John Clay's Sidelines

Video of Ryan Tydlacka from after Thursday’s practice.

A five-spot of thoughts from the UK football press conference, completed about an hour ago:

• 1. Randall Cobb is not going to be the quarterback. He’ll stay at wide receiver, except for possibly a slightly expanded “Wildcat” package. As I wrote this morning, I think that’s the right call. Playing Randall at quarterback is a prescription for punishment. And Cobb is not as viable a passer, and you have to be able to throw the football, at least a little, to stand a chance in the SEC.

• 2. Morgan Newton is a factor. Thinking about what Rich Brooks said, and his tone, I think we might see a lot of the heralded freshman over the next four weeks. And that could be a silver lining. The sooner the staff finds out what it has in Newton, probably the better.

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Ryan Tydlacka (Photo by John Clay)

We’re 26 days away from the UK-Miami of Ohio opener, Sept. 5 at Paul Bown Stadium.

Today we look at the punting game. Tim Masthay has graduated after four years as UK’s regular punter. Ryan Tydlacka, who has done some pooch-punting, is the favorite to take over the job. Assuming he wins it, it will be Tydlacka’s first year as the regular punter.

So how have first-year punters done at UK over the past 20 years. The following chart lists the punter, his average that year, the average of the punter the preceding year, and the difference.