Mike Smith : Demoreo Ford had a big play in the bowl game, so where does he fit in this year? Do you have any plans of involving him on Special teams maybe returning kicks?
Rich Brooks : DeMoreo had a huge catch and TD in the Music City Bowl and will be competing for playing time in a deep and talented wide receiving position. He could see some action, if needed, in the return game.
Curt : Will we be able to redshirt all our freshmen OL recruits?
Rich Brooks : I would expect one or two of our incoming linemen to possibly play some this fall. We will redshirt more of our freshman class than we have in past years.
Jerry Durbin : Coach Brooks, First I want to thank you for last year, especially for getting us to Nashville for the Music City Bowl. Our family had a wonderful time and we hope to have a chance at post season again this year. How is the Kicking game progressing. Thanks Coach, we are so thankful for you and the staff. GO CATS!
Rich Brooks : The kicking game returns all of its components except its snapper. We will have added competition on the punting and kicking with Ryan Tydlacka. The return game is in excellent shape. The kicking game could be a huge factor in our ability to win games this fall.
shane : will jordan nevels get any playing time this year hes a hard hitter and a play maker coach
Rich Brooks : Jordan had a good spring and if he continues to work hard he will get some playing time and be a factor for us this fall.
David Griffith : Coach congratulations on the awesome bowl win. My question is, do you think we have the pieces in palce for a special season with all the depth and experience coming back and a good chance of a New Year’s Day Bowl?
Rich Brooks : We certainly hope that we can compete for the SEC Championship and a New Years’ Day Bowl. To get there, we have to go through a very difficult schedule and beat teams that Kentucky hasn’t beaten in quite a few years.
Crazy ’bout the Cats : Hi coach. Will there be a depth problem along the off. & def. lines this fall? Will Jason Leger move back to DT to provide some depth at that position? Thanks and I can’t wait to see you all at Commonwealth Stadium this Fall!
Rich Brooks : Our depth will be better in both the offensive and defensive line than it has in the last couple years. Jason Leger will stay on the offensive side of the ball.
Steve R : Hi Coach. You have surrounded yourself with quality coaches. How many new coaches do we have this season? How do you pick them?
Rich Brooks : We have four new coaches this fall. Gerad Parker is our new graduate assistant on the offensive side and Dontae Wright is the defensive graduate assistant. We have a new running backs coach in Larry Brinson and a new secondary coach in David Lockwood. Steve Brown is not new to the staff but has the added responsibility of being the defensive coordinator this year. We also have given Randy Sanders the responsibility of being the new recruiting coordinator. Having been in the coaching profession as long as I have, I have a lot of contacts and information about coaches all around the country. I’ve been very fortunate to be able to attract top quality assistant coaches.
BigBlueCatFan : Good morning coach and congrats on wining the Music City bowl. How did the defense look this spring compared to last spring?
Rich Brooks : I felt that the defense played better this spring than it did a year ago. I look for continued improvement this fall.
Pam McCloud : Why isn’t there anything about the Womens Football Clinc on this website??? I love football, Go Cats!!
Rich Brooks : The women’s football clinic will be on July 28th. It’s something we look forward to doing. You can find more information .
Brian from Owensboro : Hi coach Brooks! Great job last year! It’s pretty obvious Andre is our QB this year. But if he gets injured and has to go out, what’s plan B? Also, is Curtis Pulley at UK this summer?
Rich Brooks : The backup quarterback position will be decided in fall camp between Hartline, Fidler and Lentz. Curtis Pulley will enroll during the fall semester and redshirt the upcoming season.
Smitty in Louisville : Congratulations on last season. When will the kick-off luncheon be held here in Louisville? Last year we got Ga. and Clemson. This year we want Lou. and Tn.
Rich Brooks : The kickoff luncheon in Louisville will be Wednesday, August 22nd.
Edward Green : can we beat louiville this year and what can you tell me about brandon jackson
Rich Brooks : We certainly need to play better against Louisville and hopefully get a victory. The rivalry has been one-sided the past four years and we need to take care of that in Commonwealth Stadium this season. We will need all the help we can get from our fans. Brandon Jackson will be enrolling in summer school next week and we’re looking forward to him joining our team.
: With so many players having spent multiple seasons under your tenure; Do you feel as if you have more “coaches” to instruct and guide players in the off-season? Can we expect this team to come-out of the gates a little faster because of this experience?
Rich Brooks : I would expect that the leadership on this team would be very interested in starting the season fast. When you want to go to bowls and contend for championships, you cannot afford slow starts.
: Who are your key leaders and what do you expect of those leaders during the Summer months?
Rich Brooks : We have more leaders on this football team than we’ve had in past years. People like Woodson, Burton, Tamme, Little, Woodyard, McClinton, and Kelley have taken great pride in being visible and vocal leaders. There are many more coming up through the younger players. bigbluecaleb : Coach Brooks, congrats on the great season. My first question, How many showed up for summer sessions and how many are competing in the 7 on 7 skellies? 2. How could someone obtain your (John Hancock) on some kind of uk merchandise? Thanks can’t wait until football season.
Rich Brooks : We have about 98% of our team enrolled in summer school, going through summer conditioning and working out on their own. Anyone who wants to get my John Hancock on something needs to show up at Fan Day in the fall.
bigblue22 : with the sucess in 06 and the bow win, and a harder schedule this year that has 8 home games and likes of florida, lsu and others, do you see the same results as last year for this years team. good luck and hope to go to another bowl game.
Rich Brooks : We understand the schedule is tougher and we have more home games this year. We also feel we have more talent returning than we’ve had in the previous four years. We clearly feel we are in a position to go to postseason play again and we’re hopeful it can be a very special season in Kentucky football.
Adam : There was a lot of concern last season about the defense’s ability to stop the run, which is a major factor in the SEC. Have you seen significant improvement this spring on defense?
Rich Brooks : I believe that our defense will be stronger this year as it was in four of the last five games of the 2006 season. We’ll be more experienced with better leadership and we’re looking forward to proving on the field that Kentucky’s defense will be vastly improved.
Jeff Harrison : How hungry are the players to reach a higher level of success than we had last year? Are they believing the hype that they can’t beat the big names or are they anxious to prove that they will?
Rich Brooks : I believe our players are motivated to carry forward the late season success of last year into establishing Kentucky as a major factor in the conference year in and year out. They are anxious and hungry to get going this year.
johnny keith : do u think we can win 10 games this season
Rich Brooks : I’m hopeful that we can win 10 games. I’m also hopeful that we can win ALL our games. We at least go into this season on a more level playing field with the rest of the league than in the past four years.
MIKE : HI,COACH..CAN WE EVER BEAT TN..IF SO IS THIS THE YEAR…GO BIG BLUE
Rich Brooks : I believe we’re capable of beating any team we play, but we obviously have to overcome the recent history in the Tennessee series. We were close last year – we just have to find a way to finish the job this year.
Chris(Lexington) : I think that the students should be moved into the endzone of the visiting team for the fourth quarter. This would give our defense extra motivation as they would be playing in the loudest part of the stadium with the game on the line!
Rich Brooks : If we can get the student section to make a lot of noise, the rest of the stadium will respond in kind and we won’t have to worry about the position of our students to disrupt our opponents’ signals. Let’s just be wild and crazy and have fun in Commonwealth this fall.
ukathletics.com : Thanks to Coach Brooks and to all the football coaches this spring for their participation in the live chats.
Rich Brooks : Let’s make Commonwealth Stadium the most difficult place in the SEC for visiting teams this fall. If we can match last season’s home record, the 2007 season will be a happy one for Cat fans.
