Aug. 16, 2003
Wildcats Have First Scrimmage: It was a day for defense as the Kentucky football team held its first scrimmage of preseason practice Saturday afternoon at the Nutter Training Facility.
Although the offense had some good moments, the defense held the advantage for most of the one-hour, 35-minute scrimmage. Redshirt freshman strong safety Randy Driver and freshman linebacker Brad Booker seemed to play especially well.
“It was a good first scrimmage because we needed to see people in live situations and we did that today,” defensive coordinator Mike Archer said. “We had some people out with injuries and Brad Booker and Randy Driver stepped up and took advantage of their opportunities.
“I thought the second defense played well. The first unit kind of went through the motions the first couple of series, then they finally woke up. We have a lot of work to do on third downs, though.”
The offense scored two touchdowns during the main portion of the scrimmage. Sophomore tailback Draak Davis scored on a nine-yard run. And, with the third-team offense matched against the third-team defense, freshman quarterback Andre’ Woodson hit freshman wide receiver John Logan on a short slant pass and Logan showed his speed in racing 74 yards for a touchdown.
The kicking game was very encouraging. Sophomore kicker Taylor Begley made his field goal attempts of 51 and 25 yards and junior Clint Ruth also made his field goal attempts of 45 and 23 yards. All four kicks were made against a slight wind. Juniors Anthony Thornton and Sevin Sucurovic, who are competing for the starting punting role, each boomed several long punts.
The only concern of the day was a wrist injury sustained by junior linebacker Kamaal Ahmad. The extent of the injury will be re-evaluated on Sunday. The Wildcats return to the practice field Sunday at 3 p.m.
Kickoff Luncheon Slated for Friday: The annual University of Kentucky Football Kickoff Luncheon will be held Friday, Aug. 22, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Lexington.
Coach Rich Brooks will be the featured speaker and the public is invited. A table of 10 costs $400 each and individual tickets are available for $40 each. The deadline for reservations is Tuesday. Reservations may be made by calling Chelsea Hansing at 257-8000.
Ticket Update, All K Fund Tickets Sold Out: All tickets under the auspices of the K Fund are now sold out. Here is the updated information on 2003 Kentucky football tickets.
*Single-game tickets for Louisville are sold out.
*Single-game tickets are available for the other six home games and are priced at $29 and $22.
*Upper-deck sideline season tickets remain available at a cost of $214.
*To purchase tickets, call (859) 257-1818, go to the Memorial Coliseum Ticket Office, or click on the tickets link at ukathletics.com.
Practices Closed Beginning Wednesday: Kentucky football practices leading up to the Louisville game will be closed to fans and media beginning Wed. Aug. 20. As usual, however, media may obtain interviews with coaches and players at the conclusion of practice.
Kentucky Football Calendar:
Sun. Aug. 17Practice, 3 – 6 p.m.
Mon. Aug. 18Practice, 8:45 – 11:45 a.m. and 3:45 – 5:45 p.m.
Tues. Aug. 19Practice, 3:15 – 6:15 p.m. (last open practice for fans and media)
Wed. Aug. 20Practice, 8:45 – 11:45 a.m. and 3:45 – 5:45 p.m.
Thurs. Aug. 21Practice, 2:45 – 5:45 p.m.
Fri. Aug. 22Practice, 8:45 – 11:45 a.m. and 3:45 – 5:45 p.m.
Sat. Aug. 23Practice, 6:30 – 9 p.m.
Sun. Aug. 24Off
Mon. Aug. 25Practice, 3:15 – 6:15 p.m.
Tues. Aug. 26Practice, 3:15 – 6:15 p.m.
Wed. Aug. 27Classes begin
Practice, 3:15 – 6:15 p.m.
Thurs. Aug. 28Practice, 3:15 p.m.
Fri. Aug. 29Practice, 3:15 p.m.
Sun. Aug. 31Louisville at Kentucky, 6:30 p.m. EDT, televised by espn2
