Head Coach Rich Brooks
?I mentioned at the Governor?s Cup, this is really an exciting time — seeing the players come back, getting the new faces in. I always enjoy taking the pictures with the newcomers and I?ve had to look a little taller to see them. We?ve got a pretty good group of offensive linemen in this incoming group. I?m impressed with the way most of them have showed up. I?m sure there are a few players who are going to need a little conditioning. But our overall conditioning test that we completed at the end of the summer workouts was probably as successful as it?s been from a cardiovascular stand- point. I?m very encouraged. ?
?I think you?re going to see some of these new faces play a significant role for us this year. One reason is because I think they?re pretty talented. Two is because our depth is still a concern and a problem. We put four players on scholarship and we?re at about 76 scholarship players right now. Most of the people we?re going to line up and play against are closer to 85. Next year that will be resolved and we will be up there ourselves. At this point we?re still going to be a little young, a little experienced. But we?re also going to be a faster edition of a football team with more team speed than we?ve had. And I think (we?ll have) a little more competition at more spots than we?ve had in the past couple of years.?
Areas in which depth is a concern?
?I think linebacker is an area of concern from a depth standpoint and an experience standpoint. But I?m encouraged by the speed, size and athletic ability of the linebacking corps that we have. If you look at the group, Raymond Fontaine is the only experienced player. He?s been a part-time starter in his career and is a senior. Then you?re going to look at Joe Schuler, a sophomore; Wesley Woodyard, a sophomore. Both of them started some games last year, but weren?t full-time starters. Then you?re going to look at Johnny Williams, Mikhail Mabry and Ben McGrath (who are) true freshmen or redshirt freshmen. Braxton Kelly is another player coming in. When you look at those guys they run around like linebackers. Now we just need to get them experience.?
?Corner is also a problem. We have two experienced players coming back and then we?re going to go to redshirt freshmen. Offensive line has been a concern and still is, but there are more good-looking SEC-type bodies to fill those roles. When you see some of these newcomers in that offensive line, you?d have to be blind to not see these guys are good-looking players.?
On players who did not qualify ?
?We didn?t have any that were supposed to show up that didn?t show up. We?re holding one spot. We still have one player under review in the (NCAA) clearinghouse and we?re still holding that spot. The freshmen are here and we anticipated they would be here. We did get some good news on Garry Williams a couple of days ago. We have one more appeal pending with the clearinghouse and we?re waiting for the outcome of that. Having said that, instead of 20 newcomers we have 19 coming in this fall. The rest of the players we signed are in the grayshirt category and have some work to do. That could change to 20 the middle of next week.?
On the offense?
?I hope it finds the endzone more often. I think you?re going to see a quarterback that has to prove it on the field, but proved a lot to me in the spring that he has the credentials and ability, if he stays healthy, to have a huge impact in this (league). He has the ability to be a big-time quarterback in this league, I believe. But that has to be proven and I don?t mean to put the onus on him. I was very impressed with what he did in the spring. The weather conditions in the Blue-White game were atrocious ? cold, windy, miserable ? and he threw the ball very accurately like he had all spring.?
On Joker Phillips as offensive coordinator ?
?Joker has been a guy who?s been capable of doing this for quite a few years and finally getting his first shot. I think we have some weapons, some are more inexperienced than others. But we have some weapons. What you saw from Jacob Tamme in the Tennessee game, the return of Keenan Burton to the lineup, the development of Rafael Little, Tony Dixon and Arliss Beach coming back. Draak Davis is a utility guy with breakaway speed. Scott Mitchell had a huge game at Tennessee as well. I think this is going to be a little different looking offensive football team. Our offensive line is one our biggest improved areas and it still needs to be one of the most improved areas between now and the first game. Some true freshmen are going to play a role in that. Obviously, (junior-college transfer) Fatu Turituri, a new player who was here in the spring, is going to play a huge role in that.?
On the beginning of practice ?
?I told my players last night that I?m as excited to start this season as I?ve ever been in my coaching career. I feel pretty good about the group of guys that I?m coaching. Now we have to go out on the field and do the hard work, get some fundamental stuff done, get some learning done and prove it. I feel good about my team.?
On the punting situation ?
?(Kris) Kessler ended up the spring as our punter. (Tim) Masthay has a huge leg and has some technique things to clean up that we?re working on. Other than having him in a football camp over a year ago, this will be my first opportunity to work with him and I?m really looking forward to that. He?s an outstanding athlete with a huge leg. We just have to get him more consistent with his technique and I think he?ll be a major factor. Whether that will happen by Louisville I don?t know. Whether it will happen by mid-season I don?t know. But I know it will happen. I?ve dealt with punters all my life and he has the ability to be a big-time punter. Kessler got fairly consistent, then the snapping threw everything out the window in the Blue-White Game. But I?m confident that will be fixed too.?
On Tim Masthay ?
?We?ll work him a little at wide receiver, maybe a safety. But, he has to really focus and concentrate initially as a punter. That?s where we need him the most and where, in the recruiting process, we talked about the whole time. He?s obviously one of the more athletic punters I?ve had the chance to work with. I compare him with a young man by the name of Josh Bidwell who I recruited at Oregon and is punting in the NFL.?
On Sam Maxwell and comments on the defensive ends ?
?Sam will be in the grayshirt category. At the defensive end position, B. Jay Parsons, if he stays healthy,which he hard time doing last year, will have a real big year. Durrell White has had a good off-eason in the weight room. Nii Adjei Oninku, a redshirt freshmen, is a high-motor guy. He?s a little undersized, but a real high-motor guy. You?ll see Zipp Duncan get his first shot to see what he can do at the position. And we have Travis Day and some other guys that are going to be battling for that spot. So, I think we need some players to develop behind B. Jay and Durrell.?
On Keenan Burton ?
?Keenan was one of our more exciting players in my first year here as a true freshma. He had a big game in his first Louisville game. Last year, he had the fractured bone that he tried to play through. After the Louisville game, we knew that was it. It still could be a little bit of a problem, although it was operated on and there was a screw put in it. It has not completely calcified, but it hasn?t been bothersome to him and he played through it in the spring. He has big-play ability and we?re looking forward to getting him the ball. He could be doing some returning as well, kickoff and punt return.?
On the team?s conditioning ?
?With some exceptions with players that weren?t here, the new players? conditioning numbers are as good as they?ve been since I?ve been here (in terms of) the numbers of players who passed the conditioning test and the number of players who failed it. There were very few players failed it. ?
Kentucky Players
Andre? Woodson, quarterback
On his style of play …
?My style of play is to throw the ball, make good reads, and get the ball to our athletic receivers so they can make the big plays.?
On offseason improvements …
?The main thing I did was watch a lot of film. When I first arrived at Kentucky, I didn?t understand that by watching film you learn the different types of defenses and what type of blitzes they are going to bring. Since I have been watching film, I have a better understanding of what to do and how to react to different situations.”
On staying in the pocket…
?Playing in the SEC gives me the opportunity to compete at the highest level in the country. These teams are going to bring blitzes from all different areas, so I need to be aware, react, and get rid of the ball quicker.?
On the offense …
?The main thing we are trying to do is to get the ball down the field a lot more. We are going to take some shots downfield and trying to open it up. The running game is also going to be improved. We are going to run a lot of play-actions and continue to put emphasis on getting the ball down the field. We have the tools to be successful, but we need to make sure we get the ball into the hands of our athletes.?
Matt McCutchan, center
On first-year offensive line coach Jimmy Heggins …
?He comes from a great tradition at Florida State. He is going to bring a lot of enthusiasm and help us focus on the little things. It feels like we are starting with a clean slate now.?
On improvements for the offensive line …
?I want to see us come off the ball a lot lower and attack people. We need to be relentless and continue playing hard until you hear the whistle. We can?t be standing around looking for someone to block, we need seek people out.?
Scott Mitchell, wide receiver
On Andre? Woodson …
?He has all the attributes you want in a quarterback. He doesn?t like to run, so he will stand in the pocket and throw the ball. I have all the confidence in the world in Andre?.?
On the depth of the wide receiver positions …
?It is going to help keep everyone fresh. Coach has the confidence to put all of us in the game, so you will never see any of is tired.?
On the emphasis this season on a vertical passing attack …
?As a receiver, you always look forward to an open passing game. You have the opportunity to make big plays down the field. It makes me very excited.?
On his performance against Tennessee last season …
?It gave me a lot of confidence. Anytime you can perform against a team of Tennessee?s caliber, it helps you realize you can do it against anyone.?
Raymond Fontaine, linebacker
On negative press?
?It?s very disappointing, but we just use that as fuel. We look at it from the aspect that a lot of people don?t believe in us, but we can use it as motivation to work harder and to become more successful as a team.?
?We hear it and read it everywhere. Sometimes a player will mention it and sometimes a coach will bring it to our attention, but we just use it to make us work harder and be that much better.?
On the coaching staff?
?Anybody who says we don?t have an intelligent coaching staff doesn?t know much about the game of football. We have one of the most intelligent coaching staffs in the country. Coach (Mike) Archer is a defensive mastermind and he has a way to send a message and break things down so we can all understand. I have a lot of confidence and trust in our coaches.?
Muhammad Abdullah, strong safety
On being a leader on defense?
?I just try to go out and play the best I can and as hard as I can to help the team.?
On improvements on defense?
?The speed of our defense is probably the best improvement. We?re faster, bigger and more physical. That helps us line up better against the teams the conference.?
On the 4-3 defense?
?It will help us be more effective with both safeties in the box to stop the run. We can put pressure on the quarterback and with four defensive linemen going against them, we can get a lot more picks in the secondary.?
?We want to be competitive in every game. We want to earn the honor and respect that this is Kentucky football and we can play and we can win here. We had games last year that showed us that we can play with teams like UT who went to the SEC championship.?
Durrell White, defensive end
On the conditioning of the defense?
?I don?t think conditioning was a big problem, but the coaches have really turned it around the last few years and got us in good shape with weights and running.?
On moving to the 4-3?
?I think it will help stop the run better. We have athletic players who can fly around and make plays if we put pressure on the quarterback. The defensive line is also very athletic this year and we can disrupt plays and let those other guys take care of the rest.?
On getting ready for Louisville?
?I think it all depends on how quickly the freshmen pick up on what we?re trying to do in the first week of practice. We?ll be as ready as our weakest link.?
