Chip Cosby on UK football

The University of Kentucky went into familiar territory to pick up its second known commitment for its 2010 recruiting class.

LaGrange (Ga.) kicker/punter Joe Mansour gave the UK coaching staff his verbal pledge on Monday night, according to LaGrange Coach Steve Pardue.

The 6-foot-2, 181-pound Mansour recently attended camp at LSU and also attracted interest from Florida. Pardue said Kentucky offered Mansour a scholarship after he put in an impressive performance at UK’s camp last month.

“He hit a 52-yard field goal off the ground, and he was impressive in kickoffs and on punts,” Pardue said. “Joe’s also a tremendous athlete. He ran a 4.44 and 4.48 (40-yard dash) at camps this summer.”

Kentucky will lose its No. 1 placekicker, Lones Seiber, to graduation following the 2009 season. UK has one other scholarship kicker, sophomore Ryan Tydlacka, who’s initially expected to focus on punting this fall.

Pardue said Kentucky will give Mansour a look as both a placekicker and punter.

“I think that’s the best thing about him,” Pardue said. “He can do both.”

UK’s other commitment came from Justin Henderson, a 6-foot-3, 223-pound defensive end from Bamberg, S.C. Henderson is listed as a three-star recruit by Scout.com and had scholarship offers from Colorado, Michigan State, Penn State, Texas A & M and Vanderbilt.

Tight end Ryan Wallace, who left the University of Colorado following the spring semester, will transfer to Kentucky, according to the Bowling Green Daily News.

Wallace, a three-star recruit out of high school who played for his father, Kevin at Bowling Green, redshirted as a true freshman at Colorado. Wallace’s father told the newspaper that his son will walk on at UK in 2009 and then go on scholarship the following year. He will have three years of eligiblity remaining.

Wallace

The University of Kentucky’s season-opener against Miami University on Sept. 5 is set for a noon kickoff and will be televised by ESPNU. The game will be played at Cincinnati’s Paul Brown Stadium.

Billed as the “Rumble at the River”, tickets for the game may be ordered in person at the University of Kentucky Ticket Office, at the Joe Craft Center or on the phone at 800-928-CATS.  Tickets cost $35 for upper level, $45 for lower level and $75 for club level.  All seats in Paul Brown Stadium are chairbacks.

Check out Paul Schwartz’s blog on the New York Post web site for a detailed report on former Kentucky quarterback Andre’ Woodson, who has apparently made strides in his second camp with the New York Giants.

Woodson

The University of Kentucky is still waiting to see if defensive line signee Donte Rumph will be eligible to play as a freshman in the fall.  The 6-foot-3, 260-pound Rumph originally signed with UK in February 2008 but instead enrolled at Fork Union Military Academy before resigning with the Cats in 2009.

UK Coach Rich Brooks said this week that Rumph still has a class to complete at Fork Union and is awaiting the results of his latest standardized test scores.

“It’s a situation where we’re just going to have to wait and see,” Brooks said.

Rumph, a three-star recruit, would likely challenge for immediate playing time at defensive end. The Wildcats don’t have any experience at the position after senior-to-be Jeremy Jarmon was ruled ineligible by the NCAA after testing positive for a banned substance.

The “Bear’s Boys,” former University of Kentucky football players under Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, will have a reunion Friday and Saturday, June 19-20, in Lexington.

At least 30 of the Bear’s Boys plan to attend the event, according to Dick Rushing and Bill Evans, who are helping coordinate the reunion.  Among the returnees who have committed to participate are:

• quarterback/placekicker George Blanda, who guided the Wildcats to their first bowl game (and win) in school history, and went on to the longest career in pro football history
• All-America quarterback Babe Parilli, who led UK to consecutive appearances in the Orange, Sugar and Cotton bowls
• UK football/basketball legend Wallace “Wah Wah” Jones, the only player to have his jersey retired in both sports

In addition to Blanda, Jones and Parilli, the tentative list of attendees includes Tommy Adkins, Chuck Bell, Jim Bowie, Bill Chambers, Bill Evans, Bob Fry, Ed Hamilton, Jim Hardin, Bob Holt, James Howe, Harry Jones, Lou Karibo, Joe Koch, Neil Lowry, Chet Lukowski, Ken Lutz, Dick Mitchell, Bill Mosley, Jim Proffitt, Harry Rogers, Dick Rushing, Frank Sadler, Millard Shirley, Lee Truman and Clayton Webb.

The group will have a reception on Friday, June 19, and a dinner on Saturday, June 20.  The Bear’s Boys have had reunions every two or three years since 1983.

Bryant was the head coach at Kentucky from 1946-53.  UK compiled a 60-23-5 record during those eight seasons, including the Wildcats’ first four bowl games.  Kentucky won the first (and only) Great Lakes Bowl in 1947 and played in the Orange, Sugar and Cotton bowls following the 1949, 1950 and 1951 seasons, respectively.  The Cats won the Sugar and Cotton bowl games.

Kentucky’s best season under Bryant came in 1950.  UK went 11-1, capped by a 13-7 win over Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, ending the Sooners’ 31-game winning streak.  UK is one of four schools that have a claim on the 1950 national championship.  At that time, national rankings were finalized before bowl games were played, but an analysis of the 1950 season by the Sagarin Computer Ratings lists UK as the No. 1 team for that season.

Kentucky football signee Morgan Newton will be honored on Saturday, June 13, during the Kentucky-Indiana All-Star Basketball Games.

Newton will be recognized as the Indianapolis Star Suburban Male Athlete of the Year.  The ceremony will take place at halftime of the girls’ game, which tips off at 3 p.m. EDT at the Canseco Field House in Indianapolis, Ind.  The boys’ game immediately follows the girls’ contest.

Newton is being lauded for his accomplishments in football and basketball.  A quarterback at Carmel (Ind.) High School, Newton was chosen All-America by Parade, SuperPrep, The Sporting News and MaxPreps, and also was a “Grid-Hoop” All-American by ESPN/Rise Magazine for his prowess in both sports.  He led Carmel to three consecutive appearances in the state championship game, winning the Class AAAAA title his junior year.  He was chosen as one of the nation’s top-10 quarterbacks by multiple evaluation services.  On the basketball court, he averaged 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals per game while earning All-Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference honors.

University of Kentucky coach Rich Brooks said on Wednesday that incoming freshman quarterback Ryan Mossakowski is expected to be cleared for full contact once fall camp begins in August. Mossakowski had surgery to repair a torn labrum on his throwing shoulder last winter.

UK signed Mossakowski and Morgan Newton, a pair of four-star prep quarterbacks in February. When asked if he’d rather redshirt Mossakowski if he’s not fully healthy, Brooks said, “I wouldn’t rather redshirt anybody. With all of our freshmen, I wait to see them on the field and judge if they’re ready to help us or not.”

Incoming University of Kentucky freshman quarterback Morgan Newton has been named the Suburban Athlete of the Year by the Indianapolis Star. Newton was also named ESPN/Rise Magazine Indiana Athlete of the Year in May and in April was named an ESPN/Rise Magazine Grid-Hoop All American. Newton’s father, Dr. John Newton, said that his son will arrive at UK for enrollment in summer school on Tuesday afternoon.

Here’s the link to the article regarding Newton’s Suburban Athlete of the Year Award:

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090608/SPORTS0202/906080339

Former UK defensive end Jeremy Jarmon confirmed via text message on Saturday that he will apply for the 2009 NFL Supplemental Draft. Jarmon was ruled ineligible for his senior season by the NCAA after testing positive for a banned substance.

UK Coach Rich Brooks told Catspause.com earlier this week that Jarmon intended to enter the Supplementary Draft, which began in 1977 and is designed for players who have lost their collegiate eligibility.

All 32 teams have an opportunity to make a selection in this year’s Supplemental draft but would lose their draft pick in the corresponding round of the 2010 NFL Draft. The Supplemental Draft is done by e-mail, with each team submitting to the league the name of the player(s) they are interested in along with the round of the supplemental draft they would like to choose them. The team that submits the highest bid is awarded rights to the player.

Last year’s supplemental draft was cancelled after no players applied.