The Cats are Gearing up the Second and Tell-Tale Scrimmage

By Lonny Demaree
• Since we last met the basketball team did a four game stint in the Bahamas which highlighted things to come with this team of Wildcats.

• I endeavor to resist getting caught up in the enthusiasm but I too am human but I try to base my emotions on what I see from John Calipari – and unlike other of his teams he feels more upbeat about this team that usual at this time of the year.

• Tyler Herro, Keldon Johnson, and the improvement of Nick Richards will make you set up and take notice.

• So now back to UK football. By now everybody knows how disgruntle Mark Stoops was after last Saturdays scrimmage.

• But the comments coming from Eddie Gran, Darin Hinshaw, and wide receivers coach Michael Smith have been marked more positive about this weeks practice.

• Gran said the two young running backs Christopher Rodriquez Jr. and Kavosiey Smoke are good, they run hard, they have good vision, and they have good hands. One obsever said he saw a run late in the scrimmage Saturday by Rodriquez carrying people on his back that prompted him to say UK had their next Benny Snell….ummm?

• By now everybody has latched on to, not being conceited, but what I saw in the spring in wide receiver David Bouvier. He just received a scholarship in his senior year. Another smallish slot receiver true freshman Akeem Hayes got a mention from Gran on Tuesday. It’s amazing how far the Napoleon complex (little) can take you. They are always trying to prove they can play at this level. From a yardage standpoint Bouvier was the second leading leader in the spring game.

• From what gran said Tuesday it appears he and Darin Hinshaw may be getting back to what they did at Cincinnati when the playbook was open.

• We’ve got really good tight ends, we’ve got really good running backs, our quarterbacks are doing good, and our learning curve to learn where to go with the ball quicker. We want to be balanced but to do that you have to run the ball. We’ve got a chance to run the ball and do what we want vertically. I think the playbook’s open. But with all that it starts with the personnel in the offensive line and he likes that.

• Defensive coordinator Matt house said they did some good things in the first scrimmage but they didn’t have the energy. He said they didn’t make the great plays needed to take it to the next level. He said the second scrimmage (Saturday) is huge in where the competition will take you. House alluded to DeAndre Square and Chris Oats is getting better every day.