True Blue Kentucky

Kentucky head coach Joker Phillips has been waiting for Saturday for a while now.  It was just a few years ago that UK named Phillips head coach in waiting during the Rich Brooks era.  Now that Brooks has retired, Joker inherits a program that is steady and looking to reach new heights. 

Joker  joins Charlie Strong at UL and Willie Taggert at WKU as the three new college coaches in the state of Kentucky.  Yet unlike Strong and Taggert, Joker may not have as much room for error.  Rich Bozich explains in his latest article for the Courier Journal.  Here are some excerpts. 

Here is a video from Rivals.com of Coach Joker Phillips discussing the upcoming UK/UL game:

Team work is more crucial in football than it is in any other sport.  Kentucky success this season will depend on all areas of working together.  Brett Dawson looks at how the offensive line uses team work in his latest article for the Courier Journal. 

For Kentucky's offense to have a successful seasons, everyone on the O-line must be working together.  “The offensive line has to be a team within the team, and that's what they're becoming,” Phillips said. “Coach (Mike) Summers is building that.”

Coach Summers is in his first season at UK.  He is known for building some good O-lines for Bobby Petrino at UL and Arkansas.  His goal so far in his short time at UK is to build a "we first" attitude.  Summers wants all five linemen to think and play as one.  "We have to be able to communicate in a very short amount of time,” Summers said. “Understanding what the guy next to you is thinking, what he's doing and reading his intentions elevate your ability to have success. I don't think you can do that unless there's a relationship between all those guys.”

Kentucky's success this season could very well depend on how well the passing game improves.  UK's passing attack was ranked last in the SEC last season.  New receivers coach Tee Martin looks to add depth to the wide receiver position that includes playmakers Randall Cobb and Chris Matthews.  Brett Dawson talks about the wide receivers in his latest article for the Courier Journal. 

Here are a few excerpts.

Kentucky's running game will have an advantage against the majority of their opposition when they take the field this season.  Joker Phillips and staff have put together a stellar group of tailbacks that will be running away from defenders all season long.  C. Ray Hall takes a look at the tailbacks in this article courtesy of the Courier Journal.

Unlike the QB spot, the tailback position has a clear cut leader in Derrick Locke.  The senior from Hugo, Oklahoma looks to improve on his impressive season last year.  Derrick Locke, the senior tailback, proved to be one of the most versatile backs in the Southeastern Conference last year, with 1,830 all-purpose yards. (He rushed for 907 yards, caught 31 passes for 284 yards and had 639 return yards, including a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.)

Following behind Locke will be Donald Russell.  Russell didn't have that many carries last season, but he sure made the most out of them when he did.  He averaged 10.5 yards per carry on 13 attempts.  On one of those attempts, he ran for a 79 yard touchdown against Eastern Kentucky.  He ran for a 65 yard touchdown in the spring game.  “I'm not the fastest guy, but I can manage,” he said. “I feel like I'm very explosive.”

Football recruiting has been a hot topic the past few years. I’ve been on record as saying I believe this will end up being the best class KY has signed in years as long as this years team keeps making progress. It's no secret that Joker has put a premium in creating a winning brand at KY and selling that brand to recruits. To help in those efforts he added a group of outstanding coaches. All 4 of the coaches Joker hired to his first staff are solid teachers but they also have something else in common, a great reputation asrecruiters. In fact, 3 of them are former recruiting coordinators (Summers, Turner, Nord). KY is currently at 85 scholarships, we lose about 12 scholarship seniors and already have 16 commitments so the class is already close to full, actually over if you do the math, but we still have a few more kids we may add as attrition will inevitably take place after the season. Below is a closer look at the class and how it might impact the program moving forward.

Months of speculation can finally cease.  Mike Hartline was named UK's starting quarterback as reported on Monday.   Head coach Joker Phillips talked about his decision in this latest article courtesy of kentuckysports.com.

Hartline beat out fellow Cats Morgan Newton and Ryan Mossakowski for the starting spot.  Coach Phillips made his decision just two days after Saturday's scrimmage. Phillips said Hartline made the fewest mistakes among the three quarterbacks, and he said there was always some separation between Hartline and the other two.

"He was slightly ahead at all times, there was no question about that," Phillips said. "But it wasn't far enough ahead to where we felt we had to make a decision. If we had made the decision in the spring or at the beginning of fall camp, I don't think it would have been fair to the other guys who are a little bit younger. We had to give those guys a chance to compete. But at this point in time, Mike gives us the best chance to win."

The biggest question surrounding Kentucky football is coming slowly to a close.  Joker Phillips said last week that he hoped that a leader would emerge after Saturday's scrimmage.  When the scrimmage was over, Phillips wasn't ready to make his final decision yet.

Joker is still mulling over whether to put Mike Hartline, Morgan Newton, and Ryan Mossakowski in at the QB spot.  Chip Cosby has an update on the battle in his latest article for kentuckysports.com.  Here are a few excerpts.

Check out this video of Coach Joker Phillips and his team helping out incoming UK freshmen:

Joker Phillips has a big hole to fill in the defensive line after Mister Cobble was rule academically ineligible and Corey Peters went to the NFL.  The D-line was one of UK's biggest concerns coming into the season.  Those concerns are slowly working themselves out as the opening game versus Louisville approaches.   Chip Cosby explains in his article for the Lexington Herald.

The D-Line will be led by DeQuin Evans.  Evans led the Wildcats with six sacks last season after reporting late during the summer due to his junior college.  He hopes to improve on last year's success after spending a year in the system.  "The confidence that the coaches have in me, it gives me confidence," Evans said. "I want to double everything I did last year."

Some new faces have also given coaching staff optimism as the season begins.  Donte Rumph is a guy who the Cats hope to get on the field.  Rumph stands at 6'3" 315 pounds and is still not into the playing shape like the staff would like.  Yet his size alone will give Donte playing time.  "He's a big boy," said offensive guard Stuart Hines. "He's hard to move in there. Once he learns the system and gets in better shape, he's going to be a really good player."