I’m back from my one-week furlough just in time for the start of SEC Football Media Days, which kicks off Wednesday at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala. UK Coach Rich Brooks, defensive back Trevard Lindley and offensive lineman Zipp Duncan will address the media Wednesday afternoon. Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino is also on tap for that first day.

Brooks and Louisville Coach Steve Kragthorpe will also be appearing at the annual Governor’s Cup Classic on July 23 at the Cardinal Club in Simpsonville, Ky.

From there, the season inches closer with the UK Football Kickoff Luncheon on Friday, July 31 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Lexington.  Individual tickets cost $40 each and a table of 10 costs $400.  Parking will be available in the High Street parking lot across from the hotel.  For reservations, contact Leslie Bray at 859-257-2589.

The players are set to report for fall camp on Thursday, Aug. 6, with Media Day and the first official team practice taking place on Friday, Aug. 7. Fan Day will be held Aug. 8 at Commonwealth Stadium.

The Wildcats will kickoff the 2009 season against Miami University on Sept. 5 in Cincinnati’s Paul Brown Stadium.

Incoming University of Kentucky quarterback Morgan Newton will play in the Grange Insurance All-Star football game this Friday in Indianapolis. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at North Central High School

The University of Kentucky typically doesn’t announce which recruits have and have not qualified over the summer, and the media usually doesn’t receive an official list until talking with head coach Rich Brooks at SEC Media Days.

Many of UK’s 28 signees have already arrived on campus, including quarterbacks Morgan Newton and Ryan Mossakowski, athlete Jordan Aumiller, junior-college transfers Chris Matthews and DeQuin Evans, linebackers Qua Huzzie, Tristian Johnson and Ridge WIlson, defensive end Patrick Ligon, running backs Donald Russell and Dakotah Tyler, offensive linemen Kevin Mitchell, Sam Simpson, and Larry Warford, and receiver Brian Adams.

Several recruits remain in limbo. LaGrange High coach Steve Pardue told me last month that signee Demetri Merritt would likely not qualify and instead enroll at Southwest Mississippi Junior College, which is where 2007 signee Mychal Bailey is currently attending.

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported this week that UK signee Justin Bean will be enrolling at Itawamba (Miss.) Community College.

There’s been a lot of speculation regarding defensive end Donte Rumph, who signed in 2008 but spent the last year at Fork Union Military Academy.  The last time I talked to Rumph, he told me that had still not gained the necessary test score for eligibility and still had another opportunity to take the test in June.

However, I talked with two members of the UK coaching staff over the weekend who informed me that Rumph is still not on campus and is not expected to qualify.

I haven’t been able to track down any information on tight end Terrell Mitchell, who has reportedly not yet qualified.

Things have been slow around the Kentucky football camp so far in July. UK Coach Rich Brooks has spent the past couple of weeks vacationing in Oregon while several other members of the coaching staff are also enjoying perhaps their only down time of the year. I will also be taking a short break in the form of a mandatory one-week furlough that starts on Monday.

But the start of football season is just around the corner. I’ll be returning from my furlough on Monday, July 20, and then leaving for the start of SEC Media Days on Wednesday, July 22 in Birmingham. Brooks, senior cornerback Trevard Lindley and senior offensive lineman Zipp Duncan are slated to represent UK on that opening day.

UK hasn’t released official dates for the start of fall camp, but it usually begins the first week of August. The Wildcats will kick off the season Sept. 5 against Miami University at Cincinnati’s Paul Brown Stadium.

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.