SB Nation - Steve Johnson

The Last Time No. 1 Visited Commonwealth Stadium ...

Ken Howlett — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 08:44:33 -0000

Beating Florida will get more than a yell out of UK coach Rich Brooks.

... the LSU Tigers limped back to Baton Rouge with an "L" in the column that counts. Oh, how sweet it would be to witness (Saturday) a replay of UK's epic performance against Les Miles' national championship squad. Not because I despise Gator quarterback (and choir boy) Tim Tebow, or his sometimes pompous head coach Urban "What Were His Parents Thinking?" Meyer, rather, losing to the Gators has become an unfortunate rite of passage for UK fans under the age of, well, any age actually, and it's time it stopped.

Since 1986, the last time UK beat Florida, the Gators have out-shined the 'Cats by a cumulative score of 927 - 412 -- Average score: Florida - 42, UK - 19. That's embarrassing, or at least it should be. And making matters more despicable, the futility Kentucky has suffered goes back even further, for before UK's 10 - 3 victory in '86, one has to go back to 1979 to find another good guy win, this one a 31 - 3 Wildcat victory. So, if one is slow on the uptake, what that means is UK is 2 - 28 against Florida in their last 30 meetings. Hopefully, UK is exhausted from being the nail ... it's now time for Kentucky to be the heavy hitter (apologies to Darryl Isaacs).

Couple the fact that Florida is coming off an uninspiring 23 - 13 win over the Tennessee Vols in The Swamp last Saturday, with the Gators' death-dive defeats of Sun Belt power Troy (56 - 6) and Big South bully Charleston Southern (62 - 3), question marks abound where exclamation points are usually found. In other words, no one knows yet how good the Gators are, or can be.

Not helping the Gator cause against the Vols, along with several players exhibiting flu-like symptoms, was the absence of wide receiver Deonte Thompson to a hamstring injury (he's supposed to play Saturday), a loss which further exposed the gaping hole left by the graduation of pass catcher/running back (and 'Cat killer) Percy Harvin and wide-out Louis Murphy -- Evidence: Tight end Aaron Hernandez was Florida's top receiver on Saturday, with four catches for 26 yards. Yeah, you read that right, four catches for 26 yards. Uber-defensive back Eric Berry and his fellow Vol secondary members, along the youthful Gator receivng corps, limited Tebow to only 14 - 19 passing, for 115 yards (Tebow's longest pass went for only 18 yards) and an interception. Tebow's performance broke a string of 30 straight games in which the former Heisman Trophy winner has thrown a touchdown pass.

Holy Spurrier, has the Gators offense become a one-dimensional ground attack? If Saturday's contest is any indication, they might have become just that, at least for now -- Out of 63 offensive plays, Florida ran the ball 44 times for 208 yards (4.7 yards per carry). Of course, leading the ground charge was Tebow with 76 yards on 24 carries (3.2 ypc), followed by 5'9" running back Chris Rainey, with 64 yards on only nine carries (7.1 ypc). The old adage long held by Woody Hayes, seems to hold true here -- Why throw the ball, when you can run? Why indeed?

So, is it possible the 'Cats could stack the box with eight or even nine players in an effort to bring a halt to the Gator ground game? Or is that game-plan a recipe for a disastrous night for UK defensive backs Trevard Lindley, Paul Warford, and Winston Guy; the three players I would want covering the Florida receivers if UK goes with an eight man front. We'll probably never know the answer to my question, though, because I don't expect head coach Rich Brooks or defensive coordinator Steve Brown to venture that far outside of the box (and probably rightly so).

Whatever UK's defensive game-plan might be, a concerted effort must be made to contain Tebow. He's their Peyton Manning and Tom Brady all wrapped-up in one rather large 6'3", 245 lb package. And the last time he visited Lexington he threw for a personal-best four touchdowns, on 18 of 26 passing (256 yards), in Florida's 45 - 37 win.

"Contain Tebow, yeah right." I know that's what you're thinking, sitting there drinking your breakfast drink of choice. But my friends, that's how the 'Cats beat Florida -- DeQuin Evans, Corey Peters, Micah Johnson, Sam Maxwell, Collins Ukwu and crew must not only pressure Tebow, no, pressure only brings out the best in him, instead, they must terrorize Tebow with pancake hits, and brain-rattling sacks. Force him out of his comfort zone, and then make him pay the price for traveling into our back yard, and trying to push us around. Be men, do what men do: Beat the be-jeezus out of each other.

You see, Tebow is a winner. Probably always has been, probably always will be, but winners don't win all the time. Sometimes they lose, but they don't lose of their own volition, they need some help. And UK's defense must be the unit to provide the impetus for his defeat, via their persistent smash-mouth mentality, and aggressive pursuit of the enemy. There should be no letting-up in UK's determination -- If Tebow's nose is bloodied, bloody his mouth. If his mouth is bleeding, keep attacking until his teeth fall out. Don't stop ... ever. He's the enemy, and he prances onto our turf with the mindset of beating Kentucky for the fourth straight time. This time he should be vanquished, thankful he doesn't have to visit again.

Anything less is unacceptable. This team, this school, has embarrassed UK for far too long -- 63 - 6, 73 - 17, 65 - 0, 55 - 28. It's time the Gators paid. And who better to pay the piper, than the "Golden Boy" himself?

Now, for those who are at this moment exclaiming, "Howlett wants UK to play dirty Saturday!" Don't. One of the great things about football is one can inflict great pain and punishment while following the rules of the game. Just ask Dave Ragone, circa September 1, 2002.

I feel confident in saying, we're in the midst of a sea-change in the Kentucky football program. We've seen improvement in the type of player now coming to Kentucky; we've seen improvement in UK's won-loss record; we've seen three straight bowl wins for the first time in the program's history; and we've seen victories, when losses were expected. UK has bounced back from the throes of probation, bounced back to be better than they've ever been: 25 - 16 over the last three years. But now, ripe is the fruit, ready to be picked. The next step in the evolution of Kentucky football is upon us, and that step has an orange and blue hue.

Not since 1984 ... No. 1 in the country ... Too good to be true quarterback ... A coach easy to hate ... At home -- The set-up is perfectly pristine for Kentucky to execute the heist. For this game can be stolen, but it will take a single-minded determination. A determination to destroy the enemy, and take what is ours. And if any of you guys (players) are bored enough to be reading my work; If you can't summon the strength and will to do it for yourselves, do it for Marty Moore, Pookie Jones, Billy Jack Haskins, Tim Couch, Craig Yeast, Rafael Little, Artose Pinner, Jared Lorenzen, Wesley Woodyard, Marlon McCree, Myron Pryor, Andre' Woodson, Keenan Burton, Steve Johnson, Dicky Lyons, and all the other Wildcat players unfortunate enough to be on a team not quite good enough to beat the bad guys. Okay, now back to studying game film.

My Best Prognostication

If the 'Cats keep 'em under 30 points, they have a chance to send No.1 back to the sunshine as a nice, matching, handbag/shoes combo Paris Hilton would be proud of.

Thanks for reading, and Go 'Cats, beat the Gators!

UK Quarterbacks and Receivers: Past, Present, and Future

Ken Howlett — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:08:46 -0000

More photos » by Al Behrman - AP

Hartline to Cobb -- Salad days, indeed.

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Kentucky's impressive 42-0 football victory over Miami on Saturday began to at least answer a couple of "elephant in the room" questions related to the potential success of the 2009 football Wildcats: Will Mike Hartline be better, and will Derrick Locke be as good?

A firm, yet cautious "yes," is how I answer to both. Hartline was obviously more confident, more accurate, and less hesitant than last year, and Locke was the same power+speed machine he was before his knee injury. Both terrific signs for the fortunes of UK football in '09.

And since we haven't delved into either the quarterback or running back positions in our preseason previews thus far, let's take a look at what UK has to offer from those spots in 2009:

The Quarterbacks

Mike Hartline -- 6'6", 206 lb junior: In 2008, Hartline threw for 1,666 yards, completing 172 of 311 passes (51.3%), throwing for nine touchdowns and eight interceptions. The Ohio native started 9 of UK's 13 games -- Kentucky's first eight games, then after a Randall Cobb injury, the Liberty Bowl. UK has posted a 7-3 mark (including Saturday's win) in Hartline's 10 career starts.

Versus Miami on Saturday, Hartline posted outstanding numbers -- 18-27 passing (66.7% completion rate), 222 yards, and two touchdowns. Just as important, zero turnovers. Clearly, Mike Hartline has played his best two games as a Wildcat, in his last two games: Versus ECU in the Liberty Bowl, he was 19-31 (61.3% completion rate) for 204 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Combined, in his last two games, Hartline has thrown for 426 yards on 37-58 passing (63.8% completion rate), three touchdowns and one pick. Not bad at all. Sure, his seemingly rapid improvement has come against non-SEC opponents, but when judged against what he accomplished last season in the pre-conference schedule, his two most recent games have provided Rich Brooks with far superior results.

A large part of Hartline's improvement has been due to the upgrade he's enjoyed at the receiver spot. With the addition of Chris Matthews to a receiver corps already boasting Randall Cobb, Hartline now has two targets, at least similar in talent, to Andre' Woodson's collection of Mr. GoodHands -- Keenan Burton, Steve Johnson, Dicky Lyons, Jacob Tamme, and Rafael Little. And with the demonstrated ability of tight ends T. C. Drake, Ross Bogue, and Maurice Grinter to catch and run, along with the danger a now-healthy Derrick Locke poses as a pass catcher, Hartline finally has a group of receivers who make the grab, and know what to do next.

Hartline also showed on Saturday that he can pinpoint a pass longer than 10 yards (a concern of many) -- His two fades to Cobb and Matthews in the second quarter were both perfectly thrown, and they were both over 20 yards. Hartline's passes, both long and short, were "zipped" and on-target, with but a few exceptions.

So, what are the possibilities? -- Well, with the addition of Matthews at the receiver spot (as well as the tight ends and the now-experienced backup receivers), combined with Hartline's new found confidence, arm strength, and accuracy, it would not come as a surprise if Hartline were to ultimately make a Bob Beamon-like leap from 11 touchdown passes (in 2008) to the mid-20's or higher this season. That would be HUGE for this Kentucky football team, and could quite possibly result in the 'Cats challenging to win 8-9 (dare I say 10?) games.

Will Fidler -- 6'4", 229 lb junior: The Henderson County alum has played in four career games before this season. He has completed three of four pass attempts, for 26 yards. Fidler's incredible high school career ranks him fourth in Kentucky high school football history with 9,395 yards passing. He threw for 92 touchdowns in his career, 45 of those in his junior season alone.

It was good to see Fidler get some time on the field Saturday. He responded by going 2-3 for 21 yards. If one were ever worried about Fidler's arm strength, worry no more. He was throwin' fastballs! It's always comforting to know that if the starter goes down with an injury, his replacement can throw the ball.

"Wildcat" Randall Cobb -- 5'11", 188 lb sophomore: Last season Cobb threw for 542 yards and two touchdowns on 52-99 passing (52.5% completion rate). He also threw five interceptions. Cobb rushed for 316 yards on 79 carries (4.0 ypc), almost exclusively from the quarterback spot.

On Saturday, Cobb rushed the ball once, scoring the easiest 11 yard touchdown in the history of UK football.

That's about all we saw of the "Wildcat" formation on Saturday (other than a couple of handoffs). So possibilities are what we're left with. And I think we'll find, over the course of the season, the possibilities afforded UK out of the formation will be endless.

I applaud coach Brooks and Joker Phillips for wisely opting not to reveal too much of the "Wildcat" package, especially in a game versus a MAC opponent. Keep in mind, though, the same mantra may be in effect in UK's next outing versus U of L, but as the season rolls along toward relevance, it will be great fun to witness the evolution of UK's newest offensive wrinkle.

Ryan Mossakowski -- 6'4", 208 lb freshman: Coming out of high school in Centennial, Texas, Mossakowski was named an All-America by SuperPreps and PrepStar. For his career (cut short by a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder his senior year) Mossakowski threw for 7,433 yards and 51 touchdowns. He also contributed on the ground with 799 rushing yards and an additional 20 touchdowns (from the quarterback position). Although Mossakowski is considered to have one of the strongest arms among the nation's freshmen signal-callers, his 64.7% completion rate his junior year seems to indicate the young man is quite accurate, also.

Mossakowski is a serious redshirt possibility. Couple his frosh status with his arm injury (which he has recovered from), and "redshirt" quickly comes to mind.

Morgan Newton -- 6'4", 217 lb freshman: Newton, Indiana's 5A Mr. Football, was named an All-America by a litany of publications -- Parade, SuperPrep, The Sporting News, MaxPreps, and ESPN/Rise Magazine. He also picked up Gatorade Indiana Football Player of the Year honors. Newton was rated the No. 6 quarterback prospect by Scout.com. In his storied high school career, Newton threw for 4,284 yards and 37 touchdowns, to go along with 2,617 yards rushing and another 37 touchdowns on the ground. In his senior year alone, Newton accounted for 3,602 yards of total offense, and 48 touchdowns for Carmel High School -- He threw for 1,938 yards (22 touchdowns) and rushed for 1,664 (26 touchdowns). Newton led his team to the 5A championship game two years in a row; winning in his junior year, and losing (late in the game), his senior season.

Coach Brooks has intimated in recent weeks that he is open to the possibility of redshirting both Mossakowski and Newton. Frankly, if Hartline continues to play well, I see no reason for either quarterback to waste a season of eligibility.

The Running Backs

Derrick Locke -- 5'9", 190 lb junior: The Hugo, Oklahoma native has played in 19 games (going into this year); he's rushed for 824 yards on 157 carries (5.2 yards per carry), and six touchdowns. He's also caught 30 passes out of the backfield, good for 281 yards (9.4 yards per reception) and one touchdown. Locke has also been adept at returning kick-offs -- 16 returns for 430 yards (26.9 yards per return) and a touchdown. In 2008, a season cut short by a torn ACL, Locke contributed 303 rushing yards on 63 carries (4.8 ypc), and one touchdown. From the air, Locke caught 23 passes for 195 yards (8.5 ypr) and a touchdown. He also excelled on special teams by returning 11 kick-offs for 314 yards (28.5 ypr), and one electric return for six versus Western Kentucky (Locke is only the fifth Wildcat to return a kick 100 yards for a touchdown).

Versus Miami, Locke rushed eight times for 61 yards (7.6 ypc), and a touchdown, moreover, he convinced me that he hasn't lost any of his power or speed after suffering his knee injury last year. For someone who was reportedly out of shape, Locke sure shook, rattled, and rolled his way through the RedHawk defense. I realize Miami, OH isn't Georgia or Florida, but he looked like the old Derrick and ...

... quite simply, if Derrick's healthy, he's the No. 1 back.

Alfonso Smith -- 6'1", 208 lb senior: Smith, out of Louisville's Waggener High School, has played in 36 career games, rushing for 712 yards on 155 carries (4.6 ypc) and six touchdowns. He's also recorded 29 catches for 322 yards (11.1 ypr) and two touchdowns. The speedy Smith has proved to be a very capable kick return man; he's returned eight kick-offs for 182 yards (22.8 ypr). In 2008, Smith rushed for 313 yards on 74 carries (4.2 ypc) and two touchdowns, he also caught 16 passes for 204 yards (12.8 ypr) and one touchdown. He returned five kick-offs for 114 yards (22.8 ypr). Smith ran for a career long 38 yard run against ECU in the Liberty Bowl.

Against Miami on Saturday, Smith ran for 36 yards on 7 carries (5.1 ypc). He's an extremely talented back, but unseating Locke as the teams best back will be a tall task, probably a bit too tall. But, Smith has proved to be elusive and fast, as well as affective catching the ball out of the backfield. He'll get his share, and if Locke struggles, he'll get more.

Moncell Allen -- 5'7", 225 lb junior: In 25 career games Allen has rushed for 241 yards on 49 carries (4.9 ypc), and one touchdown. He's also caught seven passes for 47 yards and a touchdown. In 2008, Allen played in 12 games, rushing for 202 yards on 38 carries (5.3 ypc) and one touchdown. New Orleans' second favorite son (behind Dicky Lyons, Jr.) also corralled five passes for 39 yards (7.8 ypr) and one touchdown.

"The Turtle" rushed eight times for 57 yards (7.1 ypc) and a touchdown on Saturday. Allen continues to impress, and is seriously challenging for carries.

John Conner -- 5'11", 240 lb senior: Conner has played in 42 career games, carrying 23 times for 89 yards (3.9 ypc). The sure-handed fullback has caught 20 passes for 147 yards (7.3 ypr) and three touchdowns. In 2008, Conner produced 15 carries for 47 yards (3.1 ypc), and snagged 11 passes for 89 yards (8.1 ypr).

Conner's is evidently not recovered from his injury, and did not play Saturday (Maurice Grinter filled-in at the fullback spot). Conner is an important part of the UK offense, both as a blocker, and goal-line ball carrier. He's also pretty handy catching passes out of the backfield. Kentucky needs him healthy.

A. J. Nance -- 5'11", 256 lb senior: Last season (and for his career), Nance has rushed three times for 18 yards (6.0 ypc).

Nance, on Saturday ran the ball once, for four yards. The Knoxville native supplies UK with depth at the fullback spot.

CoShik Williams -- 5'9", 180 lb redshirt freshman: The Hiram, Georgia product had a tremendous spring. A spring in which he showed himself to be a major contender for second on the depth chart at the running back position (remember, Locke was hurt). He affirmed the coach's feelings in the two major scrimmages this fall, where Williams ran for a combined 140 yards on 29 carries, and one touchdown. His only problem being -- Holding on to the football (not a good problem to have as a freshman). In high school, Williams rushed for over 2,600 yards in his junior and senior seasons (combined); this despite him missing four games his senior year. Williams was also a track star, competing in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, as well as the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. He reached the Georgia high school state track meet championships all four years of high school.

Saturday versus Miami, Williams rushed a team-high 10 times for 39 yards (3.9 ypc). He'll get some work this year, more if there are injuries, and he conquers his "droppsies."

Donald Russell -- 5'11", 205 lb true freshman: Russell was named one of the Top 50 running backs in the nation by Rivals.com. His senior year, the Florida native rushed for 893 yards and 12 touchdowns. As a junior he ran for 932 yards and nine touchdowns. He's been clocked at 10.7 in the 100 meters.

Versus Miami, Russell ran seven times for 31 yards (4.3 ypc). He's quick, that's for certain, but Russell and Williams have a log-jam of talent in front of them. Seeing playing time once the SEC slate begins will be difficult, but they do supply much needed depth to the running back position, especially important considering Locke's injury history.

A Plea for Coach Brooks

Those that have read A Sea of Blue on a regular basis for more than a few months, know that I hold Rich Brooks in very high esteem. I think the job he's done at UK is to commended, heck, if I were in charge I would rename the football field "Rich Brooks Field" (that would give him two football fields named after him).

BUT, I do wish that he would reconsider using Randall Cobb as a kick returner. I know Cobb is special with the ball in his hands, but I feel the risk involved far outweighs the benefits. Plus, there are several highly capable return men available-- Defensive back Winston Guy is ridiculously fast and did a fine job late last year returning kicks. Wide out Gene McCaskill is equally fast, and has some return experience. Another receiver, Eric Adeyemi is very fast and dangerous in the open field. Derrick Locke is a great return man, but his knee injury would keep me from allowing him to return kicks.

It honestly scares me to see Cobb settling-in under a kick. The thought of knees buckling, and ankles twisting haunt my optimistic nature. Papa, I won't preach any longer, if you'll only take this matter under advisement.

Thanks for reading, and Go 'Cats!

Kentucky Football: The Offense is ... Offending

Truzenzuzex — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 14:54:26 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

They don't think much of us right now, Paul. But they will.

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Could this year be a return to the Big Blue offensive machine days of Tim Couch and André Woodson?

Word out of the scrimmage on Saturday is that the first team offense looks very, very capable. The reasons are Mike Hartline's apparently vast improvement (I have heard this often enough, and from enough different people, that I coming around to believing it), Randall Cobb's playmaking ability, and the emergence of Rivals.com 4* JUCO transfer Chris Matthews.

Matthews is 6'5" and 210 lbs. That is a big target at wide receiver, bigger even than Steve Johnson, who made so many huge plays at Kentucky. And Matthews can run -- he runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds, and that is SEC speed -- comparable to Alabama's Julio Jones and even faster than Georgia's A.J. Green coming out of high school. Matthews is the kind of receiver UK has not had around since Johnson left, and he is off to a much better start than Johnson -- if you'll recall, Johnson was a bit of a disappointment in his first year at the D-1 level, mostly due to the fact that he was not sufficiently focused -- late for class, late for practice, late paying his traffic tickets, etc.

Matthews is apparently the son of a Los Angeles police officer, and has much more focus and composure, at least so far, and it is showing up on the field, and in the classroom where he carries a 4.0 out of summer school. An injury to Gene McCaskill (the details of which I have been unable to find anywhere) allowed Matthews to move into the #1 spot, and his durability has allowed him to get a lot of reps there. Reps equal improvement, and Matthews is now firmly in the starting spot.

The story, though, continues to be the improvement of the offensive skill positions. Derrick Locke broke a long run and did not get pulled down from behind as he did last week, and Phillips says that Locke is hitting the hole and making cuts with the same explosiveness he had before the injury, which is remarkable, but in Locke's case, not really surprising. Locke is used to being told he can't do something and proving people wrong.

There really isn't much being said about the defense at the moment, obviously because the offense is the unit that was the biggest impediment to a better season last year. But according to Chip Cosby, Steve Brown is pleased with what the defense is doing. Coach Rich Brooks does mention that the tackling was sloppy yesterday, which is the kind of criticism you really don't know how to take -- it can either mean missed tackles, poor form, or both. Missed tackles have been a real bug-a-boo for Kentucky defensive units, even the well above average unit from last year, so I hate to hear that term being thrown around.

I am not the only one around the Commonwealth who is beginning to see the potential of this team to do some damage in the perennially tough SEC. John Clay has what can modestly called an optimistic (but not wildlly so) piece in today's Herald-Leader that foresees an 8-4 season for UK this year. I don't know about you, but 8-4 would leave me doing a serious happy dance, both for the team and for Coach Rich Brooks, who surely deserves an opportunity to celebrate just how far he has moved this program in the right direction.

The biggest issue right now seems to be figuring out the #3 quarterback. Will Fidler has locked up the #2 spot, and all Brooks will say about highly regarded freshmen Ryan Mossakowski and Morgan Newton is that they look "like freshmen." That's not surprising, and anyone with an idea that two Rivals.com 4* guys could actually contend for the starting quarterback spot at an SEC school was not being realistic. You very rarely see quarterbacks at even the 5* level who can come in and start immediately in BCS conference football, and freshman starters beneath the 5* level usually happen only at moribund teams, or teams rebuilding from major losses.

So as we head into the last week of fall camp, which will be more about preparing for Miami of Ohio than anything else, Kentucky looks about as good as I can ever recall as a team. During the Woodson years, the defense was always an issue, and last year, it was the offense. This year, there is a chance that the team as a whole will be pretty good, and if that happens, this is the year that the Wildcats could make that transition from a team that is always picked last or next to last in the East to a team that can be considered at least a mid-pack contender.