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He had a touchdown catch and another reception where he went over a defender with his athleticism to justify the confidence that offensive coordinator Neal Brown had in him. However, it was another play — a block on quarterback Patrick Towles’ touchdown run — that gave freshman receiver Blake Bone the most satisfaction Saturday.
“Yeah, that was big. It is just little things that we work on every day in practice and I am glad I got to showcase that because you don’t see many wide receivers doing that in the SEC. I’m glad I could help my team out and help Patrick get in the end zone with that block,” said Bone after UK’s 59-14 win over UT-Martin. “I have been working hard in practice on little things to make me a complete receiver and that helped there.”
So did his 36-yard touchdown play where he caught the ball, made a move and then raced into the end zone.
“It was overwhelming. I had everything set up to do a little dance (after the score) but when you get that first touchdown as a freshman, I guess every emotion I guess every emotion just hits you and it just feels good to get in the end zone. I scrapped the dance and celebrated with team,” Bone said. “The touchdown play was nothing special. I just caught the ball, got upfield and it was history from there.
“The blocking set up good. (Ryan) Timmons was on the outside blocking for me. It was fun to run behind him and was just easy from there. Again, nothing special.”
Bone admitted he did not exactly run the right route when he had to come back and go over a UT-Martin defender to snag his second ball from Towles.
“That was my fault. It was bad technique on me. Me being athletic, I just went up and got it. That’s what they teach me in practice,” Bone said
Bone thought it was perfect the way so many different players touched the ball during the opening win.
“This is exactly how it should be. You saw a little taste today of how this will be,” Bone said. “We work in practice on mass substitutions and getting everybody the ball. We spread it out. It was fun seeing everybody come and go and you don’t get really tired on one drive because you know you have a sub coming. That is why we emphasize giving 100 percent at all times because you have a sub coming in soon.”
Brown was pleased with the way Bone played in his first game and showcased the same skill and athleticism he did during his prep career in South Carolina.
"I thought he played really well. He made two really nice plays. I think the thing that really sticks out about that play is we blocked extremely well. I was fired up. Ryan Timmons had a really nice block down field. That would have never happened a year ago,” Brown said. “But I was really pleased with Blake. I thought Garrett Johnson did a nice job. I thought Dorian Baker. Those guys, for freshmen, true freshmen, that's hard now. This is the biggest crowd they've ever played at, had to perform by far, and I thought they handled the situation and did a nice job."
Baker had three catches for 29 yards, Johnson three for 25 and T.V. Williams, the fourth true freshman to play, had two catches for 45 yards. That’s 10 receptions for 164 yards and one score.
“I think it just helped us with our confidence. We knew we could do it and we were recruited to do it, but just getting out there in front of fans and making plays on the big level, it was just fun to watch and fun to be part of,” Bone said.
Brown originally wanted to redshirt Bone to give him a chance to add weight.
“I hope I made some impressions making plays during camp and glad things I did changed what the coaches thought and I am here now playing,” Bone said. “I ate a lot. Just basically had to clean my plate up and eat greens and vegetables and everything and not just meats to gain weight. But it didn’t slow me down when I added weight. It actually made me stronger and quicker.”
It also allowed him to enjoy the big opening game win and watch the way Towles (20 of 29 passing for 377 yards) performed in his first start.
“I think Patrick played excellent. You’ve seen his numbers. Numbers don’t lie. He basically gave the football in an ‘Air Raid’ and it was fun to go out and catch balls from him today,” Bone said.
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