ESPN calls the tour a “carwash.” Kentucky football head
coach Joker Phillips found out why Tuesday.As if he was on a conveyor belt, Phillips went from stop to
stop on Tuesday at ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Conn., as a part of the
Southeastern Conference’s 12-coach visit. Phillips did a number of interviews
during a four-hour visit to “The Worldwide Leader in Sports.”Among the many appearances Phillips made, he was featured on
College Football Live, ESPNEWS Sportscenter, an ESPNU podcast with Ivan Maisel,
a live chat on ESPN.com and a Twitter.com chat. He also ran into former NFL great Eric Allen, Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware, current UK softball player and ESPN intern Brittany Cervantes, and former UK offensive lineman and ESPN intern Marcus Davis.The visit provided Phillips with a great opportunity to
market the Kentucky football program on a national level.To give you an idea of the type of day Phillips went through
and the people he met, I’ve posted a few of pictures below, some links and
an excerpt of his ESPN.com chat.
UK football coach Joker Phillips poses for a picture with some of the SEC’s football coaches at ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Conn.
Joker Phillips poses with former Heisman Trophy winner and ESPN college football analyst Andre Ware.
Jared (Kentucky)
Coach, at what position do you think we need a freshman to make an immediate
impact?
Kentucky’s Joker Phillips
PM)
Because of the production we lost at the WR position. That will be a
postition we’ll have to look at as a position to help us. AS well as the RB.
Those two will be a place where we’ll have to look long and hard for a freshman
to come in and help us.
Jared (Kentucky)
Who do you expect to push Raymond Sanders for the starting job at RB?
Kentucky’s Joker Phillips
PM)
Jonathan George had a good spring for us. He will be a guy that we’ll look to
replace. Brandon Gainer. Other guys had good springs. And we’ll be looking for
one or two of the freshmen to come in and play for us.
Kelly (Mars)
Coach, as a player and now a coach for Kentucky where do you think is the
toughest place in the SEC to play for a visiting opponent (except for UK)?
Kentucky’s Joker Phillips
PM)
All of them are tough. That’s the reason why the league is so tough. The
gameday atmospheres everywhere we play. It’s a tough place to play. You have to
prepare your team mentally and physically to play week in week out.
zach legg (kentucky)
what can we see out of your defense this year?
Kentucky’s Joker Phillips
PM)
We have changed our schemes. We have moved some personnel around. We will see
a different look. We will see a faster football team. We want to attack and be
aggressive. We want to create turnovers.
jerry (lexington)
Will Winston Guy be able to back up his tweets this year by making plays at
his new position?
Kentucky’s Joker Phillips
PM)
First of all, we think the change we made with Winston Guy from safety to OLB
rover position will help him make some plays. We think that he will benefit as
much as anyone in the changes we’ve made.
victor (monroe,louisiana)
coach phillips what can we look for in kentucky,s running game this year?
Kentucky’s Joker Phillips
PM)
To win in this league you have to be able to run the ball efficiently. We
were a good running team, we have to become a great running team this year. WE
feel like we have where it starts at and that’s up front. We have four of the
five returning guys on the line. That helps you run the ball efficiently, a
quality OL who have been together a while and understand the schemes. And you
need the backs that can find the daylight. We feel like we have those.
To view the entire chat, click here and scroll down to the bottom.
ESPNU Podcast
And finally, you can listen to a podcast interview with Joker Phillips by clicking here. Phillips starts at the 21-minute mark.
