John Clay's Sidelines

With finals week winding down, the UK men are back in action Saturday at home against Chattanooga. The women are at No. 3 Notre Dame on Sunday. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Chad Ford, who reports NBA GMs still rate Anthony Davis as next year’s top draft pick. This news comes despite the fact that playing two top teams the past two Saturdays, Davis has averaged just 6.5 points and 1.5 blocks per game.

• Despite struggles, Davis still No. 1 pick, says ESPN’s Chad Ford.
• Mathies gets good report on ankle, reports Jen Smith of H-L.
• Is UK in good with Shabazz? asks Next Cats.
• UK-IU draws huge audience, reports CBS’ Jeff Borzello.

Randall Cobb has come a long way from the smallish kid from Alcoa, Tennessee that the home-state Vols did deem worthy of a scholarship off. After a stellar three-year career at Kentucky, the second-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers is contributing some rookie highlights to the defending world champs. And now he’s a Sports Illustrated cover boy. Ah, Randall, we knew you when.

Continue reading ‘Randall Cobb on the cover of Sports Illustrated’

Just because Randall Cobb fumbled a kickoff return last week against Carolina doesn’t mean the Green Bay Packers want the former Kentucky star to be a little more careful in the future. In fact, Packers special teams coach Shawn Slocum chastised Cobb for not returning the next kickoff.

Excerpt from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

“The one-hopper off the ground? I thought he should have taken that out,” Slocum said on Monday. “It was a great opportunity to hit it. The ball was not in the air long and he caught it cleanly.

“He was going a little sideways and I think that’s why he decided to keep it in the end zone. “

The Packers are putting a lot of faith in Cobb because they showed what he could do with his 108-yard return against New Orleans. On his two kickoffs against Carolina he averaged 24 yards per return.

Cobb currently ranks second in that category league-wide among players with at least two returns, averaging 45.8, just under leader Percy Harvin’s 52.5.

The 2-0 Packers are at Chicago this Sunday.

Thanks to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Packers Blog, which reports that ex-UK star and current Green Bay sensation Randall Cobb was on the NFL’s “Around the League” show today.

One of the things Cobb talked about was how his days as a quarterback have helped him be a better receiver.

Continue reading ‘Video: Cobb says his QB days have helped him as a Packer’

Frame 1 of Randall Cobb’s spin and balance move in that 108-yard kickoff return for a touchdown last night.

Frame 2 of Randall Cobb’s spin and balance move in that 108-yard kickoff return for a touchdown last night. He gets a little help from teammate John Kuhn (No. 30).

Frame 3 of Randall Cobb’s spin and balance move in that 108-yard kickoff return for a touchdown last night.

Frame 4 of Randall Cobb’s spin and balance move in that 108-yard kickoff return for a touchdown last night.

And here is Cobb’s first Lambeau Leap, after his first touchdown.

(AP photo/Mike Roemer)

(AP photo)

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• Give that man a cheesy biscuit – Randall Cobb steals the show in NFL opener
• Randall Cobb makes one very impressive professional debut
• Playing for green and gold, Randall Cobb looks like Fantasy League gold
• Cobb tells NFL to stick new rule by taking kickoff 108 yards for score
• That’s all the NFL needs is for the rich to get richer, i.e. Randall Cobb
• Barnhart says UK football ticket sales down 6 percent, blames economy
• Traffic alert: Tent City at Memorial Coliseum will begin on Sept. 28
• Trinity High School will hold an on-the-field reunion at Commonwealth on Saturday
• Winston Guy has new faith as Kentucky’s hybird guy
• A preview of Saturday’s foe, the Chippewas of Central Michigan
• A Q&A with a Central Michigan blog about Saturday’s game
• Videos of Cobb runs after the jump.

Continue reading ‘BBL: NFL finds out what UK football fans already knew’

SI.com’s Peter King tweets this morning:

Later, Peter tweeted: “One more thing: The Pack’s going to have to find a role, and not just in tdhe return game, for this Cobb. He’s a threat.”

This should surprise no one around here, of course. I still go back to Joker Phillips’ first description of Cobb when he arrived on campus from Tennessee. Said Joker, “He’s a football player.” In a coach’s book, there is no higher compliment.

I just hope Green Bay has a Red Lobster with cheese biscuits. It is Wisconsin, so I know they have the cheese.

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’

(AP photo)

I was at Churchill Downs all morning, so missed the Randall Cobb press conference today at the Nutter Center. Never fear. Here are the quotes, as provided by UK:

On his feelings about being drafted in the second round by Green Bay …

“It’s probably the best thing that could have happened to me, to wait as long as I did and go to the team I did. God works in mysterious ways. For me to have the opportunity to play for Green Bay, such a powerful organization, so well known and so much tradition there, it’s going to be a great experience.”

On what it was like waiting that night…

“The first night, seeing everybody leave was a little hard on my family, not so much me, but more my family. The second day I went in there with the mindset of hopefully I’m getting off the table today. When the receivers started going it was a little bit of, ‘Where am I going?’ But like I said, God works in mysterious ways. I feel it’s probably the best position out of any of the receivers.”

Continue reading ‘Quotes from the Randall Cobb presser today’

Cat Scratches’ Eric Lindsey reports that Randall Cobb is one of 25 players who have been invited to attend the NFL Draft on Thursday in New York.

That would seem to indicate that Cobb has at least a decent shot of being picked in the first round.

Sports Blog Nation has Cobb going with the 61st pick, which puts him well into the second round.

But I’m guessing the NFL knows more.