Practice Report-April 15

Quarterback Randall Cobb took his first snaps in a full-speed scrimmage situation on Wednesday and looked good according to UK Coach Rich Brooks. Cobb was held from contact for the first half of spring practice while he recovered from offseason knee surgery.

“He wasn’t favoring (the knee) at all,” Brooks said. “He got tackled several times and looked like he came out of it fine.”

Also, quarterback Mike Hartline returned after sitting out most of Monday’s practice with elbow tendonitis.

“I think he’s not as crisp throwing the ball, but it did settle down a bit,” UK Coach Rich Brooks said. “Now he’s got to get back in the groove.”

-Redshirt freshman walk-on running back Koshik Williams left Wednesday’s practice with a bruised shoulder. Brooks said the extent of the injury wasn’t immediately known. Williams has been one of the pleasant surprises of the spring thus far.

-Brooks said it’s still uncertain whether junior linebacker Brandon Thurmond will be able to contribute in the fall. Thurmond, who has undergone three knee surgeries, has been been undergoing non-contact tests to see if the knee has healed enough.

“It’s always an iffy thing,” Brooks said. “He’s missed some time due to swelling. We’ll just have to see how his knee responds to activity.”

-One area Brooks is focusing on this spring is third down conversions. The Wildcats converted only 31.4 percent of its third downs last year, which ranked 12^th in the SEC.

Brooks noted that UK went from the bottom of the league in third down defense in 2007 to sixth last year.

“If we can improve as much on third-down offense as we did on third down defense last year, then all of a sudden maybe our defense will look even better because they won’t be on the field as much,” Brooks said. “It’s something we have to continue to work on and try to develop an attitude with as well as execute.”