentucky Spring Football Clinic held Fridayand Saturday on the UK campus. That number breaks the record of 410coaches who attended last year’s clinic.
“People know good things are happening here and they want toknow more,” said Claude Bassett, UK director of football operations. “Ithink people will tell you that we have the best clinic. Our speakersare top-notch. We have a good cross-section of speakers, with highschool coaches and college coaches. High school coaches want to hearhigh school coaches, not just the college coaches. They know they’regoing to be fed well and our (UK) coaches also are very accessible.”
Allen Wins Trainer of the Year Award: UK assistant athleticstrainer Jeff Allen has won the “Backbone Award,” signifying theassistant trainer of the year, as given by the Southeast AthleticsTrainers Association. The SATA covers the seven-state region ofKentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, andLouisiana.
Injury Update: Redshirt freshman offensive lineman TramaineGaines underwent surgery on Friday to insert a screw in his broken leftfoot. Dr. Darren Johnson of UK Sports Medicine performed the surgery,which was deemed successful. Gaines will begin rehabilitation inapproximately eight weeks. Barring unforeseen difficulties, Gaines isexpected to be ready for practice in August.
Sophomore defensive back Anthony “Champ” Kelly is progressingvery well with his strained hamstring. He is not expected to return intime for the spring game on April 24.
Junior linebacker Marlon McCree has returned to limited work indrills. He had calcium formation in his thigh following a deep thighbruise late in the 1998 season.
