The annual Kentucky Football Media Day was held Saturday morning at Commonwealth Stadium. Coach Rich Brooks had a news conference in Wildcat Den, followed by the team photo and player and assistant coach interviews on the field.
Head Coach Rich Brooks
Opening statements
?Here we are again. I know some of you may be surprised. I hope I can surprise you again this year. What we have on the roster that you see, we have 24 newcomers, the 25th will be Chris Cessna who has had knee surgery, has not been cleared, will not be cleared for full activity until probably the end of October. He will join us in January and that initial scholarship will count backwards to this 25-initial recruiting class. The rest of the players that were signed on signing day have not qualified academically, they?re either going to be in junior college or prep school. Of the ones that aren?t here, we anticipate we?ll have some of them join us possibly in January and certainly after junior college which is a two-year cycle for an (Associate?s) degree. I think that this is a different-looking football team. I think you?ll see that when you go out there. I think the size, athletic ability, just the overall ability of strength and speed and playmakers is as good as it?s been since I?ve been here. That?s the reason I?ve been more optimistic obviously, because when I look at my football team I know we?re a better football team. How that translates in the SEC we have to go out and prove it on the field and get some wins this year. We open with a very difficult game on the road at Louisville. Many of them have them ranked in the Top 10; two Heisman candidates in the backfield; they?re an outstanding football team. We haven?t, I certainly haven?t, made the rivalry a rivalry in the three years I?ve been here. I know it was a struggle even in the recent years, I think it?s six out of seven Louisville has won in that series. It?s time for us to step up and make what everybody says is a great rivalry, make it one again because it hasn?t been in recent years. So we need to do our part on that. After that we have Texas State at home. They were in the semifinals of the I-AA playoffs last year, a good football team. We have a seven-game home schedule and if we take care of business at home without anything going on the road, any upsets on the road, then we can have a very productive season and get into post-season play. That?s obviously our goal this year, to show we?re not just talking about we?re improved but to actually go out on the field and show it. I believe our defense will be a lot (more stout); people should not be able to run the ball on us as easily as they have particularly the last two years. We also have more depth and talent in the offensive line and running back; a quarterback position that continues to be a battle, we?ll see what happens on that in the next couple weeks and go on from there.?
What are you looking for out of your starting quarterback whoever that might be?
?I?m looking for as few negative plays as possible. That means not taking a sack when you don?t have to take a sack, not fumbling the ball, not throwing a lot of interceptions, not putting a drive in jeopardy. That doesn?t mean there won?t be a sack, blindside, somebody?s turned loose, he doesn?t seem him coming, just hang on to the ball and try to make up for it. When you?ve got vision and you see things coming at you and you don?t like what you see, find somebody and throw over their head down the field, or throw it in the dirt at their feet, but get it out of your hands so we don?t have to take a negative play. Make sure you?re securing the ball, do not fumble the ball and then just go out and make plays.?
Did Andre? (Woodson) respond this off-season the way you wanted him to after in the spring where he was really pushed by Curtis (Pulley)?
?I think Andre? had a very, very good summer. He was one of the main guys, always getting the guys together, doing the 7-on-7 stuff, doing the extra work. He handled himself off the field as well, in the classroom. His body even looks a little different, less body fat, leaner, stronger. I?m looking forward to seeing what he does on the field now.?
What?s (kicker) Lones Seiber?s status?
?He came in with a torn labrum in his right hip, which is his kicking leg, punting and kicking. He had it operated on five, five and half weeks ago. He?s been rehabbing and kicking lightly. We?ll be very cautious with him the next, probably, 10 days and then he should be cleared to go full. But he will be doing some kicking but just not a heavy load. We were excited about him when we signed him, I think he?s a real talent and we just have to see if he?s recovered full enough.?
With the increase of scholarships over the past couple years, does that give you and your coaching staff more ability to put more things in in practice and do different things than you?ve been able to do?
?I don?t think we?re necessarily going to put in more things, hopefully we?ll execute them better and hopefully we?ll be able to execute them with fresher players throughout a 60 minute game. What the increased scholarships do, the increased talent level and increased size, just gives us an opportunity to keep players fresher than we?ve been able to in the past. We don?t now go from first-stringer to falling off the cliff with the guy behind him. I told the team this last night, there isn?t a position on this team that?s secure because there is, for the first time, serious competition at virtually every position on our team. I?m just looking forward to it playing out over the next several weeks.?
Going into camp, how many of the freshmen do you perceive could make an impact on this season?
?We have three junior college players in the freshman class, the recruiting class. We have three others who came in that class as grey-shirts, so they?ve been through spring practice. I would anticipate a minimum of that 24, a minimum of 10, maybe as many as 12 or 13 will be factors for us this year and some of them will be major factors for us this year.?
You mentioned that Andre? came in leaner, lost some body fat. Is that something you or one of the coaches told him to do or is that something he took on himself?
?We always want our guys to get stronger, less fat. I want myself to do that sometimes, I don?t accomplish it all the time. He had a very productive summer working and he?s worked very hard.?
Did (Curtis) Pulley not have as good a summer as (Andre?) Woodson had?
?He worked hard in the weight room. He did all the things we asked him. He didn?t necessarily take care of business as well in the classroom, be punctual and be where he was supposed to be and do all the things he was supposed to do, so no, he did not have as good a summer as Woodson did.?
How are the high school kids coming this year as compared to last year and last couple years? It seems like with (Josh) Minton, (Micah) Johnson and people like that that they?re getting better, is that right?
?I don?t know that it?s better than it was a year ago or two years ago because I think it?s been pretty good every year since I?ve been here, in the state of Kentucky. You look at a Corey Peters, and Josh Minton, and Micah Johnson and Paul Warford, I?ll tell you, not much has been said about Paul Warford and he?s a really good football player. We have been able to get most of the guys we want in the state. We?re never going to be happy until we get them all and that probably means I?ll never be happy. It?s a situation where the last two or three years where high school football has been very, very good and they?ve had some outstanding players and unfortunately we haven?t gotten them all. We?re going to have to line up against some of them when we play Louisville. But it?s good high school football.?
Who other than Keenan (Burton) do you anticipate as a down field threat?
?That?s why we?re going to practice. I?m not totally sure but I feel pretty good about the group that?s going to try. And that?s one of the key things we have to ascertain and in my mind we have to ascertain that in the next 10 days to decide who the second and third and fourth receiver is and the fifth receiver can continue to battle. We need to get some guys on the same page as the quarterbacks and at this point that?s kind of up in the air. But I do feel good about the people that are going to be competing for those spots.?
Offensive Players
#3 Andre? Woodson, Junior Quarterback
On his off-season improvements?
?I think it is just the attitude that I have had. I?ve gotten more focused and I?ve gotten more serious. I?ve been taking extra hours just to push myself to be where I need to be. That?s what it?s all about ? that?s what (the coaching staff) has been telling me since spring ball. I needed something to open my eyes to see that I need to push myself to work a lot harder if I want to be the quarterback. They have done a great job and I think I have responded. All I can do is to keep pushing myself.?
On the confidence that the coaching staff has in Woodson?
?I think it?s a good thing now that they know that I can do what they expect. I think it has really helped me out. I just need to push myself through camp and hopefully come out with the starting job.?
On the key to winning the starting quarterback job?
?I would say the main thing is to just keep doing what I?ve been doing this off-season. I?ve tried to do a good job of being a leader and being out there setting an example. I think if I keep playing the way I have this off-season, things will fall into place.?
#15 Curtis Pulley, Sophomore Quarterback
On battling Andre? Woodson for the starting quarterback nod?
?We?re friends on the field because we know we are still friends off the field. We both try to come out here and work as hard as we can to try to get better. Whoever wins the spot, the other person will be behind them 100 percent. We still both want to start, but we know that we are both going to play and want to come out here and play hard.?
On starting fall practice?
?I think everybody is ready to get out on the field and work hard in the weight room as well. We?re ready to start practice and work as hard as we can.?
#72 Michael Aitcheson, Senior Offensive Guard
On switching from left guard to the right-guard position?
?I kind of played spot duty at right guard last year, so you just have to be ready when they call your number to play any position. It shouldn?t be a tough one, though, because I played right guard in the spring.?
On the mindset of the team heading into the season?
?Definitely, there is a lot of confidence on the team. There?s a lot of camaraderie, excitement and energy. Guys are hungry. It started in the weight room. A lot of guys got stronger. Our team, from a holistic standpoint, got stronger. We?re just ready to go out there and make a change.?
#22 Rafael Little, Junior Tailback
On whether the running backs will be a strength on the team this season?
?I think it will be because we?re all used to each other. This is my third year playing with these guys. It should be a good position for us.?
On what he expects out of the team this year?
?We expect to win more games than we did last year. We want to keep getting better and get to a bowl game.?
Defensive Players
#63 Ricky Abren, Junior Defensive Lineman
On reporting to camp ?
?This is the fun part of the game. Getting together and having the chance to go out and play football.?
On recovering from injury ?
?I am ready. I want to get back and perform well. I had an unfortunate injury about this time last year and I am ready to come out and show what I can do to help the team.?
On what he expects from the 2006 team ?
?Well, I am not real big on predictions so I can?t tell you how many games we are going to win but I am confident in the players here and the coaching staff to prepare us to succeed.?
On what defensive-line position he sees himself playing in 2006 ?
?I will probably see a little more action at defensive tackle than defensive end. We got a good crop of young guys who need to develop more and contribute to the defensive line. I am eager to get out there and help this team win some games.?
#16 Wesley Woodyard, Junior Linebacker
On preparing for the Louisville game ?
?We have to prepare well and be ready to play. If you listen to the media, there is no reason for us to even show up. They have two Heisman candidates and are receiving a lot of national attention.
?We just need to prepare our best and enter the game with the mindset that it is just like any other game on our schedule; Florida, Georgia, Texas State, Ole Miss, they are all equally important to us and we have to prepare to be successful.?
On playing in front of a national audience on ESPN against Louisville ?
?Oh yeah, that is pretty exciting. Anytime you get to play on national television it is exciting. Any chance you get to showcase your skills in that setting it is a good thing. We just need to play hard and execute what we need to.?
#2 Marcus McClinton, Sophomore Free Safety
On coming back from injury ?
?It is a very hard recovery process. It is really a big mental thing, getting back out on the field again. At first I was kind of limping around until I realized that my knee was good. I started running around like usual and felt like my old self.?
On the upcoming season ?
?I am excited to get back on the field with these guys and compete. It is good to be back on the field and I am pumped up for a good season.?
