As Mike Hartline continues to recover from a knee injury that held him out of more than half of the season, it appears there won’t be much of a quarterback controversy as the Kentucky football teams begins its full-time preparation for the Gaylord Hotels Music Bowl on Dec. 27.Rich Brooks’ comments following Friday night’s practice at the Nutter Field House seemed to indicate that true freshman Morgan Newton, who has started seven games as Hartline’s replacement, will likely get the nod against Clemson.”I think we know who our quarterback is going to be right now because Mike Hartline hasn’t taken enough reps and done things, but we’re hopeful we can get him practicing far enough that his knee is well enough that he can go in and play at a high level,” Brooks said. “But right now with the amount of things that he’s taken, it’s very difficult to think that he’s going to come in and play like he did last year in the bowl game.”Brooks was asked if that meant Hartline will be used in a backup role.”He’s a backup option and could get some snaps,” Brooks said. “We’ll judge that as we move forward in the next six practices.”Hartline, who was in the midst of his second year starting before incurring the knee injury at South Carolina, took some snaps Friday night. The junior quarterback will be closely monitored to see how his knee responds. As is the case with most knee injuries, Hartline has been battling swelling in his knee.Should Newton start, it would be his eighth consecutive start. The first-year quarterback threw for 608 yards and five touchdowns on 62-of-112 passing, including two scores on the ground.

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