Four Clemson players suspended for Bowl Game

Four Clemson football players have been suspended for the Music City Bowl for breaking curfew. Two of the players are defensive line subs that will effect Clemson's depth and the other two haven't seen much action. Click on the link for the article.

Rich Brooks on C.J. Spiller

Rich Brooks talks about Clemson's C.J. Spiller. Click on the link to Rich Bozick's blog to see the video. Spiller is scary and UK must avoid giving up the big play to the senior running back. UK will control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, but the "big play" concerns me.

Music City Bowl Notes

UK has a press conference and then a luncheon today for the Music City Bowl.

UK will be playing for their fourth consecutive bowl win on Sunday against Clemson.

Trevard Lindley and John Conner will be the game captains.

Chandler Burden will start over Taylor Wyndham at defensive end.

Justin Jeffries will start at offensive tackle over Brad Durham.

Almost 88% of fans picking bowl games on ESPN's "Bowl Mania" have Clemson winning over Kentucky.

The Cat Walk will be at 5:15 pm on Sunday at the corner of Victory Avenue and South 2nd Street. The team will enter at the East service entrance by walking down 2nd Street.

Joker: Cats will be ready for Clemson

Here is a great by Larry Vaught with comments from Joker Phillips. The head coach-in-waiting makes a great comment, "When people start talking this is a bad bowl for Kentucky, that is a huge step too". The good news is that fans, players or coaches are not happy with seven or eight wins, everyone wants more. It's exciting to watch UK climb the SEC football ladder and the programs best days are still ahead.

Peters picked a winner in Kentucky

Mark Story has a nice article on UK's Corey Peters. The article talks about the recruiting process that Peters went through before committing to the Cats. Peters was recruited by Michigan, Ohio State, Auburn and Louisville. Many people felt the four-star recruit was crazy for choosing Kentucky. As Peters says in the article, "I had a gut feeling, and I decided to go with that feeling".

Getting to know UK's unsung hero's

Here is a great Q&A with UK's Zip Duncan by Chip Cosby. There is no doubt the offensive line has been the biggest reason for success over the past couple of seasons. UK will lose four starters after the Music City Bowl to graduation, but the underclassmen will step in nicely next season.

Replacing Maxwell

Jacob Dufrene will start in place of injured Sam Maxwell in the Music City Bowl. Dufrene is not nervous about starting and playing in the Music City Bowl. Also, look for Ridge Wilson to receive some playing time.

ESPN ranks the SEC over the past five seasons

ESPN ranks the SEC teams over the past five seasons. The Cats come in at No 9 on the list. Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt follow the Cats. Click on the title for the link.

Cats - Tigers may attend Titans game

Music City Bowl officials are tying to secure tickets for the teams to attend the Tennessee Titans game in Nashville on Christmas Night. It would make a nice Christmas gift for the players and give them a little motivation heading into Sunday's bowl game. GO CATS!

Xavier McFadden (3-Star CB) Update

Tonight I spoke with Xavier McFadden's father regarding his son's recruitment. His father told me that Xavier wants to play for Kentucky and has tried to commit. His father also told me that Xavier had to take an online course to get his grades straightened out (which he has done), but will be qualified after his first semester. Xavier played in the Shrine Bowl (NC/SC All Star Game) and has received a ton of interest since then. He is currently being recruited by N.C. State, Auburn, Illinois and Louisville. Xavier is currently playing basketball and will run track in the spring. It appears that Xavier could have fallen on UK's recruiting board or grades could have caused some concern for the coaching staff. McFadden has played against some stiff competition and even attended UK for camp, so the coaching staff is very familiar with his ability. You can check previous posts for his highlight video as well. Sometimes recruiting is not fun for either the players or coaches.

**Update**

I guess I wasn't clear as many people think Xavier was holding out for a better offer. Xavier tried to commit in September during the Florida game. I'm speculating that grades were a concern for the coaching staff or he wasn't their top priority. At the time he tried to commit, UK didn't have any DB commitments.

Music City Bowl Preview by ESPN

ESPN's Chris Low gives his Music City Bowl Preview and unlike 88% of the fans picking the game on ESPN's "Bowl Mania", Low has picked the Cats to win. Low feels the Cats are chasing history and the desire to win is as strong as ever. UK will control the line of scrimmage, but in my opinion the Cats must avoid giving up the big play to Spiller or Ford.

Christmas Eve UK Football Links & Notes

The Cats are grumpy since they are spending Christmas away from their families. The team had their first practice in Nashville and Rich Brooks called the effort "sluggish". Brooks also said he had to yell a little too much, but the team finished practice "pretty good". Click on the link to Chip Cosby's article.

UK's 2010 quarterback competition is a three-way race between Mike Hartline, Morgan Newton and Ryan Mossakowski. Hartline has a career record of 8-6, while Morgan Newton already has a record of 5-2 after just one season. The coaches are unsure if Mossakowski is fully recovered from his shoulder injury. However, the staff feels he is ahead mentally than any other quarterback they have had at this stage. The spring practice will go along way towards naming the starter for 2010. Someone mentioned Morgan Newton could red-shirt 2010, but that seems like an unlikely scenario in my opinion.

Remember to read the post from yesterday on Xavier McFadden (3-Star CB) from South Carolina. McFadden tried to commit to UK back in September, but the coaching staff held off based on my conversation with his father. McFadden is receiving interest from N.C. State, Illinois, Louisville and Auburn.

We also learned yesterday that Brandon Gainer (Miami, FL) is now considering Kentucky for 2010. Gainer is a three star running back according to Rivals and 4.5 star according to ESPN. Check out the video post from earlier to see the running back in action.

LaRod King missed practice on Wednesday with the flu and is expected to be out again on Thursday. King has come on strong as a true freshman and hopefully he will be ready to go on Sunday.

The Cat Walk will be at 5:15 pm on Sunday at the corner of Victory Avenue and South 2nd Street. The team will enter at the East service entrance by walking down 2nd Street.

Brandon Gainer (2010 Recruit) Video

Gainer looks good on video, hopefully the Cats are not far behind the other schools involved.

New 2010 (3-Star) Running Back Recruit

Brandon Gainer (Miami, FL) is considering Kentucky as a potential destination for his college career per Rob Gidel. Gainer lists a top four of Oregon, North Carolina, UCF and USF in no particular order, but also says he will look at Kentucky and Rutgers. Gainer is listed at 6'0" and 194 lbs.

Charone Peak (2011 WR) UK Recruit

Plays for Dorman High School in South Carolina. UK is recruiting among other big programs.

Garrett Clark (2011 OL) UK Recruit

Clark plays for Mainland High School in Florida. Will be tough to get the kid out of Florida.

Kentucky preview from Clemson site

TigerNet gives their preview of Kentucky heading into the Music City Bowl. Clemson fans are concerned about the teams interest in playing in the bowl game after losing the ACC Championship to Georgia Tech. Click on the link to read the article.

Alex Chisum (2011 WR) UK Recruit

Plays for Sandy Creek High School in Georgia. Video is from his sophomore year in high school. Chisum is also being recruited by Georgia Tech, Mississippi State and UAB among others.

Justin Worley (2011 QB) UK Recruit

Justin Worley plays QB at Northwester High School in Rock Hill, SC. Worley is being recuited by UK, Georgia, Clemson and several other big time programs. This video is from his sophomore year.

Q&A with Steve Brown

Larry Vaught has a great Q&A with Steve Brown on Music City Bowl preparation, match-ups and post season practice. Playing in bowl games are huge for any football program. The program receives money and recognition, which helps recruiting. However, the most overlooked aspect has to be the extra practice.

Lindley has chance for redemption

Trevard Lindley knows there will be NFL scouts on hand for the Music City Bowl. Therefore, the senior wants to go out with a bang. The experts projected Lindley to be a late first round or second round pick during last year's NFL draft. Instead, he decided to return for his senior season. The same experts are now projecting Lindley to be a third or fourth round selection in the upcoming NFL draft. Click on the link for Chip Cosby's article.

Patterson to visit Louisville then make decision

Per Jody Demling, Tim Patterson will visit Louisville on January 8th and then make his decision. Patterson's high school coach has stated before that Patterson and teammate Stephan Robinson would likely play together in college. Robinson has committed to Louisville already.

Joseph Mansour Video and Update

Here is a video clip of Joe Mansour's kicking ability. Chip Cosby spoke with Mansour's coach about his commitment to UK and the kicker is still committed. Click here to read Cosby's article.

John Conner named All-American Fullback

John Conner has been named All-American by Pro Football Weekly. This is a huge honor for Conner as the team is picked by NFL scouts. Rich Brooks has praised Conner for his ability and he doesn't get the recognition he deserves. John Conner will be missed on and off the football field. Also, Corey Peters was named Honorable Mention by Pro Football Weekly as well. Click on the link to Vaught's article with quotes from Mitch Barnhardt.

Cats ready for Music City

Chip Cosby has a nice article on the Cats final week of practice in Lexington. The Cats will practice in Nashville on Wednesday. Mike Hartline made it through his fourth consecutive practice and could see some action in the Music City Bowl. Also, Jacob Dufrene will start in place of injured Sam Maxwell.

Patrick Coyne (2011 QB) UK Recruit

Patrick Coyne plays at Baden High School in Cincinnati, OH. UK is recruiting him along with several other BCS schools.

Lamar Dawson (2011 Class) UK Recruit

Dawson plays with a motor, he would be a great addition to UK's football program for the 2011 class.

Randall Cobb dedicates Music City Bowl

You didn't hear much about it yesterday, but Randall Cobb is dedicating the Music City Bowl to a young teenager named Bradley, who is living with leukemia. Cobb is going to shave his head and "go bald with him". I think it's amazing that Randall Cobb is trying to make a difference in this child's life. GO BRADLEY! GO COBB! and GO CATS!

SEC Commitment Comparison

Mr. Sec gives his conference commitment comparison through December 21st. The Cats come in at No 7 on the list of 12 in total commit points. However, the Cats come in last in average star ranking. Mr. Sec uses Rivals point system which I think is very inconsistent. UK has four players that Rivals doesn't rank (chances are they don't have film), so Mr. Sec gives them 1pt value each. I still don't understand how Raymond Sanders is not at least a four star recruit and how Michael Bailey only receives two stars when he was named 2nd team Juco All-American. Bailey was given two stars out of high school two years ago!

Music City Bowl Week and Notes

The Cats have one more practice today in Lexington before heading to Nashville. Rich Brooks was very disappointed with the team's effort yesterday in practice. Bowl games always scare me as teams have so much time to prepare. This is a prime time game for UK on Sunday night, so the Cats must play well.

Based on ESPN's Bowl Mania Fantasy Game, 88% of the entries have picked Clemson to win the Music City Bowl. I'm sure most of America is picking because of C.J. Spiller. However, as one Clemson fan told me, "C.J. has to get ready for the NFL combine too". I like the Cats chances against Clemson. It will be a home game for UK and I still believe UK controls the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. UK has to avoid giving up the big play on defense.

UK received three football commitments over the weekend. The first coming from Brandon Dunn (Louisville, KY) who will play defensive tackle at UK. The second commitment came from Kenarious Gates (Greenville, GA) who is a three star offensive linemen. Gate's commitment is huge for the Cats as they missed out on Skyler Schofner earlier this season. The third commitment came from Darrian Miller for the 2011 class. Miller is a big time recruit who could have played at several SEC schools.

Who's left on the recruiting "big board" now? My guess is that UK still wants to sign another running back and one receiver. Potential running back recruits would be; DJ Howard, Rajaan Bennett, Miles Simpson and Joseph Byrd. Potential receivers would be; Dyjuan Lewis, Maudrecus Humphrey and Duncan McGriff.

2011 Offensive Lineman picks Kentucky

Darrian Miller has given his commitment to UK for the class of 2011. Click on the title for the Herald Leader's article on his commitment. Miller becomes UK's second commitment for 2011, joining Jon Davis (Louisville, KY).

Brandon Dunn commits to Kentucky

Brandon Dunn (Louisville, KY) has committed to Kentucky for the class of 2010. Dunn visited UK this weekend and was expected to give the coaching staff his commitment. Dunn will play defensive tackle for UK. Dunn's commitment is the 24th in the 2010 class.

Kenarious Gates commits to Kentucky

Kenarious Gates (Greenville, Georgia) has committed to Kentucky for 2010. Gates is listed as a three star recruit according to Rivals. Gates was receiving interest from Mississippi State, Auburn, Clemson and others. His commitment gives UK their 23rd commitment for the 2010 class.

Eric Adeyemi leaving UK

Eric Adeyemi is leaving the UK football team based on reports. Adeyemi is a sophomore from Miami, Florida. He played in all 13 games as a true freshman including the Liberty Bowl. Everyone should wish Adeyemi the best in his future.

North vs. South All-Star Game (Georgia)

UK commits Raymond Sanders (RB) and Joseph Mansour (P) will be playing in the annual Georgia North vs. South All-Star game on December 29th. Also, playing in the game, are UK recruits Hutson Mason (QB) and Rajaan Bennett (RB). You can click on the link above to read the article by the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Xavier McFadden (UK Recruit) Video

UK had offered McFadden a while back, but with several cornerback commits already, it's unclear if the offer is still on the table. McFadden made 1st team All-State in South Carolina.

Recruiting Questions 2009-10

There seems to be a lot of questions regarding the recruiting dead periods for 2009-10. You can click here to read the NCAA rules. Basically the dead period beings December 21st and runs through Jan 1st. National Signing Day is February 4th, 2010 so mark your calendar!

Tony Gillespie (UK Recruit) Video

Gillespie plays at the same Juco school that Mark Crawford attended. It doesn't appear that UK has extended an offer.