Aug. 6, 1999

Freshmen Report Sunday: The Kentucky football freshmen and newwalk-ons report to campus on Sunday, Aug. 8. A total of 24 players, 23scholarship freshmen and one walk-on, are expected to report.

Freshmen Bobby Blizzard and Artose Pinner, who count as part ofthe 1999 signing class, were enrolled in January and will report withthe veterans on Aug. 11.

Kentucky Football Calendar:

Sun.   Aug.   8  Freshmen report, equipment, orientation, physicals, no practice Mon.   Aug.   9  Freshman orientation, academics, compliance meetings, no practice Tue.   Aug.  10  Freshman practice, 10 a.m., Nutter Training Center Wed.   Aug.  11  Freshman practice, 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., Nutter Training Center                  Veterans report Thurs. Aug.  12  UK Media Day, Commonwealth Stadium, 10 a.m.-noon Fri.   Aug.  13  Team practices begin Sun.   Aug.  15  Fans' Day, 2-4 p.m., Nutter Field House Fri.   Aug.  20  Kickoff Luncheon  Wed.   Aug.  25  Classes begin Sat.   Sept.  4  Louisville at Kentucky, 3:30 p.m. EDT 

Acham, Smith, Whalen on Scholarship: Three UK walk-on players,seniors Cheddi Acham, Andy Smith, and James Whalen, Jr., have beenplaced on full scholarship by Coach Hal Mumme.

Acham is a reserve tight end from London, Ontario. He played inevery game last season, seeing mostly special-teams duty, and alsocaught an 11-yard pass in the win over Louisville.

Smith enters the 1999 season as the starting punter after beingJimmy Carter’s understudy the past three seasons. Smith was thestarting punter for Western Kentucky in 1995 before transferring to UK.The Bowling Green, Ky., native was a second-team all-state punter andkicker at Franklin-Simpson High School in Franklin, Ky.

Whalen enters the 1999 season as UK’s starting tight end. Overthe past two seasons, Whalen has caught 30 passes for 305 yards andthree touchdowns. He played at Shasta College as a freshman beforetransferring to UK. He is from Portland, Ore.

Coach Hal Mumme believes in the value of walk-ons. Although heis entering just his third season at UK, Mumme has awarded fullscholarships to 13 walk-ons.

“It’s just something I believe in,” Mumme said of his policy ofopportunity for walk-ons. “I’ve always had walk-ons to be able to makethe team and contribute on the field. It’s one of the joys of coachingto be able to reward those players with scholarships.”