Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
With march Madness in full swing and the Kentucky men’s basketball team playing at an optimal level, it is hard to think of anything except basketball, but one other team has begun practice and they are eager to make some noise.
Yes, it’s football time again and I couldn’t be happier. As a Kentucky fan who wouldn’t? Our basketball team is headed to the final four when just a few weeks ago people thought that they wouldn’t make it out of the first round. Now we have the opportunity to see how our football team has progressed after a winter of strength and conditioning as day 1 got under way Friday morning at the Nutter Field House.
Coach Stoops said it was hard to compare this first spring practice to last season’s but did admit that Friday’s two-hour practice felt “a lot better”. He believes his team has done what they needed to do in winter conditioning to make them better. This is what coach Stoops had to say;
"Good to be back and good to get out there today and be practicing,” Stoops said. “It has felt like it has been a long winter and we needed that to get bigger and get stronger. It was good to get back out on the field. Very excited about where we are at. We have improved as a football team, obviously the first things and common mistakes and being sloppy at times today, but overall we have improved and look a lot better. Good to get out there and see that. I am excited about where we go the rest of the spring."
The football team (which practiced again this past Monday) and staff have 13 more practices to improve, with the last practice being live in front of all the fans on April 26th at 3:30 pm in Commonwealth Stadium. That will be the second spring game practice under head coach Mark Stoops and we all hope to see a much more competitive football team as does he.
Below is the up-dated spring roster.
1 A.J. Stamps Cornerback 6-0 189 JR-JC Vicksburg, Miss./Vicksburg/East Mississippi CC
1 Ryan Timmons Wide Receiver 5-10 193 SO-RS Frankfort, Ky./Franklin County
2 Alvin Dupree Defensive End 6-4 267 SR-3L Irwinton, Ga./Wilkinson County
2 Jalen Whitlow Quarterback 6-2 217 JR-2L Montgomery, Ala./Prattville
3 Jojo Kemp Running Back 5-10 196 SO-1L DeLand, Fla./DeLand
3 Fred Tiller Cornerback 6-0 176 JR-2L Homerville, Ga./Clinch County
4 Mikel Horton Running Back 6-1 236 FR-HS West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West
5 Braylon Heard Running Back 5-11 198 JR-Tr Youngstown, Ohio/Cardinal Mooney/Nebraska
5 Ashely Lowery Safety 6-1 215 SR-3L Cleveland, Ga./White County
6 A.J. Legree Wide Receiver 6-1 190 JR-2L Fort White, Fla./Fort White
6 Jason Hatcher Defensive End 6-3 244 SO-1L Louisville, Ky./Trinity
7 Drew Barker Quarterback 6-3 216 FR-HS Burlington, Ky./Conner
7 Daron Blaylock Safety 6-1 213 JR-2L Marietta, Ga./Walton
8 Javess Blue Wide Receiver 6-0 190 SR-1L Babson Park, Fla./Lake Wales/Butler CC
9 Landon Foster Punter 6-1 208 JR-2L Franklin, Tenn./Independence
9 Demarco Robinson Wide Receiver 5-10 158 SR-3L Ellenwood, Ga./Martin Luther King
10 Tyler Brause Linebacker 6-4 245 SR-3L Sycamore, Ohio/Wynford
10 Thaddeus Snodgrass Wide Receiver 6-1 178 FR-HS Springfield, Ohio/Springfield
11 Maxwell Smith Quarterback 6-4 236 JR-2L Granada Hills, Calif./Birmingham
12 Reese Phillips Quarterback 6-2 222 FR-RS Signal Mountain, Tenn./Signal Mountain
13 Jared Leet Holder 6-3 196 JR-2L Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Orange
13 Jeff Badet Wide Receiver 6-0 173 SO-1L Orlando, Fla./Freedom
14 Patrick Towles Quarterback 6-5 236 SO-1L Ft. Thomas, Ky./Highlands
14 Dorian Hendrix Linebacker 6-0 230 FR-HS Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne
15 J.D. Harmon Cornerback 6-2 192 SO-1L Paducah, Ky./Tilghman
15 Marcus McWilson Safety 6-0 209 SO-1L Youngstown, Ohio/Cardinal Mooney
16 Cody Quinn Cornerback 5-10 172 JR-2L Middletown, Ohio/Middletown
17 Alexander Montgomery Wide Receiver 6-2 210 SO-1L Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay
17 Zack Blaylock Safety 6-1 190 SO-1L Marietta, Ga./Walton
18 Glenn Faulkner Safety 6-2 201 JR-2L East St. Louis, Ill./East St. Louis
19 Jaleel Hytchye Cornerback 5-10 170 SO-1L Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle
20 Josh Harris Safety 6-0 197 SO-Sq Maysville, Ky./Mason County
21 Nate Willis Cornerback 6-0 174 SR-1L Pahokee, Fla./Pahokee/Arizona Western College
21 Rodney Cox Cornerback 6-0 178 JR-Sq Louisville, Ky./duPont Manual
21 Josh Clemons Running Back 5-10 216 JR-1L Fayetteville, Ga./Whitewater
22 Khalid Henderson Linebacker 6-1 231 JR-2L Mableton, Ga./Pebblebrook
24 Blake McClain Defensive Back 5-11 190 SO-1L Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park
25 Patrick Sermersheim Safety 5-11 170 FR-RS Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier
26 Tre’ Dunn Linebacker 6-2 240 SR-1L Harrodsburg, Ky./Mercer County/Campbellsville
27 Demitrious Davis Running Back 5-9 185 SO-Tr Youngstown, Ohio/Austintown Fitch/Pittsburgh
28 Eric Dixon Safety 5-11 190 SR-3L Mobile, Ala./Vigor
29 Austin Sheehan Wide Receiver 5-9 160 SO-Sq Ft. Thomas, Ky./Highlands
30 Chris Davis Defensive Back 5-8 189 SO-Tr Youngstown, Ohio/Austintown Fitch/Pittsburgh