Wildcat Football

Coach brooks believes he gives the cats the best chance to win and that may be true. However, it doesn't change the sick feeling in my stomach at the thoughts of having to sit through a game with him behind center? Don't get me wrong, I don't want anyone hurt, and I know he was playing some of his best football when he was injured, but it's more than that. It just seems the team as a whole plays better when he's doing something else.



[caption id="attachment_165" align="alignleft" width="155" caption="Mike Hartline drops back against Sourth Carolina in 2008"][/caption]

If you're for hime or against hime, here's the latest news on his progress from ukathletics.com...

The major news was the return of quarterback Mike Hartline, who – except for a brief appearance in the Vanderbilt game – has been out of action since incurring a knee injury at South Carolina on Oct. 10.

“Hartline did 7-on-7, 1-on-1 (drills) and all of that, and if he doesn't have any setback we'll increase his reps into the team period tomorrow,” Brooks said. “What I was impressed with was his accuracy. When he came back before we played at Vanderbilt, he was throwing it accurately but when he had to move he couldn't move. We didn't stress that today. There's no soreness right now, there's no swelling. We'll see how it reacts from what he did today and increase that on a daily basis and hopefully he won't have any setbacks. We have two more practices (Sunday and Monday) and then he'll get a three-day break before a Friday night practice next week.”

Two Wildcats were named to the SEC Freshman team this past week. Quarterback morgan newton and o-Lineman Larry Warford were recognized by the coaches as a result of their voting.



Here's the information reported from UK Athletics ...
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Quarterback Morgan Newton and offensive guard Larry Warford were chosen for the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team selected by league coaches.

Originally headed for a redshirt season, Newton started the last seven games after Mike Hartline sustained a knee injury at South Carolina on Oct. 10. Newton guided the Wildcats to a 5-2 record in his starting assignments, including SEC road wins at Auburn, Vanderbilt and Georgia.

Newton completed 62 of 112 passes (55.4 percent) for 608 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed for 93 net yards and two TDs. He was named SEC Freshman of the Week after completing 20 of 29 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns against Eastern Kentucky. Another top game came in the upset at Georgia, as he hit 9 of 17 passes for 137 yards and three TDs.

Warford played in nine games, seeing signification [sic] action as a reserve offensive guard and on special teams. He earned more playing time as the season progressed. The offensive line helped power UK to 193.2 rushing yards per game, the team’s best mark in 14 years. UK ranks in the nation’s top 25 teams in rushing offense, fewest quarterback sacks allowed and fewest tackles for loss allowed.

It looks like Derrick Locke is going to test the waters in the NFL. Some of the so called "experts" see him going as late as round seven.

After the last few games of the year where he was not given the chance to run. Who knows where his head is at. I wish him the best but it would definitley be a huge blow to what could be a WOW of a season next year.