Headlines: Farewell to Maxwell

Farewell to Maxwell

Friday afternoon the Lexington Herald-Leader’s Jennifer Smith reported that Maxwell Smith, former UK starting QB, will not return to Kentucky for his senior season and has intentions to transfer to San Diego State University. Smith was robbed of a potentially great college career after suffering several injuries. He was an All-SEC Freshman in the year of 2011 and during his time at Kentucky he passed for 3070 yards, threw 21 touchdown passes, and only 9 interceptions (not a bad stat-line). Maxwell had nothing but nice things to say about his time as a Wildcat in a statement released on Friday via Instagram:

"“I’d like to thank all of my coaches, trainers, teachers and managers during my time at Kentucky. I made friends that I will have for a lifetime. I enjoyed every minute that I spent in Lexington and wouldn’t change it for anything. Although injuries kept me from being the QB I wanted to be for the University, I still enjoyed every moment I spent behind center. I’ll always be a Wildcat and want nothing but success for my brothers and coaches there, both past and present. Thank you BBN for being the best fans in the nation.”"

Needless to say, the BBN wishes him nothing but the best and he will definitely be missed on and off the field. Do your thing, Maxwell.

Nov 23, 2013; Athens, GA, USA; Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Maxwell Smith (11) throws a pass in the first half against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

Damien Harris Chooses the Tide

Friday morning I woke up thinking that Harris would be a Wildcat by the end of the day. And obviously, I was disappointed. As soon as I heard the news, I was absolutely devastated. I felt as if I were a Cavaliers fan back in 2010 when LeBron James skipped town for Miami. Or a little boy dressed as Spiderman who just had his 4-pound bag of Halloween candy stolen (By Nick Saban, of course.) And then finally, after all the dust settled, I realized that it wasn’t the end of the world. It was but a blemish on the positivity surrounding the football program. After all, the Cats have a few tailbacks already on the roster to be excited about. Stanley “Boom” Williams, Braylon Heard, Jojo Kemp, and Mikel Horton (all returning in 2015) make up the impressive running-back corps for the Football Cats. Every one of them has a lot left in their tank and a lot left to prove. #InBoomWeTrust

And although I would have loved to see Damien wearing blue and white, I wish him nothing but success at his time at Alabama and beyond.

Jan 2, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Team Highlight running back Damien Harris (34) runs the ball against Team Armour during the first half of the 2015 Under Armour All-America Game at Tropicana Field. Team Highlight defeated Team Armour 46-6. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

Vince Marrow Says “Thanks, But No Thanks”

Now for some good news in the Kentucky Football world. Vince Marrow, the TE coach and Recruiting Director for the Cats was posed with a tough decision on whether or not to leave Kentucky and join Harbaugh’s staff up in Michigan. Marrow chose to stay with the Cats and keep the show on the road. Ultimately the BBN is what made him stay, Marrow said on a call in to Kentucky Sports Radio:

"“At the end of the day, it was mainly the people here, and I’m being honest. I didn’t realize how much the people really here didn’t want me to leave. At night, I was trying to sleep and my iPad would be going off because it had were 400-500 messages from fans telling me not to leave, that really meant a lot to me and it meant a lot to my family.”"

Marrow sent a statement from the football program when he turned down Harbaugh’s offer that this program is on its way to big things.

More from Wildcat Blue Nation

Needless to say, if Marrow would have joined the staff up at Michigan, recruiting would have taken a blow. Now that is something we do not have to worry about and instead we can get excited for the future.

Vince Marrow was rewarded with a contract through June, 30, 2018 where his salary is to start at $350,000 in 2015 and rise an amount of $25,000 each year until the contract expires.

Photo by Chet White | UK Athletics

And now for some basketball talk.

Newman Shines For Coach Cal

You would think after a stressful double overtime win you would head home and relax and maybe get some rest, right? Wrong. After the Texas A&M 2OT scare last night Coach Cal hit the road recruiting. Cal was in Paducah, KY to watch the number one shooting guard in the nation Malik Newman in the Mustang Madness tournament.

Newman finished the night with 35 points and 14 rebounds in an MVP show out. Ultimately defeating Huntington Prep who have some pretty impressive ball players of their own in Thomas Bryant and company. That will catch Cal’s eye don’t ya think?

Mustang Madness in McCracken Co. features some huge college basketball prospects in Malik Newman, Thon Maker, Thomas Bryant and Kentucky Wildcat signee Skal Labissiere.

Two VERY Close Calls

Unexpectedly, the first two games to start conference play for the Wildcats went down to the wire. Tuesday night the Ole Miss rebels came into Rupp Arena a 23-point underdog and pulled off the unthinkable taking the Cats into overtime. Luckily the Wildcats would find their way to pull it out to win 89-86.

4 days later, the Cats found themselves in a similar situation in College Station, TX. The Aggies fought to the tooth and nail dragging the cats in to two OTs.

"“My whole thing is that I like the way we fought.” Coach Calipari said after the close call with Ole Miss on Tuesday night. “We need these kinds of games. We need overtime games. We need to get down ten, down twelve, and figure out who’s who, so we can learn.”"

He has a point. The team can definitely learn from games like these. Learn who is or isn’t a go to guy. Who you would want to go to the charity stripe late in the game. Who you want tossing up 3’s with single digits on the clock. Like I wrote about in an article earlier in the week, these games might not be good for the fans but they sure are for the players.

These games also come to show the players and the majority of fans that the SEC is no joke. Some of the national media and a lot of fans have been down playing the level of talent in the SEC. Ole Miss and Texas A&M should serve as a reminder that you have to play good basketball every night if you want to win on a consistent level.

Home/Kentucky Wildcats News