By: LARRY VAUGHT
Offensive lineman Jordan Swindle has become a vocal leader for Kentucky. But did becoming a better player make him a better leader?
"I think before you can be vocal, you have to prove yourself. If you come in and you're automatically vocal and you haven't proven yourself, those are empty words. Nobody's paying attention," Brown said Friday. "They're just saying, 'Who's the loud guy?' Now with Swindle – because at the start of our offensive team meeting – we talk about the positive plays: Who had the best performance from the day before, same thing after a game: Who played best? Who played the worst? Who's doing things that are unacceptable? Who made the game-winning plays?
"Crucial plays, those types of things and Swindle was on the positive so much. So they were hearing his name and he was playing well, so we get into the season, now midway through the season he's playing well, now he can start (being vocal) because he's earned it.
"It's no different than like Drew Barker comes in first day, I told him, 'Listen, Drew, what you've done up to this point doesn't matter. You're a very good leader, great leader, did a good job in the recruiting process, did a good job at Conner High School, but here you have to prove yourself. You can't come in and be vocal because these guys, they don't know you. They don't know your past. They don't really care about your past, you've got to prove yourself to be a good player. Once you do that, you make plays under fire, then you can start being vocal.'"
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