By: LONNY DEMAREE
[Seemingly as we write something significant is happening associated with the University of Kentucky athletics.
• A new baseball coach Nick Mangione was a recently hire and early impressions are that he is a slam-dunk hire by Mitch Barnhart.
• Matthew Mitchell has a full-boat of assistants and In the process of recapturing the path his women’s program was on. Assistant coaches Linn Dunn, Kyra Elzy, and Niya Butts have come aboard.
• The 45M dollar football facility is scheduled to open in July. Equipment manager Tom Kalinowski’s staff has been moving equipment for the last three months.
• UK has now enter the innovative world of moving season tickets sales with something call the New Pocket Pass. It’s been done at several other places.
• Mark Stoops named a new coach to his staff, Matt House who will coach the inside linebackers and special teams. This will give him another coach with Coordinator experience.
• So many positions on the football team’s personnel roster are at the transitional stage – secondary, wide receiver, offensive line, and tight ends.
• Drew barker is making great strides of positioning himself as a winning quarterback. The acumen is all important, something UK has not had at the position Mike Hartline.
• Eddie Gran and Lamar Thomas have conducted satellite camps since spring practice something Mark Stoops takes a dim view of.
• The football special teams coach is essential in shaping one-third for the football team which was totally missing last season.
• Unveiling of the football statues at Commonwealth Stadium will take place in late September. More on that later. These will be of Nate Northington, Greg Page, Wilbur Hackett, and Houston Hogg all of whom broke the color barrier in the Southeastern Conference in the 1960’s.
• ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit said after four-plus months – “I have been touting the Wildcats as a sleeper contender or the SEC East title.”
• New wide receiver coach Lamar Thomas and Vince Marrow are like family. “We always helped each other,” Thomas said. Marrow told Thomas Coach Stoops is the best. He said – “Coach Stoops is the best and if you ever get an opportunity, come and coach under him.”
Philosophers say what’s been done before can be done again and for Kentucky to progress on the right track they’ve got to duplicate some Brooks years that started in his fourth year. Upset history looks like this; 2006 Georgia, Clemson, and Mississippi State; ’07 LSU and Florida state; ’08 Louisville and MS State; 09 Auburn and Georgia (both away); ’10 Louisville and South Carolina.
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