The 2007 Kentucky Football Kickoff Luncheon, presented by Kroger, was held before a sellout crowd of approximately 500 on Tuesday at the Radisson Plaza Hotel. Below are quotes from Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart and Coach Rich Brooks.
Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart
?It is really nice to come to a kickoff luncheon and see this place filled up. It is wonderful for people to be excited about Kentucky football again. We really appreciate the coaches and seniors who came here and believed four years ago that we could be in this spot. As we are sitting here talking about the season, we have had season ticket sales reaching heights that they haven?t gone to in a long time. If you don?t have season tickets you better hustle because there are very few left.
?I just want to take a moment to say thanks to No. 1 the fans and No. 2 the coaching staff, particularly Rich Brooks and what he has done. There were probably 50,000-plus Wildcat fans at the Music City Bowl and we really appreciate it ? it was unbelievable. I have been to a lot of bowl games before but never before have I seen a town just completely taken over by one color the way UK fans did to Nashville and that was very special. We are going to need all the fan support we can get this season.
?It has been a lot of fun this the summer watching all our young people grow. They are getting what they need to get done in the classroom and are doing things right and that is also a very good thing. I think that shows the mark of a very good group with excellent senior leadership. I told someone that it is not every day that you see the SEC preseason awards come out and see six UK players on it, which is a credit to this coaching staff and their ability to evaluate and recruit, which allowed us to have the chance to talk about having a lot of fun this season.?
Kentucky Head Coach Rich Brooks
Opening statement ?
?I have always looked forward to the opening of football season, the anticipation of the start of practice. When I lose that enthusiasm and excitement, then I need to go into retirement and get out of dodge, because it is truly one of the most exciting times of the year. You start the school year fresh, you start the football season fresh. We have some old faces and some new faces and the really exciting thing about this season is that some of the old faces are already way up in the annals of the Kentucky football record book and are ready to add to it.?
On the 2006 Music City Bowl Championship season, the most successful football season in 22 years, and the crowd at the bowl game ?
?I have never been prouder of a group of players then I was last year with the turnaround that they undertook, the way they finished the season. I have also never been as excited as I was when I walked out onto the field at the Music City Bowl and looked up at that crowd and saw at least 50,000 blue and white. The Cat Walk that day was inspirational for our football team and had a lot to do with the way we played on the field. The crowd and how they responded to us in the bowl game had a lot to do with the way we played.?
On the 2007 season ?
?We all need to make sure that we are all in the stadium for Eastern Kentucky. Let?s make sure we all show up for the Cat Walk and show this football team that we are excited about this season. We have the opportunity to do some things that haven?t been done in a long time. That was our theme last year and obviously the media recognized some of our players in the preseason, but they still put Kentucky on that familiar peg on the bottom of the heap in the SEC. Until we change the culture by beating teams we haven?t beaten in a while, that is where we will be perceived. I have one opinion that believes that we don?t belong there any longer, so we have to go out on the field and earn it and prove it.?
On the UK defense ?
?Defensively we need to make major strides if we want to accomplish the things we are striving for. We should be a much improved defense, like we were a much improved offense a year ago. We have great leadership returning to the defense side of the ball. I believe that 18 or 19 of the top 22 were freshmen or sophomores on the defensive side of the ball last year. I think we have some young stars emerging that will be impact players ? (defensive tackle) Rick Lumpkin, don?t forget that name. He is coming off a redshirt year for us. Jeremy Jarmon will take a major stride forward in his sophomore year. He was a pretty big player in the Tennessee game and the bowl game win against Clemson. The young corners have gained a lot of experience ? Paul Warford and Trevard Lindley. I am really looking forward to seeing that defense improve on the field.?
On the offense ?
?Offensively, we have a great opportunity to move forward with what turned out to be a very explosive offense. We have some work to do on the offensive line to identify which five guys we are going to line up, but I feel confident when it is all said and done that those guys will be as good a group as we have had since I have been here. We have some good, hardworking young men in that group, some experience, which will bode us well going into fall camp.?
On Kentucky?s special teams ?
?On special teams we return both kicker and punter ? who both need to do better and the anticipation is that they will. The return game is in excellent shape. The biggest rule change in college football is the moving of the kickoff back to the 30-yard line. I believe that it is going to have a major impact on college football. The scoring will be up because offenses will start closer to the goal line. It will quietly create some interesting scenarios, I just can?t imagine that people will sit back and kick the ball to Keenan Burton, Alfonso Smith, Rafael Little if we put him back there, Dicky Lyons, or whoever we send out there. I think you will see more pooch kicking against us, but the bottom line is that it will be a major rule change that will affect the outcome of games.?
On senior defensive tackle J.D. Craigman ?
?J.D. Craigman will move inside to the defensive tackle spot. He has probably put on about 25 pounds since the last part of last season. I don?t see him being ahead of Myron [Pryor] or Corey Peters but he will provide some good depth at that position and be a role player for us. I think he can do some good things and maybe he will flourish in it.?
On the offseason strength and conditioning program ?
?Marc Hill, our strength coach, thinks that this lineman group has been better then any lineman group he has had since he has been here. The skill group is better then any group he has had since he has been here. Their numbers are impressive and they do add to the overall numbers of the team. The strength levels, we have a few guys who need to get stronger, but by and large our strength numbers are good. What we have said we needed was more speed. When I got here we had one player who could run under a 4.5 40-yard dash. At pro timing day in March, we had 15 run under 4.5, with the fastest being Alfonso Smith at 4.28. The freshman group coming in will have more guys who can run under 4.5. Along with the continued improvement in depth and strength, I am impressed with the numbers we have posted in the weight room.?
