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Offense 'night and day' better in first scrimmage

The first scrimmage of fall camp Saturday turned out to be a good sign for a Kentucky offense desperately seeking improvement from last year's inconsistent unit.

UK doesn't release official statistics from fall scrimmages, but UK Coach Rich Brooks said that quarterback Mike Hartline led the first-team offense on scoring drives on its first two possessions against the first-team defense and looks to have found a pair of consistent weapons at receiver in Randall Cobb and junior-college transfer Chris Matthews.

Cobb is at receiver full-time after dabbling some at quarterback in 2008. He could still see action in UK's wildcat formation, but Brooks said they won't start implementing that until this week.

The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Matthews has already made a big impression on his coaches and teammates.

Brooks called the offensive performance "night and day from where we were a year ago." UK head coach of offense Joker Phillips said, "We've come a long way."

"Hartline threw the ball very well," Brooks said. "He threw the ball accurately deep and short, and over the middle in every situation. And I don't think I saw a drop. Last year I saw a whole bunch of them."

"(Hartline) has always been great at managing the offense," Phillips said. "Now we've got guys outside making plays."

Hartline credits his improved performance to more time spent sharpening his mechanics.

"I've been really working hard fundamentally," Hartline said. "Just getting my body lined up and throwing the ball where it's supposed to be. I'm not trying to overthrow it. I've got plenty of arm to make the throws that I need to make. Sometimes I just grip (the ball) too hard or try to overthrow and it comes out crazy. I'm just trying to relax, be confident and trust my guys."

Brooks said freshman tailbacks Donald Russell and Jonathan George also had some nice runs.

UK defensive coordinator Steve Brown wasn't pleased with his defense, but said he'd rather have a shaky performance in the first scrimmage and have time to clean things up before the season opener against Miami University.

"My first impression was it wasn't very good," Brown said. "It looked like we weren't the aggressors. The offense did a real nice job. We've got to take this as a lesson. Thank God we got through it healthy, but I think some guys were trying to stay healthy and might have been a little afraid to let loose."

While Brooks said that some people helped themselves in the first scrimmage, he wasn't ready to make any definitive depth-chart proclamations. UK will also scrimmage the next two Saturdays.

"We've got three weeks until we play Miami," he said. "We've got to go back and look at some film.

Sophomore tailback Derrick Locke sat out the scrimmage with swelling his surgically repaired left knee. The only two injuries that took place in the scrimmage were cornerback Paul Warford (pulled groin) and walk-on receiver Michael Harper (back).

Big week of awards for Lindley

It was a big week nationally for UK senior cornerback Trevard Lindley. Lindley was named a first-team All-American by ESPN.com and was named to the watch list for the Bednarik Trophy recognizing the nation's top defensive player.

A cornerback with those kind of accolades doesn't figure to get challenged much, but defensive coordinator Steve Brown said Lindley still has to maintain his focus during fall camp.

"A player of his magnitude sometimes probably gets bored," Brown said. "I think he was bored because he was letting guys catch passes on him so I grabbed him on the sideline for a little hello. The thing with him is that he's really got to learn how to focus the entire time because he may not get tested until the third quarter. But when he's on, I don't know if there's anybody better."

Larry Warford, Neloms impressive

It's still early, but a pair of freshmen have already caught the eye of Coach Rich Brooks. Offensive lineman Larry Warford has spent time working with the first team at both guard spots and could challenge for a starting job.

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Martavius Neloms is pushing for playing time at cornerback despite a rotation that includes Lindley, Paul Warford, Randall Burden, Cartier Rice, and Anthony Mosley.

Hartline leading the mustache crew

Reporters took notice of some serious stubble on the upper lip of Kentucky quarterback Mike Hartline after Thursday's practice. Hartline said he's leading a brigade of Wildcats players who have committed to growing mustaches during fall camp.

When Hartline was asked what made him think he could pull off a mustache, he replied, "I thought I could pull it off from day one. I like it. It's just a way to keep a positive attitude toward camp, and get people getting excited about coming out to the field. I've gotten a lot of laughs about it, but I'm going to hold strong with it."

Hartline was also asked if he had any special plans for his mustache, like a Rollie Fingers or Fu Manchu look.

"I'm going to try the best I can to keep it as fresh as possible," Hartline said.

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