Abren Reinstated: Nose tackle Ricky Abren has been reinstated for game action, Coach Rich Brooks has announced.
Abren, a redshirt freshman from Hopkinsville, Ky., was arrested in his hometown on July 23. Brooks took undisclosed disciplinary action against Abren and also suspended him from game competition until the resolution of the case, which occurred today.
?Ricky will be reinstated for game action,? Brooks said. ?He has served his penance here and obviously he?s learned a heck of a lesson.?
Quoting Coach Brooks: Here are some excerpts from comments made by Coach Rich Brooks following Friday morning?s practice.
On the tailback position ?
?Arliss Beach was clearly better in the spring than he was last fall and is clearly better now than he was in the spring. Draak Davis is night-and-day improved over the spring. Both are physically different guys than they were last fall. Alexis Bwenge is also in the mix.
?Rafael Little is making progress (with his injured knee), but it?s too early to say for sure when he?ll be full-go on the practice field. I?m hoping for next week. The wild card is Tony Dixon. He played defense the first week (before being moved to tailback on Tuesday), but he doesn?t act like a freshman when the ball is tucked under his arm.?
On the offensive line ?
?The offensive line is not where I want it to be. We?re making progress and doing some things well. They?re pulling together as a group, but fundamentally we have a lot of work to do.?
On the cornerback positions ?
?Karl Booker and Antoine Huffman are the guys right now. Earven Flowers and Warren Wilson (who have been out with injuries) should be back next week. Jarrell Williams is a very talented player and Shomari Moore has shown some good things as well.?
Kroger Kickoff Luncheon Set for Fri. Aug. 27: The Kroger Kickoff Luncheon has been set for Fri., Aug. 27, at 11:30 a.m. at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in Lexington.
UK President Dr. Lee Todd, Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart, and Coach Rich Brooks will be the featured speakers. The cost is $40 per person or $400 for a table of 10. Reservations are required and may be made by calling Lori Armstrong at 257-5526.
Jefferson-Pilot Sports Southeastern Conference Preview: Jefferson-Pilot Sports will be televising its annual ?2004 SEC Football Preview? in the next few days, including six stations that service Kentucky markets. Thirty minutes in length in previous years, the show has been expanded to one hour this year.
Listed below are the Kentucky-area stations carrying the show.
Bowling Green WBKO Sat. Aug. 28 12:30 p.m. CT Evansville, Ind. WTVW Sun. Aug. 29 Noon CT Cincinnati, Ohio WSTR Sun. Aug. 29 4 p.m. ET Lexington WKYT Sun. Aug. 29 Noon ET Paducah KFVS Sat. Aug. 28 11 a.m. CT Paducah WQWQ Sat. Aug. 28 2 p.m. CT
