Rich Brooks was not in the best of moods at his press luncheon earlier today. Perhaps it was because the UK coach had just received the feared news that offensive guard Stuart Hines will indeed have to undergo surgery Wednesday. At the time, Brooks had not received word back on Jess Beets’ MRI, but the news was not expected to be good there either.
With Jarred Jeffries already out, UK’s O-line is between a rock and a hard place. It doesn’t help that, as Brooks pointed out today, not only is South Carolina’s defense No. 1 in the SEC in total defense, the Gamecocks throw more looks and fronts at the opponent than probably any team the Cats will face this year. That can be confusing to both a make-shift offensive line and an inexperienced quarterback. UK will have both going into Saturday.
And it’s not as if the O-line has been opening big holes against foes to this point. Derrick Locke spoke to that today, saying he’d like to see more running plays and a great emphasis on the run. Brooks combated that argument by pointing out that Kentucky fell behind 14-0 to Alabama on Saturday, and the running game was going nowhere. The Cats were forced to throw.
You can watch the video of Brooks’ press conference here.
Here’s some audio from the four players who attended the luncheon.
