Aug. 12, 1999
QB Dusty Bonner
(On playing in the renovated Commonwealth Stadium): “It looks great andit’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be great for us because thatmakes for a great college environment.
(On being the focal point of the UK offense): “You get used to it. It’sjust part of the game. You just go out and play football and everythingelse will come to me.”
HB Anthony White
(On whether UK will improve on last year’s record): “People are expectingus to go down this year. We weren’t happy with seven wins last year. Ifanything, we want to beat the seven wins we got last year, which I think wecan do. We went to a bowl game but we could have done a lot more. Therewere a couple of games that we shouldn’t have lost.”
(On his role on the UK football team): “I don’t want my job to change. Iwant to do exactly what I’ve been doing – whatever it takes to help us win.
If I don’t carry the ball any in of the game and I go to a blocking roleor decoy role, as long as we get the win that’s what matters. Winning issomething that you can never replace.”
(On UK starting quarterback Dusty Bonner): “I’ve got a lot of confidencein him. We’re not expecting him to do what Tim Couch did. We’re notlooking for him to compare to Tim Couch because they’re two different typesof players. The things Tim Couch did, we won’t expect Dusty to do becauseof their styles, but we do know Dusty is a winner and that’s all we expecthim to do. If I reduce my role to something I haven’t done before to winthen I’ll do that. I think Dusty is willing to do that. If he only has tothrow 10 passes in this offense to win, then I think Dusty will do that.”
DE Dennis Johnson
(On the preseason accolades he has received): “It feels good and it makesyou want to work that much harder. It feels good to see your name in themagazine and every player wants to get praised. I just feel honored andblessed to get those honors and hopefully I’ll live up to them this year.”
(On returning to full strength with his wrist healed up): “I candefinitely tell a big improvement in the spring. When we were practicing,I felt a lot stronger and faster and now that my wrist has healed up I’llbe able to do more than I did my first year.”
TE Derek Smith
(On returning to the football field after a summer playing basketball):“It’s going to take a couple of weeks to get those muscles back in shapethat I don’t use in football that I would use in basketball.”
(On the expectations of the team): “I think everybody thinks we have tocome out and prove ourselves. Couch was a great player and did a lot ofgreat things for us but we’re still going to be just as good as we werelast year, if not better. We want to come at the beginning of the seasonand prove that. I think a lot of guys are ticked off at the fact thatthey’re being told that they aren’t going to be as good as last year.Things are turning around down here and I think we’ll be just as good.”
(On having a shot at being a starter): “I think I can do a decent job.They are a lot of guys down here that are seniors and have gone through theprogram and they’re going to know more than I am and probably be on thefield more than I am. I think I can come out and do what I have to do anduse my skills out there. All the tight ends are going to be able to dothat and it’s just going to be whoever is in at that time.”
LB Jeff Snedegar
(On his senior year): “It seems like it would never would get here, thefive years. Now it got here and you don’t really want to leave becauseyou’ve made so many new friends. It’s good to see this program is on therise compared to when I got here when it was in the gutter. It’s made alot of progress during the five years I’ve been here and I hope they cancontinue to keep it on the rise.”
(On the team having a letdown after losing Couch and Yeast): “I reallydon’t think the guys think that. All we’re worried about is winning thegames and trying to make another bowl game. We’re just going to take onegame at a time and I really don’t think anybody is worried and provinganything. That’s the good thing about this team this year, everybody isworking together.”
FB Derek Homer
(On carryover from the bowl game to this season): “We’re going to takethe experience from the bowl game and carry it on to the season and go toan even higher bowl. We have the quality players and good athletes here tocompete with anybody in the nation.”
(On whether carrying the ball more will help take the pressure offfirst-year starter Bonner): “I feel with me and (White) getting morecarries, it will be a more balanced attack and help the team a lot so thedefense won’t be able to just focus on one player or one aspect.”
(On having a new offensive line): “I don’t really look at them as new.They played in numerous games and have experience against a lot of the topteams in the nation. A lot of these guys started playing back in theFlorida game and then all the way to the bowl game. These guys have beenhere and played in the bowl game and have played against the number threeteam in the nation this year. I have a lot of confidence in my teammates.”
(On what he expects from himself this season): “I expect myself to bewell over 1,000 yards this year. In the past two years, I have developedmyself into where I can become that leading rusher and get 100 to 200hundred yards a game. I feel I can develop into that kind of running backand lead this team to the place we need to go.”
