Uncommon Excitement in the Commonwealth
http://www.atomicsportsmedia.com/articles/898/1/Uncommon-Excitement-in-the-Commonwealth/Uncommon-Excitement-in-the-Commonwealth.html
Jon Bellwood
Hello,
I’m Jon and I’m from the sunny (yeah, right) town of
I have just spent the second year of my degree studying abroad in America at the University of Kentucky, this is why when you take a quick look back through my articles there are a couple of UK articles and nothing else on college sports. My knowledge is getting there slowly and I hope to be able to branch out soon! On a related note, there is always time for a bit of “Wooooooooooooah, C, A, T, S, CATS, CATS, CATS”, I’m sure everyone will agree? Well maybe not fans from
I have always loved my sports, my all time number one passion is for Formula One racing and motorsports, my hero as a kid was Nigel Mansell, to the point where I wanted my name changing to have Nigel as my middle name, though my Mum never did come around to the idea and so to this day I still don’t have a middle name, much to the confusion of Americans everywhere.
These days I find myself supporting Lewis Hamilton in the Formula One and British drivers in other categories around the globe, I was really happy to be able to be at the Indy 500 to see Dario Franchitti triumph in May, even despite the rain interval.
Other than that I follow Hartlepool United and Middlesbrough in football (soccer if you like), the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL, the University of Kentucky in every college sport ;) and the New York Rangers in the NHL, which may seem quite random but I went to see them on my 21st birthday after getting the last seat in the house!
My writing has come on leaps and bounds since I joined the site but every now and then I lapse and had in an article short of time and effort, if you see one let me know. This season I will mostly be wishing I was at Commonwealth stadium or Rupp Arena while sat in a flat in
By Jon Bellwood
Published on 09/1/2007
Usually September is just another month to kill on the way to basketball season in Lexington. But as Atomic Sports columnist Jon Bellwood writes, after last year's surprising bowl win, the hype in Lexington is actually about the pigskin for once -- and if thing's go right, it just might be basketball taking the backseat for a while.
Usually September is just another month to kill on the way to basketball season in Lexington. But as Atomic Sports columnist Jon Bellwood writes, after last year's surprising bowl win, the hype in Lexington is actually about the pigskin for once -- and if thing's go right, it just might be basketball taking the backseat for a while.
Uncommon Excitement in the Commonwealth
Optimism is the mind-set in Lexington this year, but the hiring of Billy Gillespie and his subsequent recruiting conquests are definitely not the only cause. For the first time in years, the excitement on campus stems from Kentucky football, now not only a distraction until basketball season starts for the Wildcats faithful.
Last year the Wildcats told people to believe, and they delivered, going 8-5 and beating highly rated Clemson to take the Music City Bowl, their first Bowl win since 1984. This season they are aiming for their first back-to-back eight-win seasons since 1976-77. They have also said they want to be a force in the SEC East and maybe even the SEC championship game -- lofty goals for a program generally an afterthought in the big, bad SEC.
Head coach Rich Brooks is the leader of the optimism crew and even compared this year’s Wildcats favorably to his Pac-10 winning Oregon team of 1994, saying “I do think that this team has more talent on it. I do think that this team probably has more talent and more playmakers than that team possessed.” The Cats have lots of reason to believe the talk of challenging in the SEC and making the top 25 by season’s end but there are also lots of reasons to curb that optimism just a little bit.
The first of which is their 2007 recruiting class. Yes, it added a lot of much needed depth for the Cats, but the top-ranked player from the class, defensive end D.J Stafford, didn’t make the grades and will be spending this year at Junior College. The Wildcats’ recruiting class was only good enough to be ranked 58th in the nation by Scout.com, leaving them above only Vanderbilt in the SEC. Brooks was positive about the class at the time, however: ““I think you could see that this year, even though our classes haven’t been ranked extremely high, we have closed the gap on the field with athletes that can play and win in this league.”
And it is true that this is the first year since the violations in the Hal Mumme era that Kentucky is back up to the full scholarship quota, which can’t hurt. And last season’s success has seen the Wildcats get hold of some better talent. Indeed Brooks thinks some of his class are underrated: “I can guarantee you that some of these three stars are as good as any four stars in the country -- they just don’t have that star next to their name. They are going to play, and they are going to start and they are going to be good performers.” He cited the examples of current stars Wesley Woodyard and Keenan Burton to back up his point, and considering those two players, you might expect some stars to be found among this year’s class that no-one else saw coming.
A further problem is depth behind pre-season All-America QB Andre Woodson. Last year’s back-up, Curtis Pulley, who was a nose ahead of Woodson on the depth chart going into spring 2006, dropped out due to academics and will be red-shirting this season, which leaves very little depth. Freshman QBs Mike Hartline and Will Fidler have both floundered and neither has made a grab for the back-up position. So much so that true freshman Matt Lentz is being mentioned as a contender for the mop-up spot. Of course if Woodson was to get injured, Kentucky’s season would be likely to head straight down the hole. It’s no wonder that Brooks has kept his prize QB in a red jersey all through practice.
If Woodson stays healthy, however, the battle to be backup will be academic. ESPN has named him to its All-America team, ahead of the likes of Brian Brohm and Pat White. ESPN also ran a feature on how this year is the first year that Woodson has the supporting cast around him to give him a realistic chance of knocking off Brohm in all the years they have been playing against each other. A lot of people are excited about this years “Kentucky Bowl,” as it is the first season in years where it’s not a foregone conclusion who will win before the kick off. Certainly Louisville will go into the game as the favorite, but it is at Commonwealth Stadium, and the fans will be baying for a Wildcat victory, something that might just be a possibility this year. If it happens, expect both the goalposts to get torn down, not just the one that ate it after the Georgia game last year. Also expect a much heavier fine to land on the UK Athletic department’s doorstep.
The absolute worst thing for Kentucky, however, is something they can do little about: the schedule, which ranks as one of the hardest in the nation. If college football had RPI, Kentucky would be right up there. The Wildcats have the most preseason top-25 opponents of any team, with six of their 13 games against top-notch opposition, including two top-five teams. Kentucky faces No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Florida, No. 11 Louisville, No. 13 Georgia, No. 15 Tennessee and No. 20 Arkansas. Ouch. Four of those games are at Commonwealth Stadium, but even at home, it’s hard to see the Cats taking out either LSU or Florida. A victory over Louisville might just be possible and Tennessee looks ripe to take its first beating from the Wildcats since 1984 if last season’s game in Knoxville is anything to go by. Kentucky also has challenging games at South Carolina, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, all of which are must-win if the Cats want to be in the mix for a bowl game, never mind a top-25 spot. If the Cats drop any of the games on the rest of their schedule, against Eastern Kentucky, Kent State and Florida Atlantic, the season can be written off straight away, and last year will be remembered as a fluke.
Last year the Wildcats told people to believe, and they delivered, going 8-5 and beating highly rated Clemson to take the Music City Bowl, their first Bowl win since 1984. This season they are aiming for their first back-to-back eight-win seasons since 1976-77. They have also said they want to be a force in the SEC East and maybe even the SEC championship game -- lofty goals for a program generally an afterthought in the big, bad SEC.
Head coach Rich Brooks is the leader of the optimism crew and even compared this year’s Wildcats favorably to his Pac-10 winning Oregon team of 1994, saying “I do think that this team has more talent on it. I do think that this team probably has more talent and more playmakers than that team possessed.” The Cats have lots of reason to believe the talk of challenging in the SEC and making the top 25 by season’s end but there are also lots of reasons to curb that optimism just a little bit.
The first of which is their 2007 recruiting class. Yes, it added a lot of much needed depth for the Cats, but the top-ranked player from the class, defensive end D.J Stafford, didn’t make the grades and will be spending this year at Junior College. The Wildcats’ recruiting class was only good enough to be ranked 58th in the nation by Scout.com, leaving them above only Vanderbilt in the SEC. Brooks was positive about the class at the time, however: ““I think you could see that this year, even though our classes haven’t been ranked extremely high, we have closed the gap on the field with athletes that can play and win in this league.”
And it is true that this is the first year since the violations in the Hal Mumme era that Kentucky is back up to the full scholarship quota, which can’t hurt. And last season’s success has seen the Wildcats get hold of some better talent. Indeed Brooks thinks some of his class are underrated: “I can guarantee you that some of these three stars are as good as any four stars in the country -- they just don’t have that star next to their name. They are going to play, and they are going to start and they are going to be good performers.” He cited the examples of current stars Wesley Woodyard and Keenan Burton to back up his point, and considering those two players, you might expect some stars to be found among this year’s class that no-one else saw coming.
A further problem is depth behind pre-season All-America QB Andre Woodson. Last year’s back-up, Curtis Pulley, who was a nose ahead of Woodson on the depth chart going into spring 2006, dropped out due to academics and will be red-shirting this season, which leaves very little depth. Freshman QBs Mike Hartline and Will Fidler have both floundered and neither has made a grab for the back-up position. So much so that true freshman Matt Lentz is being mentioned as a contender for the mop-up spot. Of course if Woodson was to get injured, Kentucky’s season would be likely to head straight down the hole. It’s no wonder that Brooks has kept his prize QB in a red jersey all through practice.
If Woodson stays healthy, however, the battle to be backup will be academic. ESPN has named him to its All-America team, ahead of the likes of Brian Brohm and Pat White. ESPN also ran a feature on how this year is the first year that Woodson has the supporting cast around him to give him a realistic chance of knocking off Brohm in all the years they have been playing against each other. A lot of people are excited about this years “Kentucky Bowl,” as it is the first season in years where it’s not a foregone conclusion who will win before the kick off. Certainly Louisville will go into the game as the favorite, but it is at Commonwealth Stadium, and the fans will be baying for a Wildcat victory, something that might just be a possibility this year. If it happens, expect both the goalposts to get torn down, not just the one that ate it after the Georgia game last year. Also expect a much heavier fine to land on the UK Athletic department’s doorstep.
The absolute worst thing for Kentucky, however, is something they can do little about: the schedule, which ranks as one of the hardest in the nation. If college football had RPI, Kentucky would be right up there. The Wildcats have the most preseason top-25 opponents of any team, with six of their 13 games against top-notch opposition, including two top-five teams. Kentucky faces No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Florida, No. 11 Louisville, No. 13 Georgia, No. 15 Tennessee and No. 20 Arkansas. Ouch. Four of those games are at Commonwealth Stadium, but even at home, it’s hard to see the Cats taking out either LSU or Florida. A victory over Louisville might just be possible and Tennessee looks ripe to take its first beating from the Wildcats since 1984 if last season’s game in Knoxville is anything to go by. Kentucky also has challenging games at South Carolina, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, all of which are must-win if the Cats want to be in the mix for a bowl game, never mind a top-25 spot. If the Cats drop any of the games on the rest of their schedule, against Eastern Kentucky, Kent State and Florida Atlantic, the season can be written off straight away, and last year will be remembered as a fluke.
Uncommon Excitement in the Commonwealth
That is pretty much all the bad news out of the way, but there is one large question mark still hanging over the team: Defense. Last year, the Wildcats defense ranked second-to-last in the nation, allowing more tan 450 yards per game. To put that into even more perspective, that’s over 200 yards per game more than LSU. Last year’s defense did have some bright spots, however. It was tied for second in the nation in turnover margin, and if that can be maintained along with more solid overall play, then the unit can be one of the most improved in the nation. A lot of the responsibility rests on the shoulders of defensive coordinator and former Houston Oilers cornerback Steve Brown. Brown seems to be making a good impression, too. Defensive tackle Myron Pryor is a fan, saying, “He is a very straight-forward guy. He’s not going always going to tell you what you want to hear. He just tells us to go out there and play the best we can. He has a good attitude and is very knowledgeable about the game.”
All the signs are there for the defense to improve this year, though it can only get one step worse. Only Louisiana Tech stood between the Cats and being the bottom of the barrel in Division I-A in 2006. Still, with more depth and with the team returning all but two defensive starters, the Cats’ defense looks good to be on the field less this coming season. They will need players like much-heralded recruit Micah Johnson to step it up this year, but the signs are good and Brown seems to be exactly what is needed.
With the defense looking like it might make a step up, it’s time to look at the offense. Aside from the problems at backup quarterback, there rest of the O should be a major strength. Kentucky returns a glittering array of talent, and at the top of the pile is Woodson. He will be a lock for the first round of the NFL draft if he puts up numbers anywhere near last year’s 31 TDs with just seven picks. Woodson goes into the season having thrown 162 passes without being intercepted, and a lot of early draft predictions have him as the Atlanta Falcons’ savior after Vickgate. (Anyone considering Joey Harrington as a long term solution is completely crazy.) That is looking too far ahead, however, because Woodson needs to play like a beast this season to be a high first-round pick.
Also returning is highly rated receiver and projected second-round pick Keenan Burton, who ate up more than 1,000 yards last year while dragging in 12 touchdowns. The Cats need to show last season was no fluke and Burton agreed.
“If you build tradition at a school, it automatically shows with the rankings and all of that,” he said. “We’re a Kentucky team that wasn’t supposed to beat Georgia and I think a lot of people felt that it was a fluke or whatever, so now it’s time to go show that we can contend with the great teams. The Georgias and Floridas, those great teams, we want to go out and contend with those teams and give us a chance in the fourth quarter.”
There are more plusses on the offensive side of the ball as well. Tailback Rafael Little is fully healthy this year, after last year he suffered with a knee problem, missing four games but still managing to rack up 673 yards rushing and close to 400 yards receiving. Last season, he was getting chased down by defenders once past them, expect to see less of that this season.
Tight end Jacob Tamme had a great season last year, but coming off a full summer of training and improving instead of rehabbing injuries like last summer, he figures to put up much improved numbers this year. Tamme and Little being back to full strength opens up defenses even more for the likes of WRs Dicky Lyons Jr. and Steve Johnson among others. On the offensive side of the ball, Kentucky is loaded.
However, as Burton mentioned, there is a need to build up tradition at Kentucky. They need to build up a reputation that makes four- and five-star recruits put Kentucky into their mix and to come to visit Lexington. They need to get across that barrier that Louisville has already made it over and become a program at least on the fringes of the top 25. They need to sell the SEC to recruits and get in elite players. If they don’t, their success will quickly fizzle out and lead them back to where they started, being the SEC’s doormat.
Tradition, however, is for the future. This year, the Cats are looking very well placed; any team with Woodson, Burton, Tamme, Little and Wesley Woodyard has to be taken seriously. Even though the Cats must take on one of the hardest schedules in the nation, they are going to be taken seriously by everyone in 2007. That doesn’t mean they can’t go far. With a lot of effort and a little luck they could do great things this season. Talk of the SEC championship game and contending for the SEC East may be a little premature, but anywhere between 6-6 and 8-4 at the end of the season are realistic goals and a bowl game is a must if the Wildcats want to keep on progressing.
Now Kentucky has to deliver on its promise. The Wildcats need Woodson to be an All-American at the end of the season, not just the start. They need Little to stay healthy. They need Burton to keep making those grabs. They need Woodyard to keep levelling people. And if all of that happens maybe they can start taking those steps toward tradition and preseason top-25 rankings.
Stay tuned, it’s going to be an exciting year in Lexington.
All the signs are there for the defense to improve this year, though it can only get one step worse. Only Louisiana Tech stood between the Cats and being the bottom of the barrel in Division I-A in 2006. Still, with more depth and with the team returning all but two defensive starters, the Cats’ defense looks good to be on the field less this coming season. They will need players like much-heralded recruit Micah Johnson to step it up this year, but the signs are good and Brown seems to be exactly what is needed.
With the defense looking like it might make a step up, it’s time to look at the offense. Aside from the problems at backup quarterback, there rest of the O should be a major strength. Kentucky returns a glittering array of talent, and at the top of the pile is Woodson. He will be a lock for the first round of the NFL draft if he puts up numbers anywhere near last year’s 31 TDs with just seven picks. Woodson goes into the season having thrown 162 passes without being intercepted, and a lot of early draft predictions have him as the Atlanta Falcons’ savior after Vickgate. (Anyone considering Joey Harrington as a long term solution is completely crazy.) That is looking too far ahead, however, because Woodson needs to play like a beast this season to be a high first-round pick.
Also returning is highly rated receiver and projected second-round pick Keenan Burton, who ate up more than 1,000 yards last year while dragging in 12 touchdowns. The Cats need to show last season was no fluke and Burton agreed.
“If you build tradition at a school, it automatically shows with the rankings and all of that,” he said. “We’re a Kentucky team that wasn’t supposed to beat Georgia and I think a lot of people felt that it was a fluke or whatever, so now it’s time to go show that we can contend with the great teams. The Georgias and Floridas, those great teams, we want to go out and contend with those teams and give us a chance in the fourth quarter.”
There are more plusses on the offensive side of the ball as well. Tailback Rafael Little is fully healthy this year, after last year he suffered with a knee problem, missing four games but still managing to rack up 673 yards rushing and close to 400 yards receiving. Last season, he was getting chased down by defenders once past them, expect to see less of that this season.
Tight end Jacob Tamme had a great season last year, but coming off a full summer of training and improving instead of rehabbing injuries like last summer, he figures to put up much improved numbers this year. Tamme and Little being back to full strength opens up defenses even more for the likes of WRs Dicky Lyons Jr. and Steve Johnson among others. On the offensive side of the ball, Kentucky is loaded.
However, as Burton mentioned, there is a need to build up tradition at Kentucky. They need to build up a reputation that makes four- and five-star recruits put Kentucky into their mix and to come to visit Lexington. They need to get across that barrier that Louisville has already made it over and become a program at least on the fringes of the top 25. They need to sell the SEC to recruits and get in elite players. If they don’t, their success will quickly fizzle out and lead them back to where they started, being the SEC’s doormat.
Tradition, however, is for the future. This year, the Cats are looking very well placed; any team with Woodson, Burton, Tamme, Little and Wesley Woodyard has to be taken seriously. Even though the Cats must take on one of the hardest schedules in the nation, they are going to be taken seriously by everyone in 2007. That doesn’t mean they can’t go far. With a lot of effort and a little luck they could do great things this season. Talk of the SEC championship game and contending for the SEC East may be a little premature, but anywhere between 6-6 and 8-4 at the end of the season are realistic goals and a bowl game is a must if the Wildcats want to keep on progressing.
Now Kentucky has to deliver on its promise. The Wildcats need Woodson to be an All-American at the end of the season, not just the start. They need Little to stay healthy. They need Burton to keep making those grabs. They need Woodyard to keep levelling people. And if all of that happens maybe they can start taking those steps toward tradition and preseason top-25 rankings.
Stay tuned, it’s going to be an exciting year in Lexington.