UK senior punter/kicker Tim Masthay has been named first-team Academic All-America as sponsored by ESPN The Magazine and elected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

It’s the second consecutive first-team Academic All-America selection for Masthay, who has a 3.81 grade-point average with a major in business economics. It is also his second national honor of the year, as in September he was chosen to the Good Works Team for community service by the American Football Coaches Association.

Masthay ranks third in the nation in punting with 45.5 yards per punt and also ranks second in the Southeastern Conference with 20 touchbacks.

This marks the fourth-straight year that Kentucky has had a first-team Academic All-American, with UK and Penn State being the only teams that have accomplished that feat from 2005-08. In addition to Masthay, UK’s recent first-team Academic All-Americans include tight end Jacob Tamme (2007), offensive lineman Hayden Lane (2006 and 2005) and kicker Taylor Begley (2005).

Chick-Fil-A Bowl representative Kurt Patberg will visit Neyland Stadium on Saturday to scout the Tennessee-Kentucky game. The Wildcats (6-5, 2-5 SEC) would likely need a win and some outside help to merit serious consideration for the Chick-Fil-A, which will be held on New Year’s Eve in Atlanta and will feature an SEC team against an opponent from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Former University of Kentucky wide receiver Steve Johnson has started to make an impact for the Buffalo Bills. While he didn’t have any catches in the Bills’ 54-31 win over Kansas City on Sunday, he got his first career start the week before against the Cleveland Browns and had three catches for 41 yards. The Bills’ coaching staff credits the pro-style offense that Johnson played in while at UK as one of his advantages over Buffalo’s other rookie wideout, second-round pick James Hardy from Indiana.

Steve Johnson

According to Scout.com, the University of Kentucky has lost of one its prized commitments for its 2009 recruiting class. Calhoun County (S.C.) athlete David Sims told the web site that he is now committed to Georgia Tech. Sims visited Tech for its 41-23 win over Miami on Thursday.

Sims’ loss is a big one, considering the Wildcats had planned on using him at tailback, one of its most glaring needs. Sims is listed as a three-star prospect by Rivals.com and Scout.com and is expected to play quarterback at Georgia Tech.

Going into this weekend, the consensus was the University of Kentucky was down to three potential destinations for the bowl: The Liberty Bowl, Music City Bowl and Chick-Fil-A Bowl.

To get to the Chick-Fil-A in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome on Dec. 31, Kentucky (6-5, 2-5 SEC) needs to beat Tennessee next week and get some outside help. The Cats got some good news and bad news on that front Saturday. Vanderbilt and Ole Miss were viewed as two other primary contenders for the Chick-Fil-A.

Vandy, which beat UK last week to get bowl eligible, lost to Tennessee 20-10. The  Commodores (6-5) travel to Wake Forest next week.

Ole Miss, however, got a huge 31-13 road win at LSU. The Rebels now have seven wins and will be favored in next week’s Egg Bowl showdown with Mississippi State. Ole Miss may now be in play for a Cotton Bowl bid, with LSU perhaps sliding into the Chick-Fil-A discussion.

UK Coach Rich Brooks and his staff have been evaluating the younger Cats during the open date, and he likes what he’s seen so far. The Wildcats had a scrimmage featuring the true freshmen and redshirt freshman on Thursday and will take the weekend off before resuming preparations for Tennessee on Sunday.

Brooks identified several redshirt freshmen who could skyrocket up the depth chart next fall. Perhaps one of the most impressive has been defensive end Collins Ukwu, a late signee who originally committed to Middle Tennessee State. The 6-foot-4 Ukwu arrived in Lexington last summer as a lean, sleek 207-pounder but is now a buff 243 pounds.

Brooks said the future of the offensive line is in good shape with Matt Smith, Dave Ulinskki and Trevino Woods, and Brooks and Brown tabbed William Johnson as another player likely to find himself in the rotation next year. Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 200-pounder with speed and athleticism, could be in the mix at either outside linebacker or safety.

UK Coach Rich Brooks and defensive line coach Rick Petri are up for a pair of “Coach of the Year” awards.

Brooks is one of the top 25 vote-getters for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award.  Despite major graduation losses from last year, and key injuries this season, Brooks has guided the Wildcats to a 6-5 record.  At 6-5, UK is bowl-eligible for the third-consecutive season, the first time since 1949-50-51 that UK has accomplished that feat in three-straight years. To vote for Brooks, fans can go to the website www.coachoftheyear.com.  Fans can vote once per day.

Petri is one of four finalists for a national award for defensive line coaches.  FootballScoop.com is sponsoring national coach of the year honors for assistant coaches at each position group.

The defensive line has been one of the key components of the Wildcats’ success this year.  The UK defensive linemen have combined for 161 tackles, including 31.5 tackles for loss and 13.5 quarterback sacks.

To vote for Petri, go to www.footballscoop.com, click on “2008 Coaches of the Year” on the left side of the screen, then go to “defensive line.”

University of Kentucky defensive end Jeremy Jarmon will undergo arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday in order to correct a cartilage tear in his right knee and is doubtful for UK’s regular-season finale against Tennessee on Dec. 29, Coach Rich Brooks announced on Monday.
Jarmon suffered the injury in Saturday’s 31-24 loss to Vanderbilt. Jarmon has 33 tackles this season, including nine tackles for loss and 3.5 quarterback sacks, along with five pass breakups and two forced fumbles.

Sophomore tailback Trey Bowland ran for 128 yards on 16 carries with three rushing touchdowns to lead the University of Kentucky junior varsity past Fork Union 55-28 Monday at Commonwealth Stadium.

Freshman receiver Aaron Boyd had a team-high seven catches for 107 yards. Boyd caught a 7-yard pass from Will Fidler in the second half. Sophomore walk-on quarterback Caleb Newton from was a perfect 5-for-5 on the day for 100 yards passing, including a 43-yard touchdown strike to freshman Gene McCaskill to lead the Wildcat air attack.

“I think it is a great opportunity for a lot of our guys to get some game action,” UK head coach Rich Brooks said. “I’m very pleased with some positive things. It was a great opportunity to get game action and evaluate our personnel and I saw a lot of good things out there. Some of these guys will get out on the field a lot quicker because of some of the things that they did today.

Redshirt freshman kicker Ryan Tydlacka connected on both of his field goal attempts from 43 and 46 yards.

Fork Union defensive lineman Donte Rumph, who signed with UK in February, had a sack in the third quarter. Fork Union featured several players who have committed to Division I schools, including wide receiver D.J. Coles and running back Tony Gregory (Virginia Tech) ; defensive end Ronald Byrd and defensive end Chaz Sutton (South Carolina); and defensive linemen Cody Blue and Zach Kerr (Maryland).

The Nov. 29 Kentucky-Tennessee game has been selected for live telecast on ESPN2 at 6:30. The game will be Phil Fulmer’s final game as the Volunteers’ head coach. Tennessee has beaten UK 23 straight times, the longest such winning streak in the nation.