NFL Draft scouts say Kentucky’s Luke Fortner made the most of his sixth season
Random notes:
▪ With the NFL Draft coming up Thursday through Saturday, Kentucky’s Luke Fortner is the poster boy for staying in school.
Had Fortner wrapped up his career in 2020, the offensive guard would have undoubtedly gone undrafted. Instead, he took advantage of the extra COVID year, returned to UK for a sixth season, moved to center, helped the Cats to a 10-win season and made an positive impression on NFL Draft scouts. In fact, judging from the mock drafts, Fortner could hear his name called as high as the third round on Friday.
NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah on Fortner: “He doesn’t get the fanfare of the some of the names that are going to ahead of him, but I think the ability to play all three interior (offensive line) spots, the ability to take proper angles, to work up to the second level, he can create movement and he stays on blocks. Those are the things I’m looking for from a center.”
▪ From 2019-2021, Kentucky had 13 players selected in the NFL Draft. From 2010-18, UK had 12 players selected in the NFL Draft.
▪ The Reds are a tough watch, but rookie starting pitcher Nick Lodolo is worth following. The former TCU star earned his first MLB win on Sunday, allowing St. Louis just one run in 5 1/3 innings in a rare 4-1 Reds win.
▪ As for fellow Reds rookie starting pitcher Hunter Greene, his next start has been delayed after his velocity dropped in his last start.
▪ Reds president and COO Phil Castellini is still doing damage control over his “Where are you going to go” comments about Reds fans before the team’s home opener.
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported that Castellini sent an apology letter last week to Reds workers saying, “My remarks were flat wrong and in no way reflect just how committed I am to the Reds and the city of Cincinnati. I let my frustration get the best of me.”
▪ After threatening to eject fans wearing bags over the heads or displaying “Sell the team Bob” signs, the Reds say they will now allow both in Great American Ball Park.
▪ Surely North Carolina will be college basketball’s preseason No. 1. Hubert Davis is returning four of his five starters from his NCAA Tournament runner-up team. Armando Bacot, Leaky Black, RJ Davis and Caleb Love have all announced their intentions to remain in Chapel Hill for another season.
▪ You have to like Kenny Payne’s start at Louisville. He picked up transfer Brandon Huntley-Hatfield from Tennessee and is in the final six for Iowa State transfer Tyrese Hunter, who might be the best player in the portal.
▪ Morehead State made a nice pickup when NAIA All-American Alex Gross announced he is joining Preston Spradlin’s team. The 6-foot-10 Gross averaged 23.8 points per game last season for Olivet Nazarene in Bourbonnais, Illinois.
▪ If you missed it, former Kentucky guard Devin Askew is back in the transfer portal. Askew averaged 2.1 points and 1.3 assists in 34 games for Texas last season. So far, the collegiate career of the former high school star at Los Angeles’ Mater Dei looks like a cautionary tale for players who reclassify.
▪ Speaking of pickups, UK football got just what the doctor ordered in cornerback transfer Keidron Smith. A starter at Ole Miss, Smith adds depth to the one position where Mark Stoops’ needed depth for 2022. And Stoops might not be done with the portal.
▪ On the flip side, the NCAA is now reporting that 40 percent of the scholarship FBS players who enter the transfer portal do not find a home.
▪ Great news for Eastern Kentucky University, which received $31 million for a complete renovation and transformation of Alumni Coliseum. EKU is exploring alternate locations for 2023-24 when the bulk of the renovation will take place. Alumni Coliseum opened for the 1963-64 season.
▪ Congrats to Lexington’s own Walker Buehler, who recorded the first complete game and shutout in MLB this season. Buehler pitched a three-hitter on Monday night as the Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-0.
