There have been calls for this move all year by fans all around Big Blue Nation. The circumstances are unexpected, but the pleas for a change in the quarterback at Kentucky have come to fruition. Mike Hartline was arrested and in short time suspended by Coach Joker Phillips which moves Morgan Newton right up to the starting slot. Exactly what a lot of people wanted.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
The problem with this necessary move is that Morgan Newton has no real time played in games this season and therefore is lacking experience. He had much more in 2009. Let’s take a look at what Newton has done:
[TABLE=”class: tablehead”]
[TR=”class: stathead”]
[TD=”align: left”]Stats Overview
[/TD]
[TD=”colspan: 10″]Passing
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR=”class: colhead, bgcolor: #c1c1c1″]
[TD=”align: left”]YEAR
[/TD]
[TD]CMP
[/TD]
[TD]ATT
[/TD]
[TD]YDS
[/TD]
[TD]CMP%
[/TD]
[TD]YPA
[/TD]
[TD]LNG
[/TD]
[TD]TD
[/TD]
[TD]INT
[/TD]
[TD]SACK
[/TD]
[TD]RAT
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR=”class: oddrow, bgcolor: #ffffff”]
[TD=”align: left”]2009
[/TD]
[TD]75
[/TD]
[TD]135
[/TD]
[TD]706
[/TD]
[TD]55.6
[/TD]
[TD]5.23
[/TD]
[TD]60
[/TD]
[TD]6
[/TD]
[TD]3
[/TD]
[TD]10
[/TD]
[TD]109.71
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR=”class: evenrow, bgcolor: #ececec”]
[TD=”align: left”]2010
[/TD]
[TD]4
[/TD]
[TD]7
[/TD]
[TD]54
[/TD]
[TD]57.1
[/TD]
[TD]7.71
[/TD]
[TD]40
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]121.94
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR=”class: oddrow, bgcolor: #ffffff”]
[TD=”align: left”]Projected
[/TD]
[TD]4
[/TD]
[TD]8
[/TD]
[TD]59
[/TD]
[TD]57.1
[/TD]
[TD]7.71
[/TD]
[TD]40
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]121.94
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[COLOR=#000000]4 completions in 7 attempts all season. That’s it. That doesn’t provide much experience going into a game that Joker and the Wildcats need to win to rejuvinate some interest in a lack luster season. And now the weight is all on the shoulders of young Newton.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#000000]Now that’s not to say that Newton isn’t capable. In fact, fans have called him to action throughout the season for all the right reasons. He’s now on the biggest stage of the year for the Wildcats. Although that doesn’t say much for the Cats, I beleive this to be the biggest game of the year and the most important game of the year leading into season 2 of Operation: Win. And how Newton plays in teh BBVA Compass Bowl will be a glimpse of things to come next year.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#000000]It’s going to be interesting to see how the new 1st string quarterback handles the pressure. It’s going to be interesting to see if Big Blue Nations call for Morgan Newton to lead the Wildcats has been the right plea. The situation leading to this has been unfortunate but the only thing that matters now is how Newton answers the call.[/COLOR]
