There aren't any misses.

That's what they keep saying.

They won't mention these individual Kentucky football freshmen by name. Instead the hosannas come for the group.

They are who the coaches thought they were.

"There will be a lot of faces on this football team that traveled with us last year, that are battling to travel this year," head coach Joker Phillips said on Friday. "That's a good thing."

The reason? Old guys might give way to young guys. That's because, in the coach's eyes, the young guys are better. Better for the future. In some cases, better for right now.

"I'm talking redshirt freshmen and the freshmen who just walked through the door," Phillips said.

Names? This staff doesn't like to name names, though the enthusiasm about rookie running back Josh Clemons has bubbled to the surface a couple of times. Overall, however, the staff is not ready to hype any new heroes just yet.

"I don't want to back myself against the wall," Phillips said after Saturday morning's scrimmage when asked about players making noticeable moves.

But you can hear it in the head man's voice, read it in his words. You can feel the vibe from his assistants.

"They look like you're supposed to look, first of all," Phillips said of his freshman class.

"They look good," said running backs coach Steve Pardue.

They are tall. They are athletic. In the eyes of coaches who have seen so many on the other side of the line, they look the way Southeastern Conference football players are supposed to look.

"And then just love the game, love of the game," Phillips said Friday. "And love of the game is not on Saturday. Love of the game was my description of Wesley Woodyard. Wesley Woodyard loved to go lift weights. He loved to go to practice. He loved to put on his UK sweat suit and walk around campus. He just loved everything about the game.

"And I think that's what we have in this young freshman group."

Wesley Woodyard, by the way, now plays with the NFL's Denver Broncos.

That's what Phillips and his staff are seeing. The freshmen are attentive in meetings. They understand football. They want to practice. They want to get better.

"I've felt like, pretty much every year I've been here, our freshman class as a whole has been better than our senior class," said offensive coordinator Randy Sanders on Saturday. "I think this recruiting class has jumped up to a whole 'nother level."

"Our goal as a staff," Pardue said, "is to try and put together two or three groups like that in a row and, if we do that, we're really on to something here."

But what about this year? Kentucky is coming off last year's losing record. Phillips started his tenure without much of a honeymoon. Grumblers always lack patience.

But fans are always looking to the future. Even if Kentucky stumbles a bit this year, if enough first-year Cats show enough hope for the future, that could hold some of the naysayers at bay.

"I think we've got several guys who are going to be really good players," Sanders said. "How quick it happens? I don't know. But in a year, or two years, or three years, there's going to be a whole lot of us on the coaching staff and in the stands that are going to be happy those guys are here.

"I hope I get to stay around long enough to appreciate them."

Already, said Phillips, they have made an impact.

"There are lot of people who were on the bus last year," Phillips said, "who might not be on the bus this year."