Dec. 14, 1999

LEXINGTON, Kty. – Tight end James Whalen, Jr., has been named first-team All-America byThe Associated Press. The AP is the fifth selector that has chosenWhalen as a first-team All-American.

Whalen caught 90 passes for 1,019 yards and 10 touchdowns duringthe 1999 season, leading the nation’s tight ends in all threecategories. He set NCAA records for most receptions in a season by atight end and most receptions per game (8.2) by a tight end. His 90catches also broke UK’s single-season record for receptions, eclipsingCraig Yeast’s mark of 85 set a year ago.

With 1,019 receiving yards, Whalen became the second Wildcat tosurpass the 1,000-yard receiving mark in a season. His 10 TD catchesalso are the second-best single-season mark in UK history.

Whalen had four games with double-digit receptions during the1999 season. With 10 catches against Indiana and 12 against Florida, hebecame the first player in school history to have double-digitreceptions in consecutive games. He duplicated that feat later in theseason with 10 catches at Georgia, followed by 11 at Mississippi State.

Whalen had five 100-yard receiving games, topped by 151 yards atGeorgia. He also caught four touchdown passes against the Bulldogs,tying a school record.

Whalen’s top individual play came in the season opener vs.Louisville. His 57-yard touchdown catch-and-run, capped by a dive intothe end zone, was named the Compaq “Best Hustle Play of the Week inCollege Football.”

Whalen also has been named first-team All-America by theFootball Writers Association of America, the Walter Camp FootballFoundation, CNN/SI, and the CBS Sports Line website. He was asecond-team All-America pick by Football News and a third-team choice byThe Sporting News.

Tony Franklin Picked as One of the South’s Top 10 Recruiters: UKrunning backs coach Tony Franklin has been chosen as one of the South’stop 10 recruiters among assistant coaches in selections made byrecruiting analyst Tom Culpepper.

Wrote Culpepper, “Franklin coaches running backs at theUniversity of Kentucky. He is a native of Kentucky where he spent 15years coaching at the high school level before being hired by Hal Mummein 1997. The move is paying dividends on the field and on therecruiting trail. Previous efforts by Franklin produced the likes ofDerek Abney, Bobby Blizzard, Brad Pyatt, and Derek Smith … Franklin isa rising star on the college football horizon.”

Culpepper had other comments on Franklin’s impact on theupcoming recruiting class of 2000. Those comments can not be reproducedhere because of NCAA recruiting rules but may be viewed atwww.borderwars.rivals.com.

Sonny Dykes to Texas Tech, Mumme Assistants Continue to be HotProperties: UK graduate assistant coach Sonny Dykes has taken afull-time assistant coach’s position at Texas Tech on the staff of newhead coach Mike Leach.

Dykes coached the Wildcats’ tight ends in 1999, helping JamesWhalen earn first-team All-America honors. Whalen led the nation’stight ends this season with 90 receptions for 1,019 yards and 10touchdowns. In addition to coaching the tight ends, Dykes assisted inthe organization of the UK special teams. He also was the head coach ofthe UK junior varsity team that posted a 4-1 record, the best mark inthe JV program’s three-year existence.

Dykes is a 1993 graduate of Texas Tech, where he was athree-year letterman for the baseball team. He is the son of SpikeDykes, who retired recently after a long term as head football coach atTexas Tech.

Dykes is the third former Hal Mumme assistant who has received apromotion in the last two weeks. Leach, who got the head coaching jobat Tech after one season as offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, was anassistant for Mumme from 1989-98 at Iowa Wesleyan, Valdosta State, andKentucky. Chris Hatcher, a member of the UK staff from 1997-99, is thenew head coach at Valdosta State.

Memorial Scholarship Fund Established in Honor of Jeremy Streck:A memorial scholarship fund has been established in honor of JeremyStreck, the Wildcat lineman from 1994-98 who died on Oct. 9.

Checks can be made out to the “Jeremy Streck Scholarship Fund”and mailed to Marcia Lea Streck, Blue Ash Building and Loan, 6501Mason-Montgomery Road, Mason, Ohio, 45040.

Reservations Available for FCA Breakfast at Music City Bowl:Fans attending the HomePoint.com Music City Bowl are invited to attendthe Fellowship of Christian Athletes breakfast that will be held Monday,Dec. 27, at 8 a.m. at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville.

The breakfast is open to anyone. Reservations must be made inadvance. Tickets cost $10 each for the general public, $5 each forstudents or coaches. Reservations may be made by calling the FCA Officein Nashville at 615-889-8808.

The featured speaker at the breakfast is Sherman Smith, runningbacks coach for the Tennessee Titans.

Team Schedule: