John Clay's Sidelines

I’ll admit it. I thought it would be Morgan Newton. I thought Mike Hartline would be UK’s staring quarterback until the competition continued to drag along, and after Saturday’s scrimmage I found myself trying to read between Joker Phillips’ lines. He said he didn’t want a game manager. He said he wanted someone who could win the game. Plus, if Hartline, the senior, had not beaten out Newton, the sophomore, by this time, the hunch was he would go with the younger player.

After practice on Monday, Phillips said it wasn’t really that close. Mike Hartline would be his starter.

The interesting thing, though, was that Phillips did not name Newton the backup. He said Newton and Ryan Mossakowski would be slashed at No. 2. “I know you all think that’s a bailout, but it’s not,” Phillips said, pointing out that the two still needed to compete, and that Mossakowski had made the most improvement of the three during fall camp.

Many UK fans won’t, I know, but you have to feel happy for Hartline. He’s a senior. He wants it. He wants to be the leader. He wants to be really good. He wants to excel at quarterback. He’s never said he wanted to prove his doubters wrong, but he’s human. You know there is a little of that, too.

You also have to feel a bit bad for Newton, who obviously was disappointed. Anyone there interviewing him after practice could see that. (There were about 14 or 15 of us there, and the informal media poll had it 7-6-1 for Hartline, Newton and Mossakowski before the choice was made.) No doubt, Newton wanted to be the starter, maybe even thought he had won the starting job. And yet, as he pointed out, he went from No. 3 to No. 1 in “a snap of a finger” last year.

The interesting news here concerns Mossakowski. The staff likes the redshirt freshman. You can tell. The coaches like his moxy. They like the way he commands the huddle. They like the way his arm has improved coming off shoulder surgery. “He can make the throws,” said Phillips.

Bracketing Mossakowski with Newton at No. 2 shows he will be a factor.

Here is video of Joker talking about the decision.

Big Blue Links for Monday:

• The rapper who inspired the John Wall Dance has been killed, reports WLEX-TV.

• Charlie White of the Courier-Journal has story on death of “Sugar Shizz.”

• Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader reports that UK freshmen are getting their shot on special teams.

• Rajon Rondo surprisingly sat the bench during USA win over Spain, writes Pete Thamel of the New York Times.

• Mike Krzyzewski plays his strongest hand with USA team, writes Chris Sheridan of espn.com.

• Tee Martin and Randall Cobb team up on Facebook, writes Mark McCarter of the Huntsville Times.

• Challenges await Joker Phillips at Kentucky, writes Will Graves of the Associated Press.

• Rick Bozich of the Courier-Journal has 25 questions to kick off the college football season.

• Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal writes on UK freshman defensive back Jerrell Priester.

• Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger says freshmen linebackers are impressing position coach Chuck Smith.

• More of UK coach Joker Phillips talking to media after his team’s Sunday workout:

Luke Stocker

SEC links for Monday:

• Ex-Madison Southern star Luke Stocker is a man of many roles at Tennessee, writes Patrick Brown for the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

• John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel writes that fans need a list for loathing.

• All eyes are on the quarterbacks at South Carolina, writes Joe Person of The State.

• Freshman Trey Burton may take over Tebow role at Florida, reports Anthony Chiang of the Orlando Sentinel.

• Chris Rainey adjusting to a new role for Gators, writes Ray FitzGerald of the Gainesville Sun.

• Tommy Hicks of the Mobile Press-Register offers some things to think about as SEC season approaches.

• A Vanderbilt linebacker learned life lessons in Africa, writes Mike Organ of the Tennessean.

• The AJC has a photo gallery from Georgia fans’ picture day.

• Josh Jasper is old reliable when it comes to kicking field goals at LSU, writes Gary Laney of The Advocate.

• Alfred Davis ready to anchor Arkansas’ defensive line, writes Robbie Nieswanger of the Arkansas News.

Kentucky coach Joker Phillips talks to the media after Sunday’s practice, and says that despite watching film, and everyone wanting to know, he has no news about who the team’s starting quarterback will be on Sept. 4.

Safety Winston Guy makes tackle last year against Miami. (H-L photo)

Big Blue Links for Sunday:

• Mychal Bailey is fitting right in on the Kentucky defense at safety, reports Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.
• Quarterback competition is almost over after Saturday’s scrimmage, writes Cosby of the H-L.
• My column on what happens after “The Decision” at UK quarterback.
• Out-of-state recruiting ban crippled Kentucky football at one time, writes Mark Story of the H-L.
• At Kansas, marketplace $elects $eats, writes Jerry Tipton of the H-L.
• Indianapolis offensive tackle commits to Kentucky, reports Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.
• Joker Phillips is watching more than just the quarterbacks, writes Vaught.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Quarterbacks, safeties, linebackers, running backs’

South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia. (The State photo)

SEC links for Sunday:

• As always, Steve Spurrier wants more from his quarterbacks, writes Joseph Person of The State.
• Spurrier not happy with his quarterbacks, writes Travis Haney of the Charleston Post and Courier.
• Alabama starts where it finished, as AP No. 1, writes Ralph Russo of the AP.
• Alabama tightens up on defense, writes A. Stacy Long of the Montgomery Advertiser.
• Jeff Schultz of the AJC writes that rankings prove Georgia has lost benefit of the doubt.
• Florida not worried about the polls, right now, reports Anthony Chiang of the Orlando Sentinel.
• Florida’s running backs will get more work in short-yardage situations, reports David Jones of Florida Today.
• Crowd of 9,000 watches Jeremiah Masoli impress at Ole Miss scrimmage, writes Parrish Alford of the NE Mississippi Daily Journal.
• Clarion-Ledger columnist Rick Cleveland thinks Ole Miss should benefit from a softer schedule, which includes Kentucky.
• Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger reports that youth was served at Mississippi State’s scrimmage.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Spurrier not happy with his quarterbacks (again)’

Here first is UK offensive coordinator Randy Sanders. Got in late on Randy’s interview, but the OC is holding his cards pretty close to the vest, anyway. Wouldn’t be shocked, however, if a starter is announced Sunday or Monday.

Here is defensive coordinator Steve Brown, who at first is talking about Mychal Bailey. Then Brown talks about the defense as a unit.

Kentucky coach Joker Phillips talks to the media after his morning’s scrimmage at Commonwealth Stadium. He said he has not made a decision on quarterback. He said that all three did some good things, and made some blunders. He said he is not ready to narrow the list down to two. He said it is possible that the staff could name a starter after watching the video of the scrimmage. He also complimented the young running backs, Raymond Sanders and Brandon Gainer.

Here Joker talks about the center position, and the No. 41 he drapes praise on is junior defensive back Mychal Bailey. Also, Qua is linebacker Qua Huzzie, who has missed time with a blister on his foot.

(H-L photo/Pablo Alcala)

Big Blue Links for Saturday:

• Kentucky could shake things up in unusually unsettled SEC East, writes Brad Ziamenek of the Montgomery Advertiser.
• Mike Freeman of CBS Sports names John Calipari among the top 50 jerks in sports. (Hat tip to Steve Moss of WKYT.)
• Joker Phillips and Lee Todd were among those meeting UK freshmen on Friday, writes Jim Warren of the Herald-Leader.
• Timing of ACL injury tough for UK women’s point guard Amber Smith, writes Jennifer Smith of the Herald-Leader.
• Danny Trevathan taking charge at linebacker for Kentucky, writes Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.
• Elliott Porter and Donte Rumph look to bolster Kentucky’s defensive line, writes Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal.
• Randall Burden is ready for a starring role, writes Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.
• Chris Low of espn.com answers a mailbag question about the UK quarterback situation.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Writer thinks UK could make noise in SEC East’