On the coaching staff ?
?I can?t say enough about the job my staff has done in all phases of what it takes to get the program on the right track. They have done a great job, the offense under Joker Phillips, and Coach (Mike) Archer has done an excellent job getting the defense ready. I just can?t thank them enough and the credit they get is not nearly enough. They put in a lot of time away from families, recruiting, and late nights during the season. They just do a great job.?
On the off-season conditioning program ?
?Some of the newcomers look like they have been here a few years; the size and speed are a little different. We are looking at our summer conditioning program and some of the numbers are pretty impressive. We have had more guys squat over 600 pounds then any time since I have been here. The leading guy is a guy I bragged about all spring, Myron Pryor.
?The best vertical jump is by a freshman, E.J. Adams, he is a guy I am really excited about. He came in as a grayshirt and did an amazing job with his vertical jump (39 inches). I think we will see him at corner and probably very early. Possibly a starter, but we have to get him and the other newcomers on the field and see what happens. The guy is fast and explosive and has tremendous athletic ability.?
On the increased size of the team ?
?We look like a different football team, just lining the guys up and getting them off the bus. We had had some offensive lines before where they were a little short and maybe small. Now we have a longer, leaner offensive line. A guy like Aaron Miller is a good example of that, who started 10 games two years ago. He?s about a 6-foot-6, 6-foot-7 kid who came in here weighing about 270. He wasn?t very strong but had good feet. Now he?s 311, a lot stronger, but he can still move.?
On the outlook for the future ?
?We have six players on the All-SEC preseason team. The thing that is exciting about that is that there are six names out there, more than some of the other schools. All six of those players there is only one senior, the rest are sophomores and juniors. We are team that is still young, although you won?t hear it as an excuse. We have 11 senior scholarship players on our roster. Four or five of them are starters, so the good news is that we are a more talented team we have depth but we are still young.?
On the backfield ?
?We do have a quarterback situation which should be answered before kickoff against Louisville. It might be answered sooner then that. It?s a competition that a lot of Kentucky fans are interested in. In my mind we have two quarterbacks who can win in this league. The addition of Will Fidler, who had the benefit of going through a spring, and Mike Hartline add some needed depth. This is the first time since I have been here that we have had four scholarship quarterbacks and none of them are seniors. We have a lot of good things to look forward to. Tony Dixon is 100-percent, and let?s not forget he was the starter when Rafael and Tony were true freshmen, so he is a pretty good player. We had a guy Alfonso Smith who is faster then Rafael and Tony and he had a very, very productive spring. The depth at those positions is greatly improved. So we are just looking forward to the season. It is time to stop talking about it and do it, start winning some football games.?
