McBride Hired at Weber State: Kentucky inside linebackers coach Ron McBride has resigned his post at UK in order to take the head coaching position at Weber State, Coach Rich Brooks has announced.
?Ron is one of the all-time great coaches and we will miss him very much,? Brooks said. ?I?m happy for him that he will get a chance to resurrect the Weber State program like he did at Utah.?
McBride coached the UK inside linebackers the last two seasons. He came to UK from the University of Utah, where he was head coach from 1990-2002. He guided the Utes to an 88-62 record, six bowl appearances, and won a share of two conference championships. His recruiting also laid the groundwork for the current undefeated Utah squad.
Abdullah Named AP All-SEC: UK safety Muhammad Abdullah has been named to The Associated Press All-Southeastern Conference squad (second team).
Abdullah, a junior from Folkston, Ga., started at free safety during the first eight games of the season, then moved to strong safety for the final three games. He ranked third in the SEC in turnovers created with five, including three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. He picked off passes against Florida, South Carolina, and Mississippi State while recovering fumbles against Georgia and Ohio.
Abdullah was named UK?s Most Valuable Player in 2004 in a vote by the Wildcat players. He finished the season with 58 tackles, second on the team in that category. He had a season-high 10 stops in the win over Vanderbilt, including a pair of quarterback sacks.
Abdullah also was a second-team All-SEC choice by the league coaches in 2003 and 2004.
Abren, Miller Tabbed for SEC All-Freshman Team: Nose tackle Ricky Abren and offensive tackle Aaron Miller have been chosen for the SEC All-Freshman Team selected by The Sporting News.
Abren, a redshirt freshman from Hopkinsville, Ky., played in all 11 games this season and earned seven starting assignments. He collected 26 tackles, led the team in quarterback hurries with five and tied for the team lead in fumbles caused with two. His top game came vs. Ohio when he had six tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss and two quarterback sacks. He also tallied his first collegiate touchdown in the Tennessee game when he caught a tipped pass and returned it for a score. Last week, he was named second-team Freshman All-America by Rivals.com.
Miller is a true freshman from Grayson, Ky. Originally slated to redshirt this season, his performance in practice encouraged the coaches to put him in the starting lineup. Miller started the last 10 games of the season and totaled 43 big blocks, including 20 slice blocks (takes opponent off his feet), 15 knockdown blocks (knocks opponent on the ground), and eight pancake blocks (knocks opponent on his back).
