Chip Cosby on UK football

With Kentucky set to return home Saturday night against Louisiana-Monroe, I wanted give my Tailgater shout outs to the Lemon Brothers, led by the Huffman boys, Chip and Chad, and Chuck Knight, for their layout during the Alabama game on Oct. 3. The tailgating forecast for the ULM game calls for cool temperatures in the upper 40’s with a 20 percent chance of rain leading up to the 7 p .m kickoff. Things should be cleared up by game time.

Kentucky Coach Rich Brooks wasn’t 100 percent sure of who his starting quarterback would be for the Louisiana-Monroe game but said it would ‘probably’ be freshman Morgan Newton. Randall Cobb took the first snap vs. Auburn before Newton came in on the second play of the game. Newton went 5-of-13 passing for 39 yards and also rushed for a touchdown before being replaced by junior Will Fidler in the third quarter. Fidler came in and scored the game-tying touchdown on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Brooks said that both quarterbacks will likely play in the first half against ULM.

Kentucky’s Oct. 31 Homecoming game against Mississippi State will kick off at 7 p.m. The game will be telecast by Fox Sports Network.

Kentucky senior linebacker Micah Johnson was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week for his 14-tackle performance in UK’s 21-14 win at Auburn Saturday.

-Randall Cobb and John Conner will be game captains, joining permanent captains Zipp Duncan and Corey Peters.

-The “Cat Walk” has been set for 4:15 CST (5:15 EST). Those wishing to participate should meet at the Northeast corner of Jordan-Hare Stadium, near lot P along Duncan Drive.

-The University of Kentucky Alumni Association will host a pre-game tailgate party at 4 p.m. CST on Woodfield Drive off College Street on the Auburn campus. The cost is $10 for UKAA members and $15 for non-members and game day walkups. To make your reservation, visit www.ukalumni.net/tailgate and click the ‘registration’ button on the webpage or call 1-800-269-ALUM or 859-257-7161.

-Finally, I want to thank Ashley Schaeffner at Guthrie-Mayes and the folks at Verizon Wireless for introducing me to Rhapsody, the music downloading application. I’ll be making the 8-hour drive to Auburn on Friday, and this will make my ride much, much smoother.

Two injured starters could return to action for Kentucky on Saturday. Cornerback Paul Warford (quadriceps) and offensive lineman Justin Jeffries (Achilles) made it through practice Thursday and will make the trip. Brooks said Warford, who has missed the last two games, would likely be a game-time decision. Jeffries missed the South Carolina game after getting hurt against Alabama.

Kentucky Coach Rich Brooks said on Thursday that he wouldn’t reveal UK’s starting quarterback for Saturday’s game at Auburn until his team hit the field. Brooks did say it was likely that both true freshman Morgan Newton and junior Will Fidler would play.

University of Kentucky junior quarterback Mike Hartline does not have an ACL injury and could conceivably return by the end of the season, Coach Rich Brooks announced at his weekly press conference on Monday.

Hartline does have an torn MCL and a slight PCL tear along with a slight cartilage tear Hartline will undergo non-surgical treatment for several weeks to allow the MCL to heal, and then doctors must determine if he can play with the torn cartilage.

Kentucky senior defensive tackle Corey Peters has been named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week for his 2.5 sack performance against South Carolina. Also, UK’s Oct. 24 home game against Louisiana-Monroe has been set for a 7 p.m. kickoff and will be televised by Fox Sports Network.

As of Sunday, there was still no official word on the knee injury of Kentucky quarterback Mike Hartline. Hartline got an MRI after returning home from UK’s 28-26 loss to South Carolina, but the results aren’t expected to be known until Monday.

Brooks said the preliminary diagnosis suggests an injury to Hartline’s MCL. If it’s just an MCL injury, Hartline could miss anywhere from 2-4 weeks. If there’s an ACL injury and/or cartilage damage, Hartline would likely miss the rest of the season.

Regardless, Hartline will definitely be out for Saturday’s game at Auburn.