Kentucky football notes: Coaches hope to redshirt Barker; Badet to miss two games

Kentucky's Drew Barker will continue to practice as a backup to newly named starter Patrick Towles, but the plan is to redshirt the freshman quarterback, coaches said Friday.

Both head coach Mark Stoops and offensive coordinator Neal Brown said they thought it was the best plan for Barker, a former standout at Conner who played a big part in helping UK's staff recruit the highly touted 2014 class.

"That would be in his best interest and our best interest," Stoops said. "We'll see how that goes. He will prepare to play in a backup role, and if we can save him through the season that's what we'd like to do."

The Cats' offensive coordinator agreed.

"We'll just play it by ear," Brown said. "He's preparing like he's going to play, but we would, in a perfect world, Patrick plays well, we'd like to redshirt him.

"We're not going to put him in in any junk minutes by any means."

Several of Barker's highly rated classmates will see playing time and perhaps even start the season opener against Tennessee-Martin on Aug. 30.

Both coaches said all five of the new wide receivers — Dorian Baker, Blake Bone, Garrett Johnson, Thaddeus Snodgrass and T.V. Williams — will play as true freshmen.

"We've had some wideouts that are beat up a little bit and we recruited those guys to play," Brown said. "That was a position of need, so we are. A couple of them may be in a position to start. We'll see."

Brown indicated early in camp that he'd like to redshirt one of the two freshman running backs, but it seems likely now that both Stanley "Boom" Williams and Mikel Horton will get carries this season despite UK having depth at that spot with Jojo Kemp, Nebraska transfer Braylon Heard and Josh Clemons all ready to play.

Two freshman defenders that Stoops said definitely will play this season are defensive tackle Matt Elam and nickel back Kendall Randolph.

Lowery won't go to court until 2015

Kentucky's Ashely Lowery probably will make it through this season without his driving under the influence charge ever making it to court.

The senior safety, who was charged with DUI after an accident on May 4, 2013, in his hometown of Cleveland, Ga., does not have a court date set yet, and one won't be scheduled until early 2015.

The judge in the case does not have anything on his trial calendar until next year, a clerk in the White County prosecutor's office said.

Lowery, who was hospitalized and in the intensive care unit for several days after the crash, was arraigned on the charges in June. A secondary crash report said Lowery had a blood-alcohol level of .139 more than two hours after the crash. The legal limit in Georgia is 0.08.

Lowery, who started all 12 games for the Cats last season, finished ninth on the team in tackles with 46 and made one of UK's three interceptions.

Badet will miss two games

Kentucky will be without sophomore wide receiver Jeff Badet for at least the first two games of the season, Coach Mark Stoops said Friday. Badet, who took a tennis ball to the eye last week doing drills, is improving, but will not play in the opener against Tennessee-Martin or the following week against Ohio University.

Stoops said he was hopeful that Badet, UK's third-leading wideout last season, would return quickly.

"It is getting better," the coach said. "It's not as bad as it could have been, and it's getting better. From what I understand, these injuries take some time, and we have to be very careful with that."

UK unveils seating plan for stadium

Fans can get their first look at the inside of the renovated Commonwealth Stadium and even plan their seating arrangements with a new website launched by UK on Friday.

The Virtual Venue website, which can be found at ukathletics.com, gives an inside look at the stadium after renovations, including the view from the new suites and specialty seating. With a click, fans can find out season ticket prices and K-Fund donations associated with each seat. They can compare benefits of various tickets at various costs as well.

In early October, fans can use the Virtual Venue to select their seats for the 2015 season. The order of selection will depend on K-Fund Priority. Fans will not be billed for their seat selection until January, explained Joe Sharp, UK's associate athletics director for ticketing.

The entire stadium will be renumbered and reticketed for the 2015 season once renovations are complete.

As the seat selection process continues, the chosen seats will change color to show best available options.

After all of the 2014 season ticket holders pick their seats, sales will be opened to the general public, probably in December or January.

This story was originally published August 22, 2014 at 6:56 PM with the headline "Kentucky football notes: Coaches hope to redshirt Barker; Badet to miss two games."