John Clay's Sidelines

(H-L photo/Ken Weaver)

Joe Reedy, the Bengals’ beat writer for the Cincinnati Enquirer, did a 20-question post today about the pro team from Cincinnati, which is currently prepping at Georgetown College for its exhibition opener Monday Friday night against the Detroit Lions.

The questions were posed to Joe’s twitter account. In one answer, he gave a shout-out to a former UK defensive end now trying to make the transition to linebacker.

Excerpt:

I know its early but what undrafted rookie has the best shot to make the roster as of now?

LB and former UK standout DeQuin Evans.

When I was at Bengals camp last Saturday, word was Evans had impressed the coaches with his drive and athletic ability. The Bengals are also in need of linebackers. Now the question is how quickly Evans can make the transition, and what the roster-crunch will be like.

Click here for a video I did with Evans last Saturday at Georgetown.

Former UK defensive end DeQuin Evan is in camp with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent. He’s also making the switch to linebacker. So far, so good. I was over at Georgetown College this afternoon, and the reports are that Evans has impressed the coaches with his ability and his willingness to learn. He is often the first in meetings, and stays late to ask questions. The Bengals play their first exhibition game Friday against the Detroit Lions.

Big Blue Links for Tuesday:

• New UK president says athletics are important asset to university
• Preston LeMaster named head coach at East Ridge High School
• Darius Miller was nervous as roster cuts were being made for USA team
• Brandon Bender confirms NCAA investigation rumors
• Jeff Goodman thinks Archie Goodwin could be UK’s first 2012 commit
• Randall Cobb working out at three receiving positions for Packers
• At his skills camp, DeMarcus Cousins says he misses UK
• Nothing but love for Lexington sports maven Dick Robinson
• DeQuin Evans trying to make it as linebacker with Bengals
• If the NCAA takes it away, did it really happen?

Continue reading ‘BBL: New UK president says athletics important’

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

• Another top John Calipari class is ready to sign today, writes Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.
• Calipari rules the recruiting trail again, writes Jim Halley of USA Today.
• Randall Cobb to consider leaving early for the NFL draft, reports Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.
• Cobb could be near the end of his UK career, writes Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal.
• DeQuin Evans has been battling injuries all year, writes Dawson for the C-J.
• Vanderbilt defensive back will help out at quarterback, reports Jeff Lockridge of the Tennessean.
• Matt Roark flying under the radar for UK, writes B.W. Jones of the Kentucky Kernel.
• It will be Kentucky’s talent vs. East Tennessee’s experience, writes Tipton of the H-L.
• Houston Rockets send Patrick Patterson to D-League, says H-L staff report.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Calipari ready to ink a No. 1 class again today’

(Sacramento Bee photo/Hector Amezcua)

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• DeMarcus Cousins is now as tall as a Sacramento building (sort of), says the Sacramento Bee. (Hat tip to Bluegrass State Basketball.)
• Kentucky confident DeQuin Evans will snap out of his slump, writes Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.
• NCAA has granted Enes Kanter a waiver so he can continue practicing, reports Jerry Tipton of the H-L.
• Rivals ranks the Kentucky basketball recruiting class No. 1 for a third year in a row.
• Rick Bozich of the Courier-Journal wants to know what’s happening in the SEC East.
• Eric Crawford of the C-J thinks people are missing the point on Eric Bledsoe.
• Randall Cobb could make a possible Heisman push, says Matt May of the Cats Pause.
• Derrick Locke is approaching a rushing milestone, writes Nick Craddock of the Kentucky Kernel.
• UK volleyball looks to defend its SEC East title, writes Ethan Levine of the Kernel.
• Kentucky has to find a way to stop the run, writes Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.

Continue reading ‘BBL: DeMarcus Cousins is as big as a building’

This is DeQuin Evans at the UK football luncheon earlier today.

Big Blue Links for Monday:

• My column saying UK’s next football game is also the football game.

• Banged-up Cats have one week to prepare, reports Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.

• DeQuin Evans leads a young defensive line, writes Aaron Smith of the Kentucky Kernel.

• Evan Daniels of Scout.com says UK fans should not worry about Michael Gilchrist’s drop in the rankings, writes Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.

• Trevard Lindley’s makes an exhibition interception with the Philadelphia Eagles:

(Hat tip to Kentucky Sports Network.)

Continue reading ‘BBL: “The Game” week is finally here’

(H-L photo)

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

• Chris Low of espn.com ranks Kentucky No. 8 among SEC quarterbacks in league position ratings.

• DeQuin Evans is happy to represent his family, writes Eric Lindsey of Cat Scratches.

• Derrick Locke and Randall Cobb make pre-season All-SEC first team, while Evans is a second-team choice, says H-L staff report.

• Writing for Kentucky Sports Network, Ira Combs asks if Mike Hartline is the leader at UK quarterback?

• Darrell Bird of the Cats Pause previews SEC Media Days in Hoover, Alabama.

• Joker Phillips shares some insights on this year’s football team with Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.

• Alan Cutler of WLEX-TV says that as head coach, Joker is the boss.

• Kentucky has plenty of competition for Boyle County linebacker Lamar Dawson, reports Dan Rieffer of WTVQ,

• Ken Howlett of A Sea of Blue believes that UK football has a favorable 2010 schedule.

• Aaron’s UK Football Blog looks at the status of the Kentucky redshirts from 2009.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Locke, Cobb, Evans, Hartline, Joker, Dawson’

Brandon Knight at ESPY Awards.

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• Greg Nord says he returned to Kentucky to be the best, reports Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.

• Brandon Knight is named Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year, reports Christy Cabrera Chirinos of the Sun Sentinel.

• Alexa Steele of the Washington Post on why John Wall skipped the ESPYs, where he won Best Male College Athlete.

• Former UK chaplain, Ed Bradley, is fighting cancer, blogs Steve Moss of WKYT.

• Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes that DeMarcus Cousins is showing Kings he means business.

• Mark Story of the H-L is fixing March Madness and preparing for football.

• There’s no rest for Michael Gilchrist, blogs Eamonn Brennan of espn.com.

• Tom Leach has a video interview with Nord, who will coach special teams and tight ends.

• Cousins outplays Wesley Johnson, who was drafted ahead of him, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

• NBA.com’s Rookie Ladder has Cousins ranked No. 1, with Derek Caracter at No. 2, Wall at 3. (Hat tip to Kentucky Sports Network.)

Continue reading ‘BBL: Knight, Wall, Cousins, Gilchrist all shine’

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader writes that Clarion game brings back memories of John Calipari’s time there.
• Chip Cosby of the H-L writes about freshman quarterback Morgan Newton.
• The Easy Being Green blog reports on the Wildcat Coal Lodge banner protest at UK.
• Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal writes on UK freshman receiver La’Rod King.
• Matt May of the Cats Pause reports that Trevard Lindley and Mike Hartline are making progress.
• Marlen Garcia of USA Today writes on the red-hot UK-U of L basketball rivalry.
• Brian Rosenthal of Husker Extra reports that Billy Gillispie was at Nebraska to watch the Cornhuskers. (Hat tip to Aaron’s UK Basketball Blog.)
• Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger reports that DeQuin Evans thinks Cats backed down.
• Kevin Patton of the Henderson Gleaner writes that Newton’s progress comes at Will Fidler’s expense. (Hat tip to Aaron’s UK Football Blog.)
• Metz Camfield of the Kentucky Kernel writes on John Wall and high expectations.
• T.J. Walker of the Kernel writes on volleyball’s Gretchen Giesler.

Continue reading ‘BBL: USA Today tackles UK-U of L, and other links’