ESPN’s Chris Low wrote this evening that perseverance is paying off for Kentucky senior quarterback Mike Hartline.
Low says Hartline is playing the best football of his career.
Here is an excerpt:
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But Hartline’s consistency was what set him apart, and it was clear to both Phillips and Kentucky offensive coordinator Randy Sanders that he was the best choice.
Here’s the other thing: Hartline earned the job, whereas he was pretty much handed the job the previous two seasons.
“This is really the first time he had to compete for the job,” said Phillips, noting that Curtis Pulley was kicked off the team during Hartline’s sophomore season, leaving Hartline as the only choice, and that Newton and Mossakowski simply weren’t ready last season.
“I liked the way Mike competed. We played a lot faster when Mike was in there, and the rest of the team rallied around him when he was in there. So we went with him and are excited with what he’s done with the position.”
What Hartline has done is become one of the SEC’s most productive passers. He’s second in the league with 1,791 passing yards and tied for second with 13 touchdowns passes. His ratio of 13 touchdown passes to three interceptions leads all starting quarterbacks in the league.
And in conference games only, Hartline is the leading passer with an average of 277.8 yards per game, and his eight touchdown passes against SEC foes are tied for the league lead along with South Carolina’s [COLOR=black]Stephen Garcia. [/COLOR]
“Before, we used to ask Mike to manage the game,” Phillips said. “Now, we’re asking him to go win games, and he’s doing that for us.”
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[URL=”http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/15727/hartlines-perseverance-paying-off-for-cats”]Complete Article[/URL]
