Dec. 14, 2009

LEXINGTON, Ky. – After practicing Monday morning at the Nutter Field House, the Kentucky football team will concentrate on final examinations this week while the coaches return to the recruiting trail.

Coach Rich Brooks reported that quarterback Mike Hartline had some swelling in his knee after practicing Saturday and Sunday, so he sat out of Monday’s practice.

“We’ll have to judge his availability next week when we have four days in a row (Dec. 18-21) and see if that knee settles down or not,” Brooks said.  “That’s the first two days of really good (football) activity he’s had, even though he’d been going through treadmill, swim-ex, stairmaster and all that without any setbacks.  This is the first setback we’ve had and we’ll see if it settles down or whether it will flare up again next week.” 

Except for a brief appearance in the Vanderbilt game, Hartline has been out of action since incurring a knee injury at South Carolina on Oct. 10.

Kentucky takes on Clemson in the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl on Sun. Dec. 27 at 8:30 p.m. EST at LP Field in Nashville, Tenn.