Mike Hartline Starts The Season, But For How Long?

Mike Hartline has that experience and knows the playbook and there is no substitute for that. I’m all for him starting the season, and integrating the freshmen QB’s as they learn the system. The roster is better from size, speed, and skill standpoints.

Kentucky has two blue chip QB’s joining the program this year. What impact will they have on the ’09 season? Will Ryan Mossakowski redshirt and play baseball?

Will one of the Freshmen QB’s eventually transfer due to lack of playing time?

How long before Joker does what he did last year, and replaces Hartline with one of the Frosh, or does Hartline start all year? It’s impossible to say right now.

Which one of the newcomers, Newton, Moss, will be called upon should Joker make a change?

From watching the film of the newcomers, it is plain to see that either one of them can hit a receiver in full stride deep down the field. At some point in the season, just as happened last year, I think Joker will bring in one of the freshmen to try and stretch the field. He has a more experienced set of receivers this year, and a better offensive line. There is no fall off in the running back position with Smith, Locke and Turtle, and the fullback is one of the best in the business.

Once opposing defenses stack the LOS, and that becomes a problem for the offense, Joker will again call on another QB to loosen things up, and that QB will be Morgan Newton, IMO. He is the best athlete and can do everything, including hurt you with his legs, (4.5 forty), as well as his arm. Even if he calls on Ryan Mossakowski to run the offense, the “PRO STYLE” will not suffer, as his arm has been rated as the 2^nd strongest in the nation as a high schooler, and he can hit any receiver going down field. Let the best man win.  

Brooks to Retire? Waiting On Two Young QB’s ?

Who knows when Rich Brooks will retire? He certainly deserves to stick around a few years to reap the spoils of what he has wrought. He took a team on probation and build it into one that has been to 3 consecutive bowls. No small feat in UK football history. Now, we would all loved to have done more, but realistically the sheer numbers of great players it takes to play in the SEC was lacking. That is what Brooks, Joker and Co. have done…Built up the player base to be competitiive.

Now, I am seeing that on the recruiting trail. With the two big-armed freshmen coming in, and the amount of publicity that has had on the recruiting trail, we are seeing 4-Star players use one of their visits to come to UK…Once we get them here, from all accounts I have read both that the UK staff have a lasting impression on them, not to mention the state-of-the-art facilities.

Joker has divided the country finding recruits in states that we weren’t that strong in before. He is mostly responsible for making inroads into LaGrange Ga. where such great ones as Wesley and Braxton came from, as well as a couple this year. Joker is slowly building a great relationship in SC where we snagged Cartier Rice, Gene McCaskill, Matt Lenz, Taylor Wyndham and others

Joker and Chuck Smith snatched the best player out of the state of Indiana, the 4 Star QB, Morgan Newton, 6’5″ 220 4.5, and took the best running back in the state for good measure, Dakotah Tyler 200lb 4.4 forty…..Joker and the boys are definitely going after the great athletes, and they are getting some looks. Recruiting has gotten progressively better, and I think Rich Brooks wants to stick around a couple of years, to see how his freshmen QB’s do and beat UT and some others on our hit list…

“PRO DAY” NFL LOOKS IN ON WILDCATS

Wednesday morning at the annual “Pro Day” workout for professional scouts, the 2008-2009 UK Football Seniors put their talents on display…Nutter Field House was the site, and while there weren’t as many scouts there as there was last year when we had six seniors, there were representatives of 18 professional teams and the Kentucky Horsemen…

Myron Pryor is the highest ranked Wildcat on the board and he expects to go in the middle rounds or as early as the third round…HE was pleased with his drills… “I went up there focused and had a mind-set that I was better than anybody else out there,” he said. “The main thing I’m working on now is getting in shape. The rest of it I think I have pretty much down.”

University of Kentucky senior linebacker Braxton Kelley ran the 40-yard dash for NFL scouts, but the biggest story may be that senior running back, Alphonso Smith ran a 4.27 forty. Official times were suspect, since each Scout had his own stopwatch, but that is in keeping with some of the, “4.2 range of times”, that Smith has notched…The fastest graduating senior on the board was David Jones who posted a 4.34 forty time…

Rich Brooks said Jeremy Jarmon, Trevard Lindley, and Micah Johnson, all who tested NFL waters, along with junior defensive tackle Corey Peters, should give the Cats a strong 2009 draft class. Johnny Williams, Gary Williams, and Liberty Bowl Hero Ventrell Jenkins also worked out for the Pro Scouts.

Three of the Wildcat seniors Myron Pryor, Tim Masthay, and safety Marcus McClinton had been worked out previously by The Scouts in February at the official NFL combine. Those players joined in for the additional evaluation.

The NFL Draft is scheduled for April 25-26, and Rich Brooks thinks that the 2008 seniors will add to the success of the UK senior class of 2007. Seven senior Wildcats from the ’07 team were drafted or signed as free agents, six of whom made it onto a roster in the NFL.

Sims and Ridge commit to Cats

David Sims becomes the second player to commit to Kentucky since the win on Sunday.Projected to play running back for the Wildcats, Sims also held offers from Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Michigan, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Oregon, Colorado and South Carolina, among many others.

ESPN’s Billy Tucker said of the pledge, “Building off last year’s onfield success and exposure, the Wildcats are quietly putting together an impressive class as Sims is their 19th commitment and sixth positional prospect rated in the top-30 nationally.”
“While Sims has raw arm strength and good zip on the football, we project this productive dual-threat quarterback is being more recruited as an athlete with Morgan Newton (Carmel, Ind.) and Ryan Mossakowski (Frisco, Texas/Centennial) already on board. Either way, he will bring great versatility to the roster and is a great out-of-state pickup for Kentucky.”
“The second rated athlete in South Carolina this year is very a dynamic prospect with a ton of physical talent and legitimately has a chance to develop on either side of the ball in Lexington. Defensively, he is very instinctive as a high-point safety and has good range and ball skills. He could get a look at tailback on offense with his strong, compact body structure needed to earn YAC, quickness to make defenders miss through the hole, and great acceleration when he reaches the second level.”

Earlier in the week Kentucky recieved a commitment from Ridge Wilson, a 6-foot-3 linebacker from Central (Louisville, Ky.), has agreed to accept a Class 2009 scholarship offer from Kentucky.

He said, “I had been thinking about UK for a while, and that game (vs. Louisville) kind of made me decide that now may be the right time to go ahead and make my decision,” the Courier-Journal reports.

The Wildcats edged Louisville, Arkansas and Indiana for Wilson.
Kentucky now has 19 commitments.