The University of Kentucky has moved closer to completing its 2009 schedule. Louisiana-Monroe announced on Tuesday that they will play UK on Oct. 24 at Commonwealth Stadium. UK still needs one more game and has two openings left on its schedule on Sept. 5 and Sept. 12.
Kentucky beat ULM 42-40 in Lexington in 2006.
University of Kentucky quarterbacks coach Randy Sanders was not listed as a finalist for the head coaching job at Chattanooga according to a report in the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Sanders told the Times Free Press last week that he was interested in the job and had talked with the school about the opening, but Chattanooga athletics director Rick Hart told the newspaper that his search was down to three candidates: Tennessee-Martin coach Jason Simpson, Lambuth University coach Hugh Freeze and Richmond defensive coordinator Russ Huesman.
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.
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).
University of Kentucky punter/kicker Tim Masthay is one of 13 finalists for the 2008 Wuerffel Trophy, a national award that honors the college football player who best combines exemplary community service with outstanding academic and athletic achievement.
The award is named after former Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel, who led the Florida Gators to the 1996 national championship, played six years in the National Football League and has received national recognition for his humanitarian and community service efforts with Desire Street Ministries in New Orleans.
The finalists are:
— Tim Tebow, junior quarterback, Florida
— Austin Starr, senior place kicker, Indiana
— Mike Rivera, senior linebacker, Kansas
— Tim Masthay, senior kicker/special teams, Kentucky
— Quin Harris, senior linebacker, Louisiana Tech
— Chase Daniel, senior quarterback, Missouri
— Todd Peterson, senior wide receiver, Nebraska
— Justin Paysinger, senior center, San Jose State
— Graham Harrell, senior quarterback, Texas Tech
— Will Chambliss, senior offensive lineman, Troy
— Travis Dekker, senior tight end, USAF Academy
— Louie Sakoda, senior punter/place kicker, Utah
— Tim Hiller, junior quarterback, Western Michigan
The winner will be formally announced on December 9. Masthay is UK’s third finalist, joining Antoine Huffman (2005) and Jacob Tamme (2007). The 2008 Wuerffel Trophy will be presented to the winner at the All Sports Association’s 40th Annual Awards Banquet on February 20, 2009.
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A representative from the Outback Bowl will be at Saturday’s Georgia-UK game. The Outback Bowl will take place on New Year’s Day at 11 a.m. at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium. The bowl pits the SEC against the Big Ten. The Chick-Fil-A Bowl will also be in attendance.
Kentucky Coach Rich Brooks commented Monday on Tennessee Coach Phil Fulmer stepping down after 17 years on the Vol sidelines. Fulmer has a 150-51 career record and won the national title in 1998.
“It’s a shame that a coach with a winning percentage of about 75 percent, who also won the SEC Eastern Division last season, is stepping down. It’s a sign of the times in our ‘What have you done for me lately?’ society.
“Coach Fulmer has been a great representative of college football and given Tennessee a lot of great years. He’ll be missed in college football.”
Senior defensive tackle Myron Pryor (high ankle sprain) practiced Tuesday but Brooks said it was still too early to tell if Pryor would be available against Mississippi State. Junior tight end Maurice Grinter (ankle) and right tackle Justin Jeffries (knee) also practiced Tuesday.
The Georgia at Kentucky football game on Nov. 8 has been placed on a six-day advance selection by the Southeastern Conference and will be televised by ESPN, ESPN2 or Raycom Sports, the SEC Office has announced.
The television and game-time assignments are dependent on the outcome of this week’s Florida vs. Georgia game.
UK Coach Rich Brooks said there would likely be a change at strong safety after redshirt freshman Matt Lentz struggled against Florida. Junior Ashton Cobb is second on the depth chart behind Lentz and junior Calvin Harrison has seen time there as well.
Chip has been a full-time sportswriter for the Lexington Herald-Leader since 1997 and has been covering the University of Kentucky football team since 2000. A native of Louisville, Chip graduated from UK in 1996. He also covers University of Louisville basketball for the newspaper. E-mail Chip
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