University of Kentucky
Signing Day News Conference
February 8, 2001
Head Coach Guy Morriss
“To this point we have 18 signees. This is a class that we feel very strongly about. We feel they can all contribute to this team. The loyalty of these recruits is important to me. I am glad they stuck with this program. I talked with most of them last night. They are thrilled to be Wildcats and we are thrilled to have them.”
Were you surprised that more recruits didnt back out?
“To be honest, no. This staff has done a great job holding on to these kids. The coaches called them three times a day before signingday. I called them each the night before to assure them of their scholarships. Thanks to our staff we held on to these players.”
“I think this is a good solid class. We feel good about them. There are some great football players in this class.”
On calling the recruits…
“To be honest most of the recruits were coming to Kentucky when I called them. I reassured them that Coach Goodner and his staffwould be here and intact. I assured them that the offensive system would not change a lot. We will pass the football and we will befun and exciting to watch. I didnt have to do much of a selling job when talking with the recruits for the final time, I just reassuredthem of what they had already been told.”
On the UK quarterback situation…
“Jared (Lorenzen) and Shane (Boyd) are both working hard right now. They are both quality players. I will open it up and have aquarterback competition this spring. I am all for competition at every position. It brings out the best in players. We will put the bestquarterback and the best player at every position on the field in the fall, according to our professional opinion.”
On only playing one quarterback…
“I think that you need to put a back-up quarterback in the game as much as possible. If your starter goes down you want anotherquarterback that can step up.”
On the pride of playing for Kentucky…
“When we take the field this year and the guys that stayed with us put on the blue and white, it will mean something to them. They willearn the right and honor to put on that blue and white jersey to represent this university. This is the type of message we are sending tothem with these 6 a.m. workouts.”
On what this team can accomplish…
“I am not sure. It depends on how fast we can come together as a staff. It begins with the staff and then the players feed off of us.We have to make sure that we dont lose anyone to academics. We need everyone we have. I told these guys they need to free theirminds and open it to what we are trying to do. Someone once said that limitations are man-made. That is what we are preaching tothem, we just have to get it in their heads. It just depends on how they accept and react to it.”
On his background…
“I have been training for this job all my life. This has been a goal of mine. I have been influenced by some of the brightest people infootball ever. The one guy that had the most influence on me as a football player and as a man was Raymond Berry. I played forRaymond and he gave me my first coaching job. I dont think there is a finer person that I know in football. He has been my mentorand I have stayed in touch with him since 1984. He has probably had more influence on my career than anyone.”
Defensive Coordinator John Goodner
“The first thing youre trying to look for is team speed, and I think all the guys that signed can run. Theres not a lot of big guys buttheres a lot of guys that can potentially be big. Theyve got big frames and are tall.”
“Weve recruited some tall, lean guys that could play a number of different positions. Well let them grow to where they can fit intoour defense.”
“Everyone comes in and asks which guys are gonna help us next year; you never can answer that question, I cant tell. Every yearthat Ive coached weve always had one or two true freshmen come in and help us. Well get some help out of this class.”
“One of the things about recruiting is that you are looking at a 17 or 18-year-old guy and projecting about what he is going to be likewhen he is 22.”
Linebackers and Defensive Linemen
“Chad Anderson is one of those kids. Chads got a lot of potential. Hes a big kid and there is no telling how big he is going to be. Right now hes a kid that can come in and help us at linebacker.”
“With Dustin Williams weve been talking about linebacker or defensive line. You recruit guys that can grow and develop.”
“Trey Mielsch can run and hes a good hurdler. He has a lot of growth potential and could possibly play defensive end one day.”
“Ben Scott is one of the better effort players we saw on film. Hes got a chance to help us in a lot of different places.”
“Ellery Moore is possibly a defensive end or defensive tackle; hes got a lot of potential.”
Defensive Backs
“Brett Hamblen had a great senior year and he looks great.”
“Keith Shelton is a good-looking kid; he can run and could play three or four positions for us.”
“Since he can really run, Muhammad Abdullah could be at corner. That is what youre always looking for.”
“Antoine Huffman is similar to Muhammad. He has excellent speed and good coverage skills and can come up and tackle well.”
“Xavier Lane is a great track guy. Hes fast and a good cover guy.”
“Jon Sumrall might be a linebacker one of these days. He really caught your eye on film. Hes got great hitting ability.”
“Warren Wilson is going to be great. Weve been looking at him since day one.”
