Links: UK football’s next Australian punter; UK basketball dials up 2022
▪ Tuesday notes and links
Kentucky football: Cats will have another Australian punter
Mark Stoops and company have secured a commitment from Australian punter Wilson Berry, brother of former Eastern Kentucky University and current Pittsburgh Steelers punter Jordan Berry. The Melbourne native thanked his brother and current UK punter, Max Duffy, for helping him in the recruiting process. Duffy won the Ray Guy Award last season as the nation’s best punter.
▪ Mark Story writes on the recruitment of Owensboro quarterback Gavin Winsatt, a coveted class of 2022 prospect. “What Wimsatt did not know when he took the call from UK’s recruiting ace is that the offer from Kentucky was going to set off what Owensboro Coach Jay Fallin calls ‘an avalanche’ of scholarship offers from other major-conference programs.”
▪ Our Josh Moore writes on UK quarterback Terry Wilson:
“We don’t know what date, but I’ve been putting in so much work just to be able to get back running and do all the little things,” Wilson said in a recent phone interview with the Herald-Leader. “I’ve put in so much work and my confidence level is raising. There’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll be 100 percent ready for the season right before camp.”
▪ Saturday Down South’s Connor O’Gara also wrote about Wilson:
“By the time Wilson closes the book on his college career in 2020, his numbers will be … let’s call them “extensive.” Three schools in 3 different time zones, 1.5 serious knee injuries (more on the 0.5 later), 1 surprising Netflix show appearance, at least 1 historic season and plenty more twists and turns along the way.”
▪ Josh Moore and yours truly discussed Kentucky football’s return to workouts for a podcast last week.
▪ Rick Bozich of WDRB writes on Louisville’s Anthony Johnson, who is showing the Cards the value of leadership.
“While we were actually having the meeting, seeing that not a lot of my teammates were speaking up and saying how they felt, I felt like I needed to take the initiative to help guys that are more timid,” Johnson said. “Guys who may not want to say anything or feel like they may not have been heard.
Kentucky basketball: On the phone
With the recruiting period reopening for college basketball, UK coaches were reportedly on the phone with at least a pair of class of 2022 prospects — five-star combo guard Skyy Clark, center Enoch Boakye and Jaden Bradley, among others.
“Skyy Clark has never felt so popular.
“For the better part of the last two years, Clark had been hearing about the recruiting event that is June 15 and all of the excitement associated with finally being able to talk and text directly with the college basketball coaches who have had to keep in touch through their high school and AAU coaches until this point.”
▪ Check out Ben Roberts’ Next Cats site for UK basketball recruiting news and links.
▪ I got Ben to give me an update for a podcast on UK basketball recruiting.
▪ In other news, walk-on Ben Jordan will stick to baseball for 2020-21 season. Brought on to add an extra big, the 6-foot-8 Jordan appeared in two games last season. He’s a pitcher for Nick Mingione’s club.
▪ John Calipari had Bob Costas on his “Coffee with Cal” online show on Monday. Among the subjects was the chances of there being a college football season in 2020 during the pandemic. “Unless there’s a vaccine or the (pandemic) has receded substantially, how are you going to play football?” Costas asked.
▪ Our “We Meet Again” series this week features former UK guard Wayne Turner. Jared Peck wrote on Turner, who is to be inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame this year. Turner wants to coach.
“I just love the fact that I can make an impact on a kid’s life,” Turner said. “I (also) love doing private training … you get to work mentally as well as physically and just teach them the game. I love teaching the game.”
▪ The Cats’ Pause has video of new Wildcat Jacob Toppin, the transfer from Rhode Island, showing off his athleticism.
▪ Scott County 6-foot-4 center Malea Williams has signed with Jeff Walz’s women’s basketball team at Louisville.
College football: The Mike Gundy OAN saga
A wild Monday afternoon started with a picture of Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy wearing a One America Network T-shirt on a fishing trip, prompting outrage from OSU star running back Chuba Hubbard, who tweeted that he would no longer have anything to do with the school until changes were made.
Hubbard led the nation in rushing last season, gaining over 2,000 yards. The junior-to-be is considered one of the top candidates for the Heisman Trophy. He was quickly supported by current and former OSU players.
By the end of the day, Gundy and Hubbard appeared together in a video in which Gundy said he had met with team members and changes would be made.
Said OSU Athletic Director Mike Holder: “This afternoon has been very disturbing. The tweets from the current and former players are of grave concern.”
▪ Pat Forde of SI wrote, “A player going after his coach on Twitter and demanding action from the school? That kind of ultimatum would have been unheard of as recently as, oh, May. But here we are, in a new reality — one to which Gundy seems only loosely tethered. Aligning himself with a sham news organization that, among other incendiary stances, has labeled Black Lives Matter “a farce” is, at best, dismissive of many Oklahoma State players. Embracing a network that also champions a president who is wildly unpopular with most Blacks only invites locker-room strife during these contentious times.”
▪ Is Gundy clueless or careless? asks Oklahoman columnist Berry Tramel.
“Gundy, the most successful coach in Cowboy history, remains popular with the fan base. But to many OSU administrators and influential donors, he’s getting tiresome. From his famous rant of 13 years ago; to his feuds with the late Boone Pickens; to dalliances with Arkansas and Tennessee and Baylor; to the April endorsement of One America News, Gundy’s judgment is constantly in question.”
▪ Mike Sando, NFL writer for The Athletic tweeted, “For many many years players have been accountable to coaches. Increasingly it is working other way around.”
▪ Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond wants a statue of a Confederate general Sul Ross removed from the school’s campus.
“If one side is protesting racism, the other side is counter protesting racism,” Mond said in another tweet. “Prairie View A&M was created to obtain federal funds from the second Morrill Act (1890). Instead of integrating the TAMU campus, PVAMU was created. (Ross) killed and disenfranchised blacks.”
▪ Both Ohio State and SMU are requiring all student-athletes to sign a COVID-19 waiver before returning to school for voluntary workouts. (UK says it is not requiring a waiver.)
▪ New Mexico State has tested 132 student-athletes with zero positives, says the school. There were six positives in May, but all have re-tested as negative.
▪ West Virginia announced that one football player has tested positive for COVID.
▪ A Tennessee high school suspended practices until July 6 after a football player tested positive for COVID-19.
▪ Alabama says football attendance could include “symptom assessment, distributed seating, and mandatory face coverings.”
▪ The Ole Miss-Baylor game has been moved to Sunday of Labor Day weekend. The game will mark the debuts for both new Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin and new Baylor coach Dave Aranda. Named the 2020 Texas Kickoff, it will be played at NRG Stadium in Houston.
▪ Tennessee added to its stellar recruiting class by receiving a commitment from four-star tight end Hudson Wolfe, who is from Savannah, Tenn. Wolfe is 6-6, 240 and could end up playing offensive tackle.
▪ Texas tight end Landen King, a three-star prospect, has committed to Auburn. King is ranked as the 102nd best player in Texas and the 30th best tight end in the country. He was recruited by former SMU and Arkansas head coach Chad Morris, who is now Gus Malzahn’s offensive coordinator at Auburn.
▪ Joshua Mixon of the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer names the four players who could make an impact at Auburn during the 2020 season. Among the four:
“Rising junior Seth Williams was Nix’s favorite target last year, catching 59 passes for 830 yards and eight touchdowns.
“The Cottondale, Ala., native joins proven returners Anthony Schwartz and Eli Stove on the roster, while the rest of the receiver group hasn’t quite established itself. Barring any injuries, a big year for Williams could be in the cards.”
UK plays at Auburn this upcoming campaign.
▪ Iowa is paying its strength coach $1.1 million to go away after allegations of improper comments, etc.
▪ Florida’s recruiting class has taken some hits, reports Robbie Andreu of the Gainesville Sun.
▪ Georgia’s athletic staff will slowly return to its workspace during a phased approach, reports the Athens Banner-Herald.
▪ Louisiana drivers can now get an LSU national championship license plate.
College basketball: Rick Pitino back to The Garden
Rick Pitino will make his return to Madison Square Garden on Dec. 19 when Iona plays Stony Brook as part of a tripleheader. LSU and Syracuse will play at MSG that day, as well as Virginia and Villanova.
▪ Richard Pitino and Minnesota have picked up a commitment from Utah junior Both Gach. The 6-foot-6 forward from Austin, Minn., averaged 10.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists last season for the Utes. Gach had 14 points and six rebounds in Utah’s upset win over Kentucky last season.
▪ South Carolina guard AJ Lawson will withdraw his name from the NBA Draft and return to Columbia. As a sophomore, Lawson averaged 13.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists last season for the Gamecocks.
▪ Jeff Goodman reports that one unnamed ACC coach has proposed that conference schools play historically black colleges on Martin Luther King Day, which is scheduled for Jan. 18, 2021.
▪ The Kansas City Star conducted a survey about whether Jayhawks fans still support coach Bill Self after the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations.
▪ Longtime Purdue athletic director Morgan Burke passed away Monday at the age of 68. Burke served in the position for 23 years before retiring in 2017.
▪ Arkansas’ Reggie Chaney has entered the transfer portal. Chaney averaged 4.1 points and 3.3 rebounds last year for the Razorbacks.
▪ Alabama will open its season Nov. 10 against Jacksonville State.
This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 8:20 AM.
