Tailbacks Alfonso Smith and Derrick Locke will be the game captains for this week’s contest at Alabama, Coach Rich Brooks has announced.

Game captains are normally selected on the basis of performance in the previous game.  In UK’s 41-3 win over Western Kentucky University, Smith (Louisville, Ky.) was the team’s leading rusher with six carries for 67 yards, including a career-long 35-yard touchdown run.  He also made two tackles in kick coverage.  Locke (Hugo, Okla.) had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and also contributed 34 rushing yards and 23 receiving yards.

Smith and Locke will join permanent captains Tony Dixon and Braxton Kelley at the pregame coin toss.

Offensive guard Sean Stackhouse, safety Clay Cecil and defensive end Collins Ukwu were named the Scout Team Players of the Week for their work in preparing the Wildcats for last week’s 41-3 win over Western Kentucky.

Stackhouse, a freshman from Jacksonville, Fla., and Cecil, a freshman from Ft. Thomas, Ky., were named for offense and defense, respectively.  Ukwu, a freshman from La Vergne, Tenn., was chosen for his performance on special teams.

Kentucky football kicker Tim Masthay has been selected as one of 30 candidates for the inaugural Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in football. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior (in the Football Bowl Subdivision only) and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: Classroom, Character, Community, and Competition.

Masthay has been the team’s starting punter all four seasons, playing in 41 career games. He currently leads the team and the Southeastern Conference in punting, averaging 45.7 yards per punt. He led the league last season with 23 touchbacks and is on pace to smash that total as a league-high 15 of his 27 kicks have been touchbacks already this season. Masthay also is the placekick holder for field goals.

Off the field, he has been very active in the “Cats That Care” service program. Masthay, who aspires to one day serve in the Peace Corps in Africa, traveled to the African country of Ghana for an educational and service trip in May. He is a frequent volunteer at the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge where he transports guests to and from medical appointments and answers phones. He also has volunteered and donated his time and money to several other causes across the Commonwealth.

In the classroom, Masthay is set to graduate in May, 2009 with a degree in economics. He was a second-team Academic All-American last season and is a two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection.

The 30 candidates will be narrowed down to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and the overall winner will be announced during a 2008-09 post-season college football event.

The candidates:

Name Position School

Travis Beckum Tight End University of Wisconsin (Madison)

Jeff Byers Offensive Guard/Center University of Southern California

Antoine Caldwell Center University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa)

Ian Campbell Defensive End Kansas State University

Chase Clement Quarterback Rice University

Maurice Crum Linebacker University of Notre Dame

Chase Daniel Quarterback University of Missouri (Columbia)

Travis Dekker Tight End U.S. Air Force Academy

Dustin Duclo Linebacker Western Michigan University

Larry English Defensive End Northern Illinois University

Marcus Freeman Linebacker The Ohio State University

Andrew Gardner Offensive Tackle Georgia Tech University

Courtney Greene Safety Rutgers University

Graham Harrell Quarterback Texas Tech University

Quin Harris Linebacker Louisiana Tech University

James Laurinaitis Linebacker The Ohio State University

Jonathan Luigs Center University of Arkansas (Fayetteville)

Alex Mack Center University of California (Berkeley)

Mohamed Massaquoi Wide Receiver University of Georgia

Tim Masthay Kicker University of Kentucky

Stephen McGee Quarterback Texas A&M University (College Station)

Troy Nolan Safety Arizona State University

Curtis Painter Quarterback Purdue University

Eric Peterman Wide Receiver Northwestern University

Sha’reff Rashad Defensive Back University of Central Florida

Darryl Richard Defensive Tackle Georgia Tech University

Brian Robiskie Wide Receiver The Ohio State University

Louie Sakoda Punter/Kicker University of Utah

Austin Starr Kicker Indiana University

John Parker Wilson Quarterback University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa)

The Cat Walk will take place at 12:15 CT in front of Bryant-Denny Stadium. The team will enter the stadium through Gate 23, and fans can line the path leading into the stadium that goes under the scoreboard.

Middle linebacker Micah Johnson, quarterback/wide receiver Randall Cobb, and defensive tackle Ricky Lumpkin participated in some drills yesterday but are still listed as doubtful for the Alabama game. All three players suffered high ankle sprains the Middle Tennessee game. Brooks said he’ll monitor the players’ progress in practice the rest of the week before making a final determination.

“They worked out,” Brooks said.  “We’ll see how they respond tomorrow, see if it gets real sore or not.  None of them are close to 100 percent.  It’s not even in that ballpark.  Whether they can be functional or not is the question.”

Former UK quarterback Curtis Pulley was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Week for his performance in Florida A & M’s 28-21 win over Tennessee State on Saturday. Pulley went 9-for-13 passing for 100 yards and also rushed for 98 yards and two TD’s. Former Louisville wide receiver JaJuan Spillman had 88 yards rushing for Tennessee State.

A quick look at this week’s SEC statistics provide some interesting fodder:

-Vanderbilt, the nation’s 19th-ranked team and current leader in the SEC East, is currently last in the league in both total offense (282.8) and total defense (364.2).

-While Kentucky is fourth in the nation in total defense (227.2), the only player they have currently in the league’s Top 20 in tackles per game is linebacker Micah Johnson (5.7), who has missed the past game and a half with a high ankle sprain.

-For all the talk of Tim Tebow’s struggles, the Florida QB still leads the league in passing efficiency and has thrown six touchdowns with no interceptions.

-UK’s Dicky Lyons currently leads the league in receptions per game (6.3) but his average yards per reception (7.6) is by far the lowest among the league leaders.

-Kentucky leads the league in time of possession (33:08 per game), touchbacks (15), red-zone defense (33.3 percent), pass efficiency defense (88.4), sacks allowed (two), opponent first downs (45 total), kickoff returns (38.5) and scoring defense (5.5).

The South Carolina at Kentucky game on Oct. 11 has been chosen for live regional telecast by Raycom Sports.

Game time will be 12:30 p.m. Dave Neal calls the play-by-play, with Dave Archer giving the analysis and Dave Baker providing reports from the sidelines.

This will be Kentucky’s third live national or regional telecast of the season, joining the Louisville (ESPN) and Alabama (CBS) games.

Kentucky offensive tackle Garry Williams has been named the Southeastern Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week.

Williams was chosen for his performance in Kentucky’s 41-3 win over Western Kentucky University. The Wildcats piled up 398 yards of total offense, including 216 on the ground, while scoring a season-high 41 points. Williams did not allow a quarterback sack or have a penalty, and as a unit, the UK O-Line allowed only one play for lost yardage.

This is the second time in his career that Williams, a senior out of Louisville’s Seneca High School, has been picked as the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week. He also was chosen following last year’s win over Florida Atlantic.

Williams is the third Wildcat to win an SEC Player of the Week honor in 2008. Defensive tackle Myron Pryor was the SEC Defensive Player of the Week for the Louisville game and quarterback Mike Hartline was the SEC Offensive Player of the Week after the win over Middle Tennessee.

UK coach Rich Brooks said on Sunday that starting right tackle Justin Jeffries is out indefinitely with an MCL sprain suffered in Saturday’s 41-3 win over Western Kentucky. UK Coach Rich Brooks said that redshirt freshman Billy Joe Murphy and sophomore Brad Durham will both see time at right tackle in Saturday’s game at No. 2 Alabama. Murphy started at left tackle earlier this season while starter Garry Williams was out with a knee injury.

Also, Brooks said listed Micah Johnson, Randall Cobb and Ricky Lumpkin, who suffered high ankle sprains two weeks ago against Middle Tennessee, as doubtful for Alabama.

Brooks did say that each player will be evaluated again later this week. Cobb’s injury was originally believed to be the most severe, but Brooks said Johnson’s ankle is probably in the worst shape of the three.

The University of Kentucky is ranked 28th in this week’s Associated Press and Coaches’ polls. Alabama, UK’s upcoming opponent, is ranked second in the AP poll and fourth in the coaches’ poll. The Crimson Tide won at then-No. 3 Georgia 41-30 on Saturday.