UK Sports Info

The new ESPNU Top 100 was released and Austin Rivers comes in at the #1 spot.  For the UK commitments it looks like this…..

Gilchrist #2

Davis #3

Teague #7

Wiltjer #12

ESPNU Top 100

Here is a video from your 2010 University of Kentucky Football team captains….

Andre Drummond is the #1 player in the 2012 class.  This kid has all kinds of raw talent and is huge.  Drummond has a huge list of schools he is interested in, but UK is not on that list yet.  One can only think it is just  a matter of time before he puts UK on his list.  UK is still picking up players for the 2011 class but can you imagine putting Drummond and Kyle Anderson on the court together?  Anderson is 6′8″ and Drummond is 6′11″ and could be absolutely dominate together. Currently Drummond’s list is UCONN, Duke, Georgetown, Louisville, North Carolina and Pittsburgh.  He is definitely the top player for that class and could be the best player out of the 2011 and 2012 classes.  When you watch the video below you will see his size and how he makes the goal look small.

Clint Tucker who was once a UK commit has chosen to take that commitment back and given the University of Illinois his verbal.  Here is an article from about his new choice.

Andre Woodson has been cut from the Hartford Colonials.  Woodson is one of UK’s best QB’s in the most recent years.  Who can forget the pass to Stevie Johnson to beat UofL and then later that same season they reconnected to beat #1 LSU.  Woodson has had a tough go at it since his time at UK.  He was drafted by the NY Giants in 2008 but nothing has gone his way since then.  We wish Andre the best of luck for his next move what ever that may be.

Here is the coverage area for UK at UofL….Here is the full article on College Football TV Maps for this coming Saturday.

In case you missed it earlier today an update for Kanter’s eligibility came out.  Coach Cal was talking about Eloy Vargas being on campus now and let everyone know that Kanter’s situation will take a little bit longer but something should happen in the next couple of weeks.

“Still going through the process,” Calipari said of Kanter, who has been cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse but did not travel with the team to Canada. “The process with the foreign student will take a little longer, but I think in the next couple of weeks we’ll know.”

Who knows when the actual decision will come as Kanter is not the first guy to go through this process.  If you will remember last season at West Virginia, Deniz Kilicli who also is from Turkey had to sit out 20 games last season.  Kilicli was held out of 20 games for having another player on his team that was a professional.

The NCAA suspended Kilicli for 20 games because two years ago, while playing with a team in his native Turkey, another member of that team was a professional. That’s against the NCAA’s amateurism rules.

Could we see something similar to this with Kanter, well, lets hope not.  There has been a rule change this year that would keep the same situation from happening to Kanter.  Here is an article about the rule change. Turkey is not making it easy for UK or the NCAA so who knows what will happen over the next couple of weeks, if a decision is made by then.

We have released our new poll this afternoon.  The newest poll is asking whether or not Mike Hartline will finish the game this Saturday against Louisville.  There are four options….1) Yes, 2) No, Joker pulls him in the first half, 3) No, Joker pulls him the second half, 4) No, the game is a blow out.

I have said several times that if Hartline is not able to move the ball and lead UK to a win then I believe he will be pulled.  While Hartline is the starter I still have my concerns on whether or not he is the solid starter.  This first game will give us really good idea about Joker’s intentions for the quarterback position.  The biggest question everyone has left right now is who will be the backup for Hartline.  With that question still not answered we have to wonder what is going on for the backup role.  There has been some suggestions that Newton may not be around much longer if he is not named the backup to Hartline.

We are only a few days away from the big game, and I am can’t hardly wait any more.

Let the talking begin now that most college football programs are having their first news conference before this weekend.  This is one of the most exciting weeks of college athletics as football season is only a few days away from kick off.  As I posted last night, I am excited to see who is going to be first to make comments for the UK/UofL game Saturday.  Dequin Evans came out today in the news conference saying he is motivated by comments made by UofL’s coach Charlie Strong.  While the comments were pretty tame, with Strong saying the offensive line is the key for the Cards.  Those comments have motivated UK’s defensive captain who only has one speed to run over the offensive line.  Evans is probably the most intense player you will meet on the UK team.  When you meet Evans you see right away that he is intense, his eyes reveal the heart of a lion.  Evans will be a great leader and captain for this team as he brings a desire and passion to win that can only be matched by Randall Cobb.

Dequin does have another side to him that you will not see on the football field.  He has a compassionate heart for children and fans.  On UK’s fan day this fall Evans practically had to be dragged off the field while he continued to sign autographs for the fans.  He was the last player to leave the field after repeatidly being asked by coaches to go to the locker room.  When children walked up to get his autograph his eyes would light up and he would ask their name, sign the autograph and give them a high five.  It is easy to see when someone is putting on act or when they are genuine with their actions.  Evans is without a doubt a genuine young man that will continue to make an impact on and off the field.

As far as Louisville goes, Evans will be busting through the offensive line at every opportunity to show let his feelings be known to Charlie Strong and his comments regarding the UofL offensive line.

For UK Alumni: you can follow this link to tailgate with the UK Alumni Asscociation.

With less than a week to go before UK starts off the season against UofL, I can’t wait to see what this year brings.  Hearing the UK football players talk about the excitement of this first game and seeing the twitter comments from the players as well should get fans even more excited for this upcoming Saturday.  I have my personal feelings about the game and I have spoken with many people about what they think will happen.  There is no doubt in my mind who the better of the two teams is, but that doesn’t always matter when you get into a rivalry.  Regardless of what anyone tells me, I believe in my heart that UK has the better team this year.  The biggest questions that I have are whether or not Mike Hartline can do more than just manage a game and if the offensive line will open up lanes for the running backs to hit.  On the defensive side, I am not as worried about how they will perform, especially in this first game.  I don’t think UofL has a lot to offer with little to no experience with their offense.  I do have to say again that this is a rivalry and mistakes always change games.  If UK plays a game and minimizes the mistakes then the game is no contest.  If you throw in a few turnovers and a team that does not show up mentally then it will be a close game and could go either way.

Mike Hartline is a concern for me as I think he is not the better of the three quarterbacks.  In fact I honestly think he is the third best out of the three.  I would hate to loose one of the two young guys to transfer if they don’t get the chance to play.  From my conversations I know that Newton is not happy, and his interview after the announcement showed how he truly felt.  The biggest question is whether or not he will stick around after this.  Newton has a great chance to play this season but I don’t think he wants to wait and watch Hartline.  When the second string is named and if it is not Newton then you can all but expect him to leave.  There is an outside chance that he will stay no matter what happens, but from my conversations that chance is small.

We will know much more by this time next week about how solid Hartline’s spot is as the starter.  As I said in previous posts, I think it will be Hartline will be pulled quickly if the game is not going UK’s way.  This is not a game that Joker will let get away and if someone else has to get the job done then Hartline will be pulled.  Joker needs a win in his first game and I think he wants to win this game decisively.  I do look for the locker rooms to be a little more open with comments as the week goes on and can’t wait to see who breaks the ice.