Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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GAME 7 Wildcat quarterbacks look for ‘something new’ Kentucky TBA Saturday, Oct. 16 Common wealth Stadium TV: TBA By TODD GREEN THE GAMECOCK In the land of thoroughbred horses, “My Old Kentucky Home”, Rick Pitino, Colonel Sanders, mint juleps and the proud • tradition of Kentucky basketball, people also play a little football. Second-year head coach Rich Brooks and his Kentucky Wildcats football squad kick off the season on the road against archrival Louisville on Sept. 4. Kentucky is hoping to improve' on a 4-8 (1-7 SEC) record from a year ago. The media has predicted the Wildcats to finish sixth in the SEC East. Gone is the 275-pound behemoth of a quarterback Jared Lorenzen, the subject of many crowd taunts and Kentucky’s all time leading passer. Senior Shane Boyd, once called “the quarterback of the future” by former coach Guy Morris in 2001, will finally get his chance to start. When Boyd committed to the Wildcats in 2000, he was one of the most highly touted recruits Kentucky had ever landed, but with three different coaching changes and a * host of NCAA sanctions to the program, his career at Kentucky has not lived up to expectations. Boyd is a mobile, running quarterback, which should go well in offensive coordinator Ron Hudson’s system. Hudson came to Kentucky from Kansas State, which built an entire program around an offense featuring talented running quarterbacks. The Kentucky offense returns five starters from last year, the biggest losses being on the offensive line and receiver positions. The Wildcats will have to replace Derek Abney, the school’s third all-time receiver and SEC leader in all-purpose yards in 2003. Luckily for Kentucky, it does have a talented young receiving corps from which to choose. Look for sophomore Keenan Burton to have a breakout year at this position. The biggest weakness for Kentucky’s offense will be the offensive line, which will only have two players with starting experience coming back. The good news for the offense is that last season’s leading rusher, tailback Arliss Beach, returns. The bad news is that he only rushed for 3 66 yards the whole season. If Kentucky is to have any success this year, it must improve its running game, one of the SEC’s worst from a year ago, averaging only 125.1 yards per game in 2003. The Kentucky defense will return nine of its starters from last year. The leader of this defensive unit is defensive end “Sweat Pea” Burns. Burns tallied 72 tackles last year, including an SEC-best 18 tackles for a loss, earning him first team SEC honors. Free safety Muhammad Abdullah, who led the team with four interceptions and made second team all-SEC, heads up the secondary. Also returning for the Wildcats defense is linebacker Chad Anderson, who led the team in tackling in 2003 with 125 stops. The Kentucky defense will start its second year in a 3-4 alignment, a defensive scheme that emphasizes linebacker play and team speed. Their biggest weakness last year was in stopping their opponents’ running game, surrendering an average of 186.7 yards per game. Kentucky fielded the second-youngest defense in the SEC last year. Look for this unit to be improved in 2004. This UK team should win games against Indiana and Ohio. The team can win against Louisville, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. The problem games for the Wildcats include Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and Tennessee. Worst case scenario for the Big Blue would be a disappointing 2-9 record. Best-case scenario would be a bowl-eligible 6-5. A miracle ♦ Please see KENTUCKY, page 15 ED REINKE/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Louisville running back Eric Shelton, left, tries to break a tackle attempt by Kentucky’s Jon Sumrall in this file photo from their intrastate matchup on Aug. 31, 2003, in Lexington, Ky. The Wildcats and Cardina.ls will play again in their season openers.