Hall to Play in the East-West Shrine Game:Senior offensive tackle Antonio Hall will be playing in the East-West Shrine Game on Sat. Jan. 10 in Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco, Calif.
Hall will wear uniform No. 73 for the East team. The game is slated for a 2 p.m. EST kickoff and will be televised by ESPN.
Hall was chosen first-team All-SEC in 2003 by The Associated Press and the SEC Coaches. He showed his toughness by playing all season with a nagging hip injury, protecting the blind side of left-handed quarterback Jared Lorenzen. He totaled 68 knockdown blocks during the season. Hall also was a first-team All-SEC pick in 2002 by the SEC Coaches and a second-team selection by the AP that year.
Hall is the 26th Kentucky player or coach to compete in the East-West Game. The first were lineman Ray Correll and end Steve Meilinger in 1954 (following the 1953 season) and the most recent was running back Anthony White in 2000, following the 1999 season.
Coaches at Convention: The Kentucky football coaches are attending the American Football Coaches Association convention in Orlando, Fla., through Thursday. Coaches may resume off-campus recruiting on Jan. 9.
Players Return Next Week: The University of Kentucky holiday break continues this week. The players will return for the beginning of the spring semester on Jan. 14.
Claiborne Inducted into Peach Bowl Hall of Fame: Former Wildcat student-athlete and head coach Jerry Claiborne has been named to the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl Hall of Fame.
Claiborne had a 28-year career as a collegiate head coach at Virginia Tech, Maryland, and Kentucky. He had a career record of 179-122-8 and took 11 teams to bowl games. His 1973 Maryland team played in the Peach Bowl.
?Jerry Claiborne embraced his players both on and off the field,? said William Pate, Chairman of the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl. ?He taught them how to be not only great football players, but also great students. His teams were always among the association?s best in academic achievement and graduation rate.?
Claiborne was a three-year letterman at Kentucky, playing for Coach Paul ?Bear? Bryant, in the late 1940s. He returned to his alma mater as head coach from 1982-89, leading the Wildcats to two post-season appearances. Kentucky also won the 1989 College Football Association Academic Achievement Award for the nation?s highest graduation rate.
Begley Honored by President and Mrs. Todd: Wildcat kicker Taylor Begley was honored by UK President Lee Todd and First Lady Patsy Todd during a timeout of the Kentucky-North Carolina men?s basketball game on Saturday.
A sophomore from Danville, Ky., Begley was recognized for his excellence in the classroom and on the playing field. Begley, who has a 3.90 grade-point average in electrical engineering, was named to the Academic All-District IV team by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
As a kicker, Begley was the team?s leading scorer with 58 points during the 2003 season. He connected on 6 of 10 field goals and made all 40 extra points.
