Sept. 6, 2008
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Rich Brooks, Kentucky Head Coach
Opening statement …
“BraxtonKelley banged his shoulder but went back in. Moncell [Allen] pulled a musclein his right foot on that last run he made down the sideline – I don’t thinkit is serious, I don’t think anything is serious on the injuries – two gamesin a row, other then GarryWilliams, which we found out later in the week.
“Obviously we started off slow offensively, we just didn’t have the energy we started with last week. The defense I thought came out and dominated in the second half, the way I hoped we would start the game. We gave up only three points off of two turnovers deep in our territory, an outstanding effort by our defensive team. Our offense struggled to get going, they did get going. Randall Cobb, when we made that substitution, gave us a real spark running the ball with some speed and athletic ability. He did turn the ball over two times.
“I am going to get this off my chest. I am sick to my stomach that our fans in Commonwealth Stadium would boo Mike Hartline when he came out to start the second half. There is no place for that in our stadium. Those two young men are both inexperienced quarterbacks and they are both going to play as we move forward, we need them both. We will put the players on the field to win games, but we don’t need booing our own players in Commonwealth Stadium, that just makes me sick to my stomach.
“Now that I got that off my chest, I thought our running backs started to run well. The Norfolk State defensive front gave us some problems. We turned some people loose into our backfield on occasion, because they do so many different things. This was such good experience for our younger players, our young linemen. Billy Joe Murphy started his first collegiate game, and he acquitted himself very well on that left side at left tackle. We got a lot of players in the game late and got some experience. What we need to do to move forward and keep this team fresh and hopefully get better. It is my understanding that Middle Tennessee is leading Maryland and we know what Middle Tennessee did last year in Louisville, running up all those yards. I think this is going to be a very good test for us at Commonwealth.”
On the play of the offensive unit …
“We had planed to put him in either late in the first quarter or early in thesecond quarter. As it turned out it was late first quarter. Unfortunately, westarted out the very first possession with a procedure penalty on T.C.Drake. The second series, Mike [Hartline] had the ball fall out of his hands,so two negative plays. At this point in time, we are not in synch on offense.We are still overcoming a lot of mistakes and we need to be perfect and not putourselves in negative down and distance situations and we still need to do abetter job getting our running game going. Our running game looks good on paperat the end but it wasn’t good when it needed to be early in the game. We havesome work to do still but we have a lot of backs that got in there today. Wedidn’t play Tony [Dixon] too much because he had some strains that were botheringhim from the first game. I thought Alfonso, DerrickLocke and Moncell Allen did some really good things in there. Moncell isa load when he gets it going but he can still be in better shape and we willcontinue to work on that.”
On the fans enjoying defense …
“Well yeah, I hope our fans are starting to enjoy defense. I know they weren’tlast week because they were calling on the show telling me what to do with offense.You win in the SEC with defense. You look at Auburn today and they were sputteringon offense but their defense didn’t let anything happen. The good teams in theSEC, that win a lot of games, have a good defense. We have never had a reallygood defense while I have been here – we are not there but we are headed in thatdirection. Not giving up big chunks of yardage the defense has a chance to moveforward. Another significant first in UK football history with no touchdownsscored in two straight games.”
On the play of Randall Cobb …
“I thought Randall for the most part handled himself very well. I think the fumblewasn’t totally his fault because we turned someone loose on his blindside. Hehas to understand at this level we do not have that kind of time. I didn’t likehis throw on the interception; in college defenses react well to the deep throwon the sideline. He threw some really good passes and Dicky [Lyons Jr.] madea really nice play in the end zone, a huge play.”
Mike Hartline, Kentucky Quarterback #5
On sharing quarterback time with freshman Randall Cobb …
“We knew before that game that Randall (Cobb) was going to get some snaps atquarterback. It was the same thing between us as it was between me and Curtis(Pulley). He (Coach Brooks) didn’t care who played, he just wanted us to getin there and win some football games. That’s what we’re doing. Even though I’mconfident that I can pull the ball down and run, Cobb does it a lot better. Ifwe need someone in there to run the ball or mix it up then Cobb is our guy.”
On fans booing …
“I ran out there and just had to take care of my business. Whatever the fanswant to do, they can do. Booing me or the whole team, we still have to go outthere and do our best. You can’t do anything about fans. You just have to goout there and win football games.”
On how he played during the game …
“I thought it was fine. I just wanted to improve a little bit and take care ofthe football. You have to give a lot of credit to Randall (Cobb) today. He hada great game. I want to get my snaps and play my time and the coaches know thatbut Cobb just gives the offense a different look. He’s a great player and we’regoing to continue to mix it up that way. As long as we’re winning football games,it doesn’t matter who is playing.”
On being friends with Randall Cobb off the field …
“There can’t be any grudges right now no matter who’s playing or who’s youngeror if someone’s playing more. You can’t do that. You have to compare what youcan do on the field. He has better attributes than I have and I have better attributesthan him. The coaches balance that out. It doesn’t matter who’s out there aslong as you play hard.”
Dicky Lyons Jr. Kentucky Wide Receiver #12
On playing with Mike Hartline and Randall Cobb …
“Everyday in practice Randall (Cobb) gets his reps and Mike (Hartline) gets hisreps. Coach has a play book and has plays for Cobb and some plays for Hartline.We’ve been practicing with both of them so it was no surprise that Cobb was goingto come in and finish at quarterback. Hartline does a great job.”
On the fans booing Mike Hartline …
“I was upset because it was like they forgot that he just won us the Governor’sCup. He did a great job for his first starting game. There was a lot of pressureon Mike Hartline and he did a great job. He won Offensive Player of the Gamelast week. You couldn’t ask more from a first start sophomore quarterback. He’sdoing a great job. We knew he was going back in the game so I was a little upsetwhen the fans booed. If you’re going to support us, then support the coach’sdecision.”
Jeremy Jarmon, Kentucky Defensive End #99
On Kentucky ‘s defense…
“In the off-season, we knew we had the chance to be special. In the past twogames we’ve given up five points. If it had not been for a few mistakes thatcould have been zero points.”
On what the defense is doing correctly…
“We need to keep practicing hard, building on our game and getting on specialteams. We could have blocked a field goal today, but I don’t think we tried hardlike we did against Louisville . The defense needs to keep building on the smallthings. We all need to remember that we don’t have to get a sack or interceptionon every play, but do our job.”
On Kentucky ‘s offense…
“The defense has been raising the offense. The offense still needs to find theiridentification. They have three weeks to find it before SEC play. Not to saythat non-conference play isn’t important, but it won’t get us to the SEC Championship.”
Tim Masthay, Kentucky Kicker/Punter #44
On Kentucky ‘s special teams…
“I believe we are progressing and getting stronger and I have a lot of confidencein the 10 guys on the field with me. Our coaches are keeping us progressing,getting us stronger and keeping us fresh.”
On the kicking team providing good field position…
“The field position has helped the whole team gain an edge on the opponents.We all need to get better and do our job. I need to keep giving the defense longfield position because that’s my job.”
On the new kickoff position rule…
“The line rule change has probably provided a lot better returns. I think it’san asset for us and other teams.”
Trevard Lindley, Kentucky Cornerback #32
On the intensity of the defense…
“The defense has definitely picked up its intensity and we are getting a lot better. The offense is young and the defense needs to step it up to get the play going.”
On the play of the defense throughout the season…
“I think we are going to have a good season. We just need to make sure we keep the yards and scoring low. We get a lot more confidence as play goes on, we just need to keep on playing.”
On handling Norfolk State …
” Norfolk State ‘s speed was a good task for us to handle. They shocked us alittle bit on the first drive because they ran it and threw it long. But, westuck to our plan and tried to keep the quarterback from running.”
Randall Cobb, Kentucky Quarterback/Wide Receiver #18
On his first time playing quarterback at the collegiate level …
“It was a great feeling especially being at home with a bunch of fans cheering.Mike [Hartline] is a great quarterback. We both did some good things and somebad things. We have a lot of work we need to do. I expect Mike to be in therestarting next week.”
On Mike Hartline being the first to congratulate him on his first touchdown …
“That is what it has to be like. If we are going to rotate we have to be togetherat all times through our ups and downs. We still have to be together. It wastough on me to hear the crowd’s reaction to him in the second half because Mikeand I have great chemistry. That hurt me more than it hurt him.”
On what happened with the interception …
“I made a bad read. I tried to force the ball in there and you can’t do that.Those small turnovers can turn into huge points sometimes.”
On being aware of mistakes …
“I made a lot of mistakes in this game but I had my teammates there to pick meup. Dicky [Lyons Jr.] made some big plays when I made mistakes. Our young receiversmade some big plays. Our running backs made something out of nothing. As an offensewe did a lot better this week.”
Billy Joe Murphy, Kentucky Offensive Tackle #52
On describing himself as a player …
“I have a lot of work to do. With my knowledge I still have some straighteningup to do. The offense starts to get complicated sometimes. I have a lot of workto do mentally and strength-wise.”
Micah Johnson, Kentucky Linebacker #4
On making defensive improvements …
“There is a lot of room for improvement. Mostly the little things like gettingrid of false steps, staying in the right gaps, and having no broken assignments.We can continue to get better at a lot of things.”
On not giving up any touchdowns …
“That is big for us. We need to continue to improve. That is what we are tryingto do; continue to keep working hard.”
On the defense becoming dominate …
“It feels good to know that a lot of hard work is paying off. It feels good tocome out as players and dominate. We made the proper adjustments in the secondhalf. We did not make any mental mistakes.”
On how good the defense can be …
“We could be one of the top defenses in the SEC and the nation if we continueto work hard and we have the players to do that.”
Braxton Kelley, Kentucky Linebacker #56
On not giving up a touchdown …
“It is really special. I feel like as a defense everybody is on the same pageright now. As long as we continue to make plays and show up to play every weekwe will begin to dominate.”
Alfonso Smith, Kentucky Tailback #29
On looking forward to the rest of the season …
“We try to win all the games at home first and then try to get ready for theSEC.”
On his satisfaction with his playing time …
“I am happy with it. We have great running backs so I cannot be selfish. I amwaiting my turn and when I get in there I try to make something happen and makethe best of it.”
Pete Adrian, Norfolk St. Head Coach
On the difference between this year’s team and last year…
“I am more discouraged, because we broke three defenses in the first half. We had a failed glitch ball and there wasn’t any coverage and we got a little tired in the fourth quarter, but it’s a great experience to come down here and get into it. Like I said, this is a good trial game for us before we get into the conference season. There were a lot of positive things can do, but our offense needs to score some touchdowns. I don’t care who we’re playing against, our offense needs to do a better job than that.”
On their opening kickoff…
“We noticed that their kickoff team was up and we had a 30-yard gap between their people. I wanted to kick the ball deep to the returning guys. We wanted to kick it up over the linemen and watch the ball roll and that’s what we did in practice. We might have had a chance to get it or at least a return. Same thing with the first seven yards, the kicker didn’t really kick the ball and that’s his first punt of his career.”
On the quarterback, Dennis Brown…
“I think our protection in the second half certainly wasn’t as good. In the secondhalf No. 99 (Jarmon) was blowing off the ball before we could even get back thereand that’s a tough situation to make up, certainly when they start coming afteryou.”
On using the passing game rather than the running game…
“We never could run inside. They are too big and physical inside so we tried to get the ball outside with the short pass. I think we need to stick to the plan a little more. With the pass defense, we’re like everybody else. We can either be two-deep or three-deep. We have to call the plays to beat the coverages. It’s a lot easier to do that than try to move those two big guys inside. I mean, we had some success with moving the two big guys inside to switch it up, but we knew that that could not be the game plan.”
On WR Jeremy Wicker…
“He gave us some light stretches the first half and he could run with that, but I’d like to see him finish the drives. Same thing with our interception by Josh Anderson. He could have walked into the end zone. I’m not so sure that Terrell was out of bounds, but that was a nice pick.”
On the kicking game…
“We really have a good field goal kicker. He just happened to miss two tonight. He’s capable of doing better than that. We all know that kickers have their ups and downs. Hopefully he’ll be alright next week because he was an all-conference kicker last year in our league and we have him practice 60 yards out. I think the last one he was more capable of making, but he didn’t get to get that hold on the ground.”
Jeremy Wicker, Norfolk St. Wide Receiver #17
On how the game went…
“You could tell that this team came out to play today. You saw who wanted to play and who didn’t want to play. That’s definitely the way I saw it coming out of the game. The way I see is we had chances to score and we didn’t.”
On the game…
“We are coming out to play every day. We’re trying to show everybody that we’re not just an average football team. I only had one catch the first game, and coming into this game in front of these people and this crowd and the team we’re playing, it always feels good knowing that you can play with these cornerbacks. It was loud playing here today though.”
Donte’ Hodge, Norfolk St. Linebacker #48
On playing Kentucky…
“I wouldn’t say we were anymore prepared today than we were a year ago when we played Rutgers. Kentucky was just as physical as Rutgers was but none of us wanted to come out and get 50-0 like we did a year ago up there. I felt like we started off pretty good but we have to learn how to finish.”
On when Randall Cobb came in…
“He is a little different but I don’t think it affected us too much. He made us rely more on our run defense instead of our pass defense. We knew he was a runner and we had to focus on that.
