Successful Juco Class Could be a Key to the Season

This could be the most successful Juco class of football players that UK has had since they have been tapping into the ranks. They are being counted on by many to bolster us on the defensive side of the ball, as well as at the WR spot. Both Chris Matthews and DeQuin Evans are in the Top 20 of all Juco’s and Crawford ranks in the Top 100. Here is a rundown of the kids.

2009- 2-4 Stars From the JUCO RANKS!

Chris Matthews WR 6-5 210 4 STAR ****
Mark Crawford DT 6-1 305 3 STAR ***
DeQuin Evans DE 6-2 275 4 STAR ****

 
Chris Matthews is the highest rated juco signed by UK this year and perhaps ever. He has a measured skill set that exceeds anything we’ve seen in the Juco Ranks for some time. I don’t think it will take a long time for him to develop, since unlike Stevie Johnson, he is not coming into a great receiving corps to start the season.

Has great hands, and just outruns people catching the football. He is going to make the UK QB job much easier. Caught 80 balls last year and is the second rated Juco WR by Rivals, behind Halo Carpenter…., AND, from a raw athletic standpoint…, How many 6’5 210lb receivers will UK have this year who run 4.4 forties?

My hunch is that Matthews locks down one wide spot, and will be very good in short order. Randall Cobb will play the slot, and the other WR spot goes to Lanxter.

We received an interesting quote  from Los Angeles Harbor College Coach Brett Peabody about Chris, “Chris is probably the best junior-college wide receiver in the country,” Peabody said. “He lives up to the saying that ‘big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games.’ He can beat you short, he can beat you deep, he can beat you across the middle.”

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Mark Crawford was one of the nation’s top 100 junior college prospects at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College after making 41 tackles and getting 6.5 quarterback sacks last year. He only played two years of high school football in Indianapolis, one reason he redshirted his first year at Coffeyville. Certainly UK is not taking this Juco out of desperation like they were a few years ago when they were coming through the probation.

By all accounts Crawford is looking good and making strides at the DT position: “I am adjusting real well. It is a new experience with coach Petri teaching me how to play better and teaching me stuff I never knew in junior high or high school.”

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 DeQuin Evans: Defensive Ends are sorely needed, a known fact, and “DE”, as I’ll be calling Dequin Evans, needs to hit the ground running. Watch him on film and you see what amounts to a man among boys. Now granted that wasn’t SEC competition, but the film says a lot about what type of player we are getting. Simply stated, I don’t think we have seen a Defensive Juco player who looked any better than DE did on film.

Making up the loss of a Jeremy Jarmon may be a daunting task,  therefore this makes it even more important that someone from our stable of players at the Defensive End position step up and make a big splash there. DE  has all the tools. Evans (6-2, 275) is rated the No. 15 junior college prospect in the nation by Rivals.com, as well as one of our 4 Star athletes. He was a teammate of Chris Matthews. Did I mention he ran a 4.6 forty according to Scout…That is truly smoking for a man his size! GBB!!!

Jarmon Picked in Third Round

The Washington Redskins selected defensive lineman Jeremy Jarmon in the third round of Thursday’s supplemental draft.

Five teams put in fourth-round claims for the 6-foot-3, 278-pound defensive end, a source told ESPN.com’s John Clayton. The Redskins have five remaining draft choices in the 2010 draft. They are now without third- and sixth-round picks.

 Jarmon, the only player selected in the draft, is only the fourth supplemental choice on an active roster this year. The Chargers have two — defensive tackle Jamal Williams and safety Paul Oliver — and the Ravens have one — left tackle Jared Gaither. Jarmon is the first supplemental pick selected since 2007.

The Redskins needed to look for a young defensive end because they have too much age at the left end spot of their defensive line. Phillip Daniels is 36 and Renaldo Wynn is 34. The Redskins can develop Jarmon over the next year to take over the starting job and maybe help at defensive tackle on passing downs.

Vinny Cerrato, Washington’s executive vice president of football operations, was among a group of scouts who came to Lexington last week to watch Jarmon work out.

After drafting Jarmon on Thursday, Cerrato told Redskins.com that the 6-foot-3, 278-pounder was a bargain.

“He was a guy that the scouts really liked,” Cerrato said. “We graded him as a second-round pick.

“He’s a great kid. He’ll fit well in the locker room. He runs well. He’s making tremendous strides.”

Cerrato said he thinks Jarmon would have been a second-round pick in next year’s draft had he been able to stay at Kentucky and play his senior year.

“He’s basically a year ahead of where he would be if he’d come out next year,” Cerrato said.

“He can develop at his pace. He’s very athletic, but he needs strength. He benched 19 times. He needs to be doing that 30 times.”

Jarmon left Kentucky after he was declared ineligible for his senior year because of a failed drug test in which he tested positive for a banned diuretic supplement.

He fits perfectly in a 4-3 defense. He can play end or tackle.

Jarmon took the supplement while recovering from a shoulder injury and was not taking part in activities. He had been taking the supplement for 15 days before checking with the training staff, who told him to stop taking it.

“But it was too late,” Jarmon said, reading from a prepared statement in May.

Jarmon said his goal in the offseason was to become leaner. He bought a dietary supplement while shopping for vitamins on the recommendation of a worker at a nutrition store, not knowing that it contained a banned substance.

“I do not need to cheat to be successful,” he said.

Jarmon has the third-most sacks in Kentucky history. He was an honorable mention on last season’s AP All-Southeastern Conference team.

http://www.kentucky.com/817/story/864626.html

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4332087

UK BIG 7 set to make Waves This Year in SEC Football

Here are 7 players that methinks might be difference makers for this year’s UK squad, in no particular order, except for the #1 slot. I’m sure you have your own 7, more or less, so feel free to add or subtract….:)

7. Danny Trevathan: From his coach Chuck Smith, “Trevathan is athletic, fast, and physical. He looks to be a future star. He’s not started a game yet, but once he gets a taste of SEC play and progresses like I think he will, he has a chance to be one of the great linebackers at Kentucky.” Danny runs very fast and hits very hard, two attributes that a LB must have. Danny returned a kick 31 yards in Spring Game…A linebacker!

6. Winston Guy: A physical specimen who said that he really did not understand what it took to be an SEC type player when he arrived on campus last fall. Rich Brooks has called Guy the most talented defensive back he’s signed at Kentucky. Guy looked the part this spring at free safety. He is doing the work now and the possibilities are there for him to be one of the “Greats” at UK before he is done. Has that rare combination of size, 200+ lbs, and speed 4.4 forty… Back at his natural position at Safety he should make big waves this year.

5. Micah Johnson: Micah was Coach Brooks first high-profile recruit at UK. A bigger hitter at the middle spot you will not find. Just a man-child waiting for his draft numbers to go up. Had 11 tackles in the spring game.

4. Chris Matthews: Some of us like the outrageous numbers he has put up, not only catching a football, but his raw athletic ability. Has great hands, and just outruns people catching the football. He is going to make the UK QB job much easier. Caught 80 balls last year and is the second rated Juco WR by Rivals, behind Halo Carpenter…., AND, from a raw athletic standpoint…, How many 6’5 210lb receivers will UK have this year who run 4.4 forties? Nuff Said.

3. Dequin Evans: I had Jeremy Jarmon here, before it has been ruled that he is ineligible to play this year. This makes it even more important that someone from our stable of players at the Defensive End postion step up and make a big splash at that spot. Dequin has all the tools. Evans (6-2, 275) is rated the No. 15 junior college prospect in the nation by Rivals.com as well as one of our 4 Star athletes. He was a teammate of Chris Matthews. Did I mention he ran a 4.6 forty according to Scout…That is truly smoking for a man his size!

2. Randall Cobb: Talk about Mr. Everything, what can you say about him that has not been said? Joker says “If he is on the bus, you got a chance”. Look for him to excite the fans once again this year, as we break out the “Wildcat Package” and snap a few balls toward Randall. Remember he has a gun for a left arm, and out there in the flats he can see exactly where he is throwing.

1. Trevard Lindley: The quiet man. He lets his game speak for itself. Probably would have been selected before Jeremy and Micah in the NFL draft, he choose to come back for his senior season. Coach Rich Brooks says he is one that you can just “leave on an island” out in coverage and not worry about him.

Will UK’s Defense Rise to the Occasion Without Jarmon?

The Bad News. UK really could not afford to lose Jeremy Jarmon at his DE position…Now we have no one with experience at his position. We could ill afford to lose him. Someone is going to have to step up big time…. The dbs are going to be tested severely if the player(s) replacing Jarmon don’t perform. If the pass rush is not there, then the opposing QB can pick us apart in the secondary. We don’t have a single player that has made a tackle at that Defensive End position. That is the bad news.

The good news is we have several young kids that have an opportunity to step up and play. I’m thinking Dequin Evans and Chandler Burden in the fall… We’ve lost Paris, Minton, Stafford, and now Jarmon for various reasons the last couple of years at that Defensive End position.

This just means somebody/everybody HAS to step up that is already on the roster at the DE position, (Ukwu, Wyndham, Burden, Evans, Rumph etc.) There won’t be a size drop-off or manhandling Chandler Burden, at 6’4 295, or Evans the 4-star JUCO at 275lb, but will they bring the speed and talent that Jarmon did?

UK 73 UA 64

1:41 That is a time to remember. That is the time left on the clock in the first half when the one and only moving pick call was made on UA. And that simply amazes me. I hardly ever complain about how a game is called, but the moving picks from UA were so blatant and across the board that I am floored three grown men standing on the floor couldn’t see it. They weren’t the lean in kind. They weren’t the get there late and not be set up kind. They were the wait till the offensive player who is using the scree goes by then play offensive lineman by continuing to move your feet to stay in front of a guy type. Some coaches teach it I guess because UA performed it to perfection and only got dinged once for it. Alrighty, I spoke my piece on it, I am done..

As for UK, the bodies showed up but they left their heads somewhere else. It was across the board, aside for maybe Stevenson. Porter, Meeks, Harris and Patterson were equally inept, to go along with the typical ineptness of Liggins. I actually liked Miller in this game, but his D just isn’t where it needs to be. Of course I am sure the boards will be filled with Porter hate, and probably some Harris hate as all those who said neither would ever amount to much and wish to be “right” get to blow their horns. I think there should be a rule that if you can’t acknowledge when a kid does good things, then you can’t bang on them when they screw up, so people should be glad I’m not the one making up the rules. BUT, I have been in Porter and Harris’ corner all along (I’m actually in every cat’s corner) so I get to bust them good. It starts with Porter, who had his head firmly planted up somewhere else. One of his intangibles of late has been to supply the steadying force on the floor. That went way out the window last night. Harris followed suit and looked like it was the first time he’s ever stepped on a college floor. Patterson and Meeks were just as bad, but when your role is to score, people tend to give you a break. Not me. Those two deserve to run the stairs until they fall down. If you wish to be the corner stones of this team, you must take more than your share when you don’t bring it like you should. People worried the Georgia game could have been a trap game. turns out, it was UA.

Turnovers, turnovers turnovers. They continue to plague this team. And the UA game showed the worst kind which are the fumble, bumble not trying to do the right thing kind. Its one thing to make a bad pass when you are trying to run a set. Stuff happens. But its quite another thing to just drop the ball in traffic, throw it somewhere no one expects you to throw it, or dribble off your own leg. This team can be very good, but they have got to learn how to value the ball. And I am not giving UA credit for those turnovers. It was all on the Cats.

So what did go right? Stevenson. Easily my player of the game. Yeah, Meeks got 31 and Patterson got 21 and 18. But Stevenson was the only one that I thought was actually into the game. Stevenson had some turnovers as well, but three of them should not have been called. Most probably did not even notice his game. He had to guard both at the basket and away from the basket. He had to usually guard a smaller guy, which typically means a quicker guy. Not when you are talking Stevenson. That could be a major match up problem for other teams. But it becomes a match up problem in favor of UK when Stevenson is on the floor because UK makes you pay by taking full advantage of Stevenson’s length. That, to me, was the difference in UK being 4-0 or being 3-1 in the SEC.

Liggins. If Porter played so poorly, and he certainly did, why did Liggins not get more time? Because he played much worse. His problems continue on the defensive end, and they start with those picks. Not just in this game, but in every game save three. Players usually note a pick and either fight high or low, depended on what D is called. Liggins is like a fly to fly paper when it comes to screens. He is tractor beamed right into the middle of the screen and sticks to it like glue, leaving the other defender to have to decide at the time make a switch that is only supposed to happen for a split second. Instead, Liggins is STILL stuck to the screen. That could very well be the one and only reason he doesn’t get more time. That and he seems to think you aren’t doing anything if you aren’t jacking up shots even if they are not in the flow and you shouldn’t be taking them. He’s staying in front better now, but he has got to figure out how to handle screens properly. And he has got to understand that his primary job should be to make others better on the floor. And stop jacking up 17 % shots.

All in all, I guess this is one more sign that this team is, in fact, getting better. In the recent past, the margin for error was so slim that to play as they did last night would have been a double digit loss to a lesser team than UA. As it is, it was a nine point W and the game wasn’t really in doubt coming down the stretch. And I never really felt like the game was ever in doubt in the first place. But the Cats will not be able to get away with this type of an effort come Saturday.

UK 71 UL 74

In the end, it came down to one shot. UL was in the position to take the shot, and Sosa was able to hit the shot. That was probably the only thing that separates this UK team from this UL team at this point in the season.

Along the way, UK had many chances to either prove they were better or show they were not. And through the game, UK did its best at to prove both and Meeks is the finest of examples. His start to the game was nothing short of horrid. He was pressing too much and you could tell his mind was racing 90 miles a minute. He has GOT to find a way to calm himself down in these bigger games. UK just isn’t the type of team that can recover from a hole of the likes that Meeks put UK in at the start. To UK and Meeks credit, they did fight, scratch and claw to within 3 at the half, only to allow UL to punch them in the mouth at the start of the second half. Again, to their credit, UK fought and clawed to a draw at the 2-3 second mark.

So what did we learn from this game? First, this team will not give up. Next, Porter really is proving to be the leader of this team. He handled the pressure with ease on his way to a zero turn over day while also adding 8 points. You would like to see his assist total up more, but you could also easily credit UL for taking away the assist areas and making UK’s scorers get theirs on their own. The one mistake Porter made on the day was by far the biggest. You simply do not give a guy with the ball room when the clock is under five seconds. You just do not do it. We learned that UK’s frosh are still not quite ready for prime time. Liggins continues to remind me of jet the reindeer in Santa Claus II. Miller continues to think too much. Harrelson fell down big time in this game and Stewart continued to improve in very limited action. Galloway might be the biggest mystery, but the answer to why he only saw four minutes may be at the defensive end. While it was great getting major minutes from Harris again, he certainly didn’t tear it up on either end himself. As for offense, it looks like Patterson and Meeks will be carrying this team just like Bradley and Crawford carried UK last year down the stretch. And I think that will be enough if UK can shore up its defense, which I think still has the most room for improvement.

Now, it’s on to the most important part of the season. Every game now has season defining implications and UK will need to bring it every game. And I think UK is ready. Last year at this time, I didn’t think they were even close to ready. So with that said, I think this team is light years ahead of where they were at this time last year. IF they can improve as much as they did from this point forward last year, things could be getting in the real special area very soon.

UK 67 UM 73

POP. That was the sound of UM doing to UK what Porter and Harris did to each other out in Vegas. UM hit UK hard and UK never knew what hit them. UM could do whatever it wanted early and get whatever shot they wanted, and UK had to settle for whatever shot UM allowed them to take. Hindsight is a coach’s worst enemy, especially after a tough loss. Should he start two freshmen? I’m not saying because I don’t know. I do know the one he did start was so lost coming out of the gate that there were times he didn’t even know who he was supposed to be guarding through the entire possessions back to back. Not once, but twice. In a row. So does a coach double that risk at the start of a game? Hindsight says yes. Hindsight is always right because it can never be proven wrong.

In my view, two things stand out more than anything else. Harris would have been where he was supposed to be and Miller did not get the luxury of seeing it done first as he usually does. Each game is a brand new set of circumstances and variables. Guys were totally out of sync because of having to give help at times they were not supposed to have to give help and Porter was having to guard a guy he had no business guarding. It took a half, and some adjustments, but UK finally did get in sync on the defensive end. Too little too late? I say no. Even with getting popped from the start and being out of sync, UK could have easily withstood the UM pop if it had done the second thing, and that is to shoot a decent percentage, especially from the outside. Meeks had a horrid offensive game. If the normal percentage of his outside shots go down, it opens up several other things and UK may have never dug a hole anywhere near what it did. Meeks needs to understand one thing. This team needs him and he needs to rise up and meet the challenge. That is what winners do. That is what UK does.

This was a tough loss. UK was as good as UM if not maybe even a little better. UM was more experienced and this time experience won out. So is their anything good that can be taken from this loss? I think so! UK will not be this inexperienced in a few more games. The upside for UK is huge. Soon it will not be a question of putting two frosh out there at the start if needed. They will be semi sophs. One of them, Liggins, is growing up right before our eyes and you have to love the kid’s heart. UK never gave up and did fight back. No ifs about it. But UK could have easily came all the way back and could have easily won this game IF they hit their shots late, even after not hitting them early. The kids need to understand that just because you didn’t hit your shots in the possessions before, it doesn’t mean you can’t hit them in the possessions coming up.

So where does UK go from here? Well, I think the very best thing to do is to get back in the saddle and do it again. And that is just what UK will do today. I think this back to back game set is a great idea. Plus UK will have little time to think about the UM loss. It will hopefully be a game where UK can put hindsight in the rear view mirror.