Aug. 7, 2001
Freshmen, Newcomers Have First Practices
The 29 Kentucky football freshmen and newcomers completed their first practices on Tuesday, a pair of one and one-half hour workouts at the Nutter Training Center.
The majority of the practices were committed to agility drills and teaching of fundamentals at each position. Coach Guy Morriss got a good impression of his new players during the workouts.
“Most of the players reported in good shape,” Morriss said. “You can really tell the difference in the ones who were able to come in and work out during the summer.”
Asked if any of the freshmen had made a particularly good first impression, Morriss cited defensive lineman Ellery Moore.
“Ellery Moore jumps out at you,” Morriss said. “He seems to be in good enough shape to have a chance to help us, but he must improve his conditioning base. He weighs about 280 (pounds) right now, although he’ll probably lose some of that during camp.”
Moore practiced at defensive end in the morning workout, but switched to defensive tackle in the afternoon. Tackles coach Tom Adams liked what he saw, and is eager to see more of Moore.
“Ellery moves around well, and has explosiveness and intensity,” Adams said. “He has a chance to help us this year.”
Moore came to UK this year after having played the 2000 season in prep school. He was the Ohio Division I Defensive Player of the Year as a senior at Washington High School in Massillon, Ohio. He originally signed with Penn State but was not eligible to play immediately, prompting his term at prep school.
Asked about other players who made strong first impressions, Morriss also mentioned defensive backs Warren Wilson, Muhammad Abdullah, and Keith Shelton, along with a pair of walk-on linebackers from Lexington, Jacob Koch and John Clay.
The Wildcats return to the practice field on Wednesday with two more workouts scheduled. The veteran players report to campus on Wednesday, with Media Day and orientation scheduled for Thursday, and the first full team practice set for Friday.
Scaldaferri Back
To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the demise of kicker Stephen Scaldaferri have been greatly exaggerated.
Scaldaferri, a walk-on senior from Centreville, Va., finished spring practice as the leader for handling kickoff duties this season. Coach Guy Morriss mistakenly said last week that Scaldaferri was not returning to the team, based on a conversation early in the summer.
“Stephen told me that he couldn’t afford to come back, and I thought that he meant this fall,” Morriss said. “Stephen was just talking about not being here for summer school. He planned all along to return in the fall.”
Having kicked impressively for the junior varsity team last season, Scaldaferri was promoted to the varsity and allowed to kick off during the last three games of the 2000 campaign. He kicked off 11 times, including a pair of touchbacks.
Fans’ Day Set for August 12
The annual UK Football Fans’ Day is scheduled for Sunday, August 12. The event begins at 2:30 p.m., with free hot dogs and Pepsi available to the first 1,200 fans. Posters and schedule cards will be given away. The 2001 UK football media guide will be on sale for $10 each.Fans should enter the stadium at gate 4 and gate 9 of the west end zone (Nicholasville Road side). The players will be introduced on the field at 3 p.m. The players will go to the stadium concourse for autographs and photos with the fans.
UK Football Calendar
Here are some upcoming events for Kentucky football:
Aug. 7-8 Freshmen/newcomers practice, 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., Nutter Training CenterAug. 8 Veterans reportAug. 9 UK Football Media Day (not open to public), 10 a.m. to noonAug. 10 First team practice, two-a-days beginAug. 12 Fans’ Day at Commonwealth Stadium, 2:30 p.m.Aug. 14 First practice in padsAug. 21 Last day of two-a-daysAug. 22 Classes beginSept. 1 Louisville at Kentucky, 12:30 p.m. EDT, JP Sports live regional TV
– UK –
