John Clay's Sidelines

Jeremy Jarmon

UK has released a statement from Rich Brooks on Jeremy Jarmon being ruled ineligible:

“My first concern is with Jeremy and his family and what a devastating blow this is for them. There was no intent by Jeremy to do anything improper, it was an error in judgment in not checking with our staff (before taking the supplement). Jeremy has been an outstanding individual on and off the football field, and I hope that people understand the class act he has has been.”

Why was the press conference held today? Because Jarmon said he wanted to address the situation publicly, and explain his actions. Apologize and explain. He is also leaving for France next week to study abroad as he works toward a second major. Jarmon has already earned a degree in political science.

Here’s the audio from press conference this morning announcing that Jeremy Jarmon’s football career at UK is over after testing positive for a banned substance taken in a dietary supplement.

Note: The audio is 29 minutes long. It includes Jarmon and UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart.

Mitch Barnhart and Jeremy Jarmon. (Photo by John Clay)

In a nutshell, UK defensive end Jeremy Jarmon has been ruled ineligible after testing positive for a banned substance he was taking in a dietary supplement. The suspension is for one year. Because Jarmon is a senior, his career at UK is over. Kentucky appealed the decision but was informed by the NCAA on Thursday that the appeal was denied.

Here is the official release from UK on Jarmon:

Jarmon Ruled Ineligible for Senior Season

LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky defensive end Jeremy Jarmon has been ruled ineligible for his senior season after inadvertently taking a dietary supplement that contained a substance banned by the NCAA.

At Jarmon’s request, he discussed the situation at a news conference Saturday morning on the UK campus. He began taking the supplement in early February with a goal of becoming leaner, but did not have the supplement approved in advance by the UK strength and conditioning staff, which is the proper procedure. He later asked about the supplement, which he discontinued taking after being advised to do so.

In a routine, random test by the NCAA on Feb. 24, Jarmon tested positive for a banned substance. The penalty for a positive test is the loss of one year of eligibility, in effect ending the collegiate career of the Wildcat senior. His appeal for reinstatement was denied Thursday night.

“My first concern is with Jeremy and his family and what a devastating blow this is for them,” Coach Rich Brooks said. “There was no intent by Jeremy to do anything improper, it was an error in judgment in not checking with our staff (before taking the supplement). Jeremy has been an outstanding individual on and off the football field, and I hope that people understand what a class act he has been.”

Jarmon played in 38 games during the last three seasons, including 31 starting assignments. He made 38 tackles as a junior, including 10 for loss and 4.5 quarterback sacks, along with six pass breakups. He was named second-team All-Southeastern Conference by Phil Steele’s College Football. In 2007, he was first-team All-SEC by Rivals.com and second-team All-SEC by the league coaches when he had 62 tackles, including 13.5 TFL and nine sacks. He has 17.5 sacks in his career, third in school history.

Jarmon has completed his degree in political science and is studying abroad this summer as he works toward a second major.

Continue reading ‘Liveblog: Jeremy Jarmon ruled ineligible over supplement’

Trevard Lindley

UK football coach Rich Brooks just finished up his press conference, talking about the return of Micah Johnson, Trevard Lindley and Jeremy Jarmon to the defense for next year. All three juniors looked into the NFL draft and decided to return to the Cats for another year.

The striking thing, to me, was that Brooks seemed to be a bit surprised with Lindley’s decision. Not that he was alone. Many, including yours truly, thought the shut-down corner would take the plunge. And Books confirmed that Lindley received a projection that he would be a second-round pick. As the coach said, some players end up slipping down from that, but Brooks said he believed that Lindley would not have fallen beyond the fourth round. And with the workouts, Lindley could have moved up to the first round.

On the other hand, the coach said that all three had received counsel from former UK players in the NFL, back during bye weeks or whatever, saying that yes, it’s nice in pro ball, but there’s nothing like college football. “I think they heard from different guys how much they missed what they were doing here,” said Brooks.

When you look at a Sam Bradford returning to Oklahoma, and a Tim Tebow returning to Florida, you know that has to be a factor. For Kentucky football 2009, that is a very positive factor. Even with six seniors departing, the Kentucky defense looks much better today than it might have looked two weeks ago, when the trio were sifting through the process.

Net surfing for UK news:

• New: Bleacher Report gives stats to back up why UK should be ranked.
• Aaron’s UK Basketball Blog digs up a link saying Mark Coury is headed to Cornell.
• Joe Hickman of KY3 News reports that UK is still recruiting Trae Golden.
• Herald-Leader’s Chip Cosby writes on the new titles for key offensive staff members.
• Herald-Leader’s Jerry Tipton reports that freshman Darius Miller shed some frustrations at Tennessee.
• Tipton also reports that Billy Gillispie is a-ok with Patrick Patterson’s scoring dip.
• Herald-Leader columnist Mark Story wants to know where all the big scorers have gone.
• In the Kentucky Kernel, Bobby Reagan writes that Jodie Meeks was not always a big-time scorer.
• H-L reports has that starters star in road win for UK women’s team.
• In the Tuscaloosa News, Christopher Walsh reports that cold-shooting doomed Bama in loss to UK.
• C-J columnist Eric Crawford writes that UK football is up, U of L football down.
• Dick Gabriel on the Jodie Meeks’ eruption zone.
• Dick Vitale jumps on the Jodie Meeks’ bandwagon.
• AP reports that the New York Giants have signed Andre Woodson again.
• The Cat Scratches blog talks to Jeremy Jarmon about his NFL draft research experiences.
• Had overlooked this earlier, but Jeff Goodman gives love to Jodie Meeks, duds to Tennessee.

Audio from post-game after UK holds on to beat Mississippi State 14-13:

Head coach Rich Brooks talks about the heart and effort of team hanging in to get bowl eligible with sixth win. (10:21)

Offensive coordinator Joker Phillips talks about the team moving the ball better in the second half. (5:39)

Defensive lineman Ventrell Jenkins, who finished with two sacks and four tackles overall. (2:50)

Randall Cobb talks about his first start at quarterback, and catching the football, and returning punts, and getting the win. (2:02)

Senior running back Tony Dixon talks about his 66 yards on 12 carries. (2:17)

Defensive end Jeremy Jarmon talks about the defensive effort that sacked MSU quarterback Tyson Lee four times. (1:57)

Defensive tackle Corey Peters talks about how UK knew it had to come out and clinch bowl eligibility. (2:32)

A snippet from A.J. Nance on that converted fake punt. (0:40)

Quarterback Mike Hartline talks about his reserve role, in which he completed nine of 17 passes for 90 yards. (1:12)