Sept. 19, 2002
News and Notes From Coach Morriss: The following are news and notes from Coach Guy Morriss following the Wildcats’ one and one-half hour practice Thursday afternoon at the Nutter Training Facility.
?”We have had a better week (of practice) than last week,” Morriss said. “Middle Tennessee certainly has our attention. They have great players. I expect us to be fired up and ready to play.”
?On doing a better job of stopping the run: “We need to tackle better and that’s my fault,” Morriss said. “I cut out some practice time the first three weeks in order to keep our legs fresh and I think we’ve had some slippage in our tackling technique. We put that time back in this week to work on our tackling. We also need to get a lot of people on the ball. We’ve had a lot of people miss gap assignments and we have to do better with that.”
?On the team’s improved pass defense: “Coming into fall practice, I didn’t know which way the secondary was going to go. I felt like we got better in the spring, but we had a lot of young players, such as Claude Sagaille, Earven Flowers, and Mike Williams, who needed to get better. We needed them to step up and so far they have. We’ve also gotten some pass rush, which makes the back end (secondary) better.”
?On the team’s early season emphasis on the run: “The offense has to do what they (opposing defenses) give us. Indiana dared us to run, so that’s what we tried to do. I think a lot of it has to do with the respect they (opponents) have for Jared (Lorenzen). Before long, they’re going to have to respect Artose (Pinner), too.”
?On the team’s depth situation in the offensive line: “I think we could go about seven- or eight-deep right now. Sylvester Miller has played well. Jared McGowan has gotten better. Daniel Burnett has gotten better; I think he could get us through a game (at center) if we needed it.”
?Morriss noted that reserve linebacker Justin Haydock will miss his second consecutive game because of a strained hamstring and that reserve defensive tackle John Robinson will miss the Middle Tennessee game because of an ankle injury.
Kicking Situation Status Quo: Redshirt freshman Taylor Begley will handle extra points and field goalsagainst Middle Tennessee and sophomore Clint Ruth will kick off against the Blue Raiders, special teams coordinator Mark Nelson announced today. It is the same lineup that kicked last Saturday against Indiana.
“Clint did a good job against Indiana, although he needs a little more hang time,” Nelson said. “We charted the kickers again this week and Clint had the best week, so no one has beaten him out. Taylor Begley has been very consistent.”
Begley handled placekicks against Louisville and Indiana. He made three of four field goals against Louisville, including the go-ahead field goal, and was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week. Ruth kicked off against Texas-El Paso and Indiana.
Saturday is United Way Day: Saturday is United Way Day at Commonwealth Stadium. Between the first and second quarters, 25 local youths who have benefited from the United Way will be introduced. United Way is the official charity of the University
Throughout the second quarter, the Committee of 101 (game ushers), in addition to United Way volunteers, will take up a collection for United Way.
Kernel Sprouting: Between the third and fourth quarters of Saturday’s game, University President Lee Todd and UK First Lady Patsy Todd will recognize the staff of the Kentucky Kernel, the UK student newspaper. The publication is a finalist for the prestigious Pacemaker Award, which is the equivalent of a Pulitzer Prize for college student newspapers.
Tickets Available: Single-game seats ($22 each) for each of Kentucky’s five remaining home games continue on sale at the ticket office in Memorial Coliseum. The office is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Tickets also may be ordered over the telephone at 859-257-1818 or 800-928-CATS.
Tickets also may be purchased via the Internet at ukathletics.com. For the remainder of the season, any tickets ordered over the Internet will have no additional fees attached.On Saturday, the Commonwealth Stadium ticket office opens at 11:30 a.m.
Team Will Have “Cat Walk” at 11:30 a.m. as Wildcats Arrive at Gate 9: Fans are encouraged to meet the team when the Wildcats arrive at 11:30 a.m. at Gate 9. The players will make the “Cat Walk” from Gate 9 to their stadium entry point at Gate 12. Blue cat paws are painted along the “Cat Walk” route on the south side of the stadium and fans are encouraged to line up on the sidewalk and cheer the team as it enters the stadium.
The “Cat Walk” has been organized by the families of the players, a group named the Wildcat Football Family Association.
UK Marching Band Will Parade Around Stadium: The UK Marching Band will parade around the stadium, beginning at approximately 12:40 p.m. The band parade will begin and end at Gate 4.
No Parking Pass? No Problem, “Touchdown Downtown” Moving Again: Fans who do not have reserved parking are advised to use the “Touchdown Downtown” LexTran shuttle service. Fans can park in five downtown lots and catch a round-trip shuttle to the stadium for $2 per person. “Touchdown Downtown” begins three hours prior to kickoff and runs up to game time. Return trips begin midway through the fourth quarter and continue until fans have been returned downtown.
The five downtown parking lots are located at:
*Civic Center Shops Parking, directly across from Rupp Arena on High Street (pay $3 to park your car);
*Transit Center Parking at the intersection of High Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard (free parking);
*Ramsey’s Diner Lot behind Faith Covenant Church at the intersection of East High Street and Woodland (free parking);
*Central Parking System lot at the intersection of Market Street and Short Street (pay $2 to park your car); and
*Central Parking System lot at the intersection of Mill Street and Short Street (pay $2 to park your car).
The three shuttle stops are located at:
*Corner of East High Street and Woodland (in front of Ramsey’s Diner);
*West Vine Street across from the Radisson Plaza; and
*Transit Center.
For more information on Touchdown Downtown, call 231-7335, or visit Web site www.downtownlex.com.
Cats to Wear White-Blue-Blue: The Wildcats plan to wear white helmets, blue jerseys, and blue pants forthe Middle Tennessee game.
– UK –
