Saluting the Seniors: Goodbye to Hartline
By Paul Jordan
Miami’s practice squad, here I come!
It is inarguable to say that Mike Hartline’s career has been filled with difficulty; from sitting the bench early in his career to fighting to stay off it later. Hartline has paid his dues and although his senior year has not turned out like he wanted it to, no one can deny his mental toughness and perseverance. I have not been the biggest fan of Hartline, as some of you all who keep up with my writing may remember (anyone else besides my mom?), but I do trust that if he is our best option to win, then Morgan Newton must have had some sort of debilitating brain injury. But there is more than one senior on this team and each of them has been a part of the best run of Kentucky football in a very long time, possibly ever, and they should be recognized. So here is my list of 5 seniors who helped us get where we are.
#1 Derrick Locke– Sitting in a now ex-girlfriend’s house on a cold day in November, the Cats were playing Arkansas in a crucial game for SEC positioning when tailback injuries started to pile up and a young sophomore RB from Oklahoma jogged onto the field. Upon first glance he looked like a was going to get split in two, but on his second run as an SEC back he broke off a 22-yard run and then got absolutely crushed on the sideline, to which I proclaimed “You don’t get up from that one, just stay down dude”. Lo and behold, Locke popped right back up and I knew this kid was for real. Three years and 2,300 yards later, he is still in the business of getting yards and getting crushed. His hit taking abilities have gotten better (thank God), and he helped change the UK running back position into one of the most dangerous on the field and convinced many other young, hard running speedsters to come and join in the tradition.
#2- Mike Hartline– I already covered some of his contribution in the introduction, but He has to go second on this list just because of the consistency he has provided. Not superstar consistency, mind you, but consistency of being a kid growing up and getting better every year. Undeniably he was playing well last year before his knee injury, but he was blasted for not “winning” games and acting like the god-like figure we all had come to expect.This year he has flat out won games for us and helped Randall Cobb free himself to other areas of the field, where he can heal lepers and levitate. Despite spot play the prior two years, last year was his first year to take the reins as a starter, and although his stats aren’t spectacular (5,176 yds, 36 TD’s), he has managed to maintain the status quo for Kentucky football (did you know he was the 31st ranked QB in his recruiting class?).
#3 Brad Durham– It’s hard to hype up an offensive lineman and throw accomplishments around; no matter what they are they’re not impressive. But being one of only six true freshman to earn playing time in 2007, he has played in every game of his career prior to this year (39 games), and has helped Kentucky anchor one of the most effective offensive lines in SEC history (top-25 rushing avg, fewest sacks, fewest tackles for loss in 2009). Individual accomplishments are hard to come by in the trenches, but one he can be highlighted for is his Academic All-American nomination; long and short of this is we always need more players like this one.
#4 Ricky Lumpkin– Again, a bit hard to make a lineman into a highlight reel regular, but you can’t underestimate the benefits of having a quality DT on your roster. The 300+ lb bulldozer from the intellectual wasteland of Tennessee had a very painful first few years here, literally: After redshirting his freshman year he performed well in seven games before being sidelined with a serious hip injury that required surgery. The next year he returned and got back to work, posting 17 tackles (3.5 for loss) while battling a dreaded high ankle sprain all year. His junior year he came back healthy and totaled 26 tackles and helped keep Micah Johnson and Sam Maxwell clean to make all those glorious plays we remember them for. Wish we could give him that kind of support this year but he’s still doing what he can.
#5 Chris Matthews/Dequin Evans– Neither gets their own spot on this list, they haven’t been in the program as long as others but their status as senior perfomers can’t be ignored. Matthews hasn’t quite made the Stevie Jump but has already outperformed last year’s stats(354 yds, 3 TD’s) and is on pace to more than double them (currently at 715 yds, 8 TD’s). Being as thin as we were at several positions we needed JUCO transfers like these to come in and provide instant experience, and they both have. Evans is having a forgettable year statistically but when there is no presence on the other side to pull blockers, you’re going to get a lot of schemes against you. If you think this season has been frustrating, imagine what it would be like without them.
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