Welcome to the Big Blue and Sider Dick Gabriel with you on a Friday as we wrap up the week. And if you haven't been able to surmise already, my sniffles have turned into a cold, So just bear with me on this and we'll get through the show tonight. There's a lot to like though, in my opinion, because let's start with the back half of the show. Coming up in our number two. My man Jeremy Jarmon's going to join me, and I haven't had a chance to
talk to Jeremy on the show. We talk all the time via text your email, but we haven't talked football, and we're going to do that tonight. We're going to take up the entire second half of the show talking about not as much last season, but what to expect in the spring, what he wants to see, the transfers coming in the portal, what is going on with Mark Pope's program. So we'll get Jeremy Jarmon's thoughts on that coming up in our number two. A little bit later
on in this hour, Evan Byers will join us. He is a veteran left handed pitcher for the baseball Wildcats. They begin one week week from today. The UK softball team season already underway, and again we pre record my apologies, so check the interweb if you'd like to know how Rachel Lawson's team did earlier today. They opened up at ten am with Pittsburgh down in Clearwater, Florida. Followed up with a game against Notre Dame in Clearwater. So two
games today for the UK women. They play Morgan State and Southern Miss tomorrow. First came at noon, next game at three o'clock. I don't think there's any TV on any of this, but go to UK Athletics dot com and follow along statistically. Then on Sunday the Wildcats play softball against eighth rank Duke down in Clearwater. So busy, busy weekend for Rachel Lawson's ball club. But again Evan
Byer's coming up at the bottom of the hour. And we're also going to talk about the controversy, the conspiracy, the NFL and the Super Ball coming up in our next segment. But right now we'll talk about those basketball Cats. They take on South Carolina tomorrow. They'll hear that game right here on six point thirty wlap Mark Pope talked to the media yesterday, and one of the topics there's obviously more than one, was body language. And if you watch the game, even if you weren't there, if you
just watched it on TV, I think you'll agree. Man, the body language for the Wildcats, even before they fell behind by a million points, just wasn't very good. And Pope talked about how they've addressed that. In fact, the way they addressed it, I think was really interesting.
The most important thing that we can do to deal with frustration or worry or doubt or failure setbacks is we can keep getting in a huddle where we are actually looking at each other, because that's where you find trust and faith and energy and enthusiasm and care and love and all those things that actually are energy givers. And that's probably the thing that we're leaning into the most.
We talked about that for a long time this morning in our film session that did right now, we're going to find these answers in each other, and that's really important, and it's really true. It's actually true in that's well, it's true in life.
I'd honestly never thought of it that way, but yeah, you know, if you're down, you're feeling bad, you're not going to lock eyes with anybody, and if you're up, you're gonna want to share all that. So yeah, that's that's a great way to look at it. I think, I don't know. Pope kind of does things differently. As we all know, we're learning that he also spreads the minutes out in a way that some people wonder about. For instance, Amari Williams is playing really well right now.
He averages twenty one minutes a game. Oh Way averages twenty eight or twenty nine. It's kind of reminiscent of Patinos ninety sixteen, the team that that Mark Pope played on. But he doesn't spread the minutes out for the same reason. I mean, oh Way averages twenty eight minutes Lamont Butler when he's playing twenty six, Kobe Brad twenty four with Patino,
it was because he had so much talent. With Pope, it's because he wants guys as well rested through the game as they possibly can be, because they are so up tempo, they lean so much on energetic offense that he wants everybody he doesn't want to see fatigue out there. And it's something he's actually he said he's wrestling with it right now.
I mean, that's a real argument that he had, and we kind of go back and forth with ourselves, like right now, we're trying to stretch exactly the opposite way of what are suggesting. We think we have, you know, good young players, and so we'd like to expand their minutes so we can, you know, so we can have more intensity energy on the court more consistently from different guys. But time is going to tell whether that's actually a winning strategy or not.
So I'll be curious to see if he spreads the minutes any differently tomorrow against the South Carolina, which he said is capable of coming in here and winning.
You see, in this league, there's some teams that really struggle and then all of a sudden they are winning, and some teams that are winning, all of a sudden they struggle.
And it's because it's close.
Because there's a lot of good teams in this league, and they're certainly one of them. They have superstar talent, they have they're really well coached, they got toughness and discipline, and so they're and they've you know, they had every good team in this league on the ropes. They had Auburn on the ropes, they had Florida on the ropes, they had you know, everybody on the rope. So a good team will coached just like every single team in this league.
Noon tip off here on six thirty WLAP network coverage at nine thirty. I'm sorry, a local coverage of nine thirty. Network coverage begins at ten thirty here on your number one spot for sports. The MVP of the National Football League is Josh Allen. Not the Kentucky Josh Allen, of course, but the Buffalo Josh Allen. Backlash because Lamar Jackson didn't win, and I would have voted for Lamar Jackson. I'm okay with Josh Allen winning it, but who voted Jackson fourth place?
He had won fourth place ballot. Allen got twenty seven first place votes, Jackson got twenty three, but somebody voted Jackson fourth. I don't get that. And Allen's the first player since John Elway in eighty seven to win the MVP without also being a First Team All Pro. Lamar Jackson was the first Team All Pro. But Josh Allen wins the MVP. You know, the guy who cheated Shoheotani out of his money or got caught trying to defraud him.
Sentenced to nearly five years in prison, fifty seven months he will do some serious time, three years of supervised release, and restitution of more than eighteen million to Otani and the ir Yes mitz Ohara he paid. Mitzuhara spoke briefly at the sentencing, apologized to Atani, his family, the Dodgers, and the US government. Ryan Day got paid. Becomes the second highest paid coach in college football. Agreed to a new seven year contract pays him twelve and a half
million annually through twenty thirty one. And if you don't already know, the highest paid coach in college football, Kirby Smart thirteen point two million per year. Dabo Swiney is third at eleven and a half million over a ten year deal. Steve Sarkisian makes ten point nine million at Texas and Kaylin de Boor at Alabama makes ten point twenty five million per year coaching the Crimson Tides. So a lot of guys getting paid big time bucks and
a big time upset last night. If you can call it that, I think you can and winmen's basketball Yukon Tennessee became such a great rivalry with Pat Summit versus Gino Arima. The balls kind of taking a dip, the Lady Balls did, but they look like they're coming back. It's the first win in the rivalry matchup since twenty oh seven. Tennessee beats Yukon in Knoxville eighty to seventy six. Kentucky plays Tennessee a little bit later on this season.
Did you catch the NFL Awards show last night when they announced the MVP winners and the offensive and defensive players and the rookies and all that stuff. Well, you know what made the headlines, don't you. Snoop Dogg, who hosted the event, in his opening monologue, it only went about six six and a half minutes, but then he got a lot of laughs. The biggest laugh came at the expense of Bill Belichick in his seventies, who dates a woman who I think is twenty four. Her name
is Jordan Hudson. Lovely woman, and it turns a lot of heads and it got a big laugh thanks to Snoop Dogg last night.
I remember back when the Cowboys was good, I remember back when the Chiefs was bad, and I remember.
What was it Bill Belichick's girlfriend wasn't even born yet, and naturally the camera goes right to Belichick and right to his lady friend, and he laughed and smiled. She looked a little bit taken aback, but you know, you've you've kind of signed on to the boys club. It wasn't I didn't think it was rude. And I got to think somebody at some point has teased her a little bit, or she's heard or read the good natured
ribbing or whatever. But this was national TV, so it wasn't a bad line by Snoop Dogg, and they caught her by surprise. Up next, we'll talk about who's going into the NFL Hall of Fame. There's a lot connection and there are Kentucky connections to the Super Bowl beyond Darien Cannard. A little later, Evan Byers here on six point thirty WLAP. Welcome back to the Big Blue Insider. Coming up in a few minutes away from Evan Buyer's
Kentucky left hander looking ahead to the upcoming season. They'll have to listen to me working through this cold I have now going into Super Bowl weekend, and a little bit of a Super Bowl chatter a lot actually about referees, and you know about it. We talked about it here on the show. Everybody thinks the NFL is fixed, and the referees are doing this and that, and games are rigged, and the refs favor the Chiefs and all that. Personally, I don't, but I understand why some people think that.
But the first of all, believe in the NFL's rigged. Believe what you want, but you would just have to have too many people involved any conspiracy like that. Now do the Chiefs get calls? Maybe they do subconsciously, but honestly, and I've talked about this before, good teams seem to get calls because their players are better than bad teams. That makes sense, and the better the player, the fewer
the infractions. If at one d back, if defensive back A is better than defensive back B inherently better, he's not gonna have to interfere as much as the other guy in order to compete. If you've got a superior offensive lineman and you're comparing him to another old lineman who isn't as good, the guy who isn't as good is gonna have to hold more because you're not as good as the first guy. That's the way it works in sports quite often, but a lot of people aren't
gonna believe that anyway. Mike Perrara will work the broadcast for Fox Sports. He was the first former official ever to do. This was a great role that the TV press. They started pressing former referees into these roles. Some have been good, so I'm not I think Perrara is still the best. And earlier today on Fox News he talked about all the talk about conspiracies and refs favoring one team over the other, and he basically obviously agrees with the commissioner.
Yeah, I mean, I think I would say what Roger Goodell said, which I try not to use harsh words. I understand why they think that, because the numbers point that direction and the if he calls seem to have gone the chief's way.
But to think that.
There's intent is really ridiculous. And that's the term that Roger used. It's people that don't really understand officiating that are making these thoughts.
Now.
Kansas City is a great team of a great quarterback, great coach, great team period. They teach penalty prevention. Their numbers of false starts are less those types of things. The officials are out just to manage the game, and they have to make decisions in one twenty sixth of a second, and so they don't have time to factor in who made the foul, what color the team is, and so really it's it's really I understand the concern, but it's really won't affect the way they officiate this weekend.
So as a football fan, somebody watches every Saturday and Sunday, this is something I would want to ask, you know, I think a lot of the audience would be curious about as well, Mike, And it'll be curious how it plays out on Sunday. In a Super Bowl, there are some crews that seem ready to throw a flag throughout the game looking for infractions, and we can see the total in the game of the number of flags thrown.
There are other crews that seem to adopt to let them play mindset, and you can see they're letting more go. You could call holding on every play in the NFL. Yes, how do you know what crew you're getting? In? Wired crews different when it comes to their readiness to throw the flag.
Yeah, and you're right, you can almost call holding on every play, and guess what, we'd have a four and a half hour game, you know, and everybody would hate the game of football. So you have to really choose advantage versus disadvantage and make your decision there. You know, this is different too, because teams do prepare for crews, but this is not a crew. This is an all star cruise. So they've come from seven different crews, so
it's kind of impossible to judge where they might lean. Look, the parody in terms of number of a Foles called is closer this year than I think I've ever seen it before. But you have different you know, he had one hundred and twenty eight people. They don't have the same judgment, and so you know.
It's hard. It's hard to teach.
Consistency or to expect consistency all the way through. But all I care is, you know what is that they called in the fourth quarter the same way they call the game in the first court.
And I think we can agree.
Here's what we hope we don't notice them in this Super Bowl.
You know what, I hope I hope you don't hear from me.
I hope you don't see me.
If I don't mumble a word, then that means there's not a controverty.
That's Mike Pereira on Fox News and he'll be working the broadcast for Fox Sports. And yeah, if they don't hear from him at all, it's been a good day. And I give it to him. He has on more than one occasion openly criticized referees. You know, he doesn't automatically say, yeah, that was the proper thing, or maybe
he called it because of this way. There have been times, several times this year I've heard him say I wouldn't have called that, or I can't believe they called that, or they shouldn't have called that in the fourth quarter to his point earlier, because they didn't call it in the first quarter. So I give him a lot of credit for that. And by the way, and I've talked about this before, people get frustrated with basketball officials for calling
things late that they didn't call early. My brother's a referee, and I asked him once, I said, why do you guys call fouls late that you let go early? He said, because we spent most of the game saying get your hands off him. And so they've tried to use discretion early before the by the end of the game, when the game's on the line, if you got a guy being held, they're going to call a foul, and to not call a foul is them affecting the game. We
don't want referees to affect the game. We don't want them to have a say and how yeah, well, if you don't call an obvious foul, that's affecting the game. But anyway, back to football, I just hope none of that stuff comes and then we don't have to talk about this again. On Monday, people are angry about the Hall of Fame voting, especially Giants fans. And I talk with Aaron Gershaan, a Giants fan, on Monday night, or rather on Wednesday, I think, on the State Wide show,
and I said, Eli Manning belongs in. I don't know that i'd vote him on the first ballot because there are other guys who belong in there, but Manning, Adam Vinettieri, the incredible kicker in Terrell Suggs all snubbed by the voting, And of course people are up in arms about it. And as I said, I realized Eli never won an MVP, he never got a vote and was only voted to the Pro Bowl four times. But as Aaron pointed out, look who else was playing quarterback while Eli was playing quarterback?
Not to mention his brother, but Drew Brees a lot of really good Tom Brady. Manning beat Brady twice in the Super Bowl. Anybody else done that?
Nope.
But as I said to Aaron, I would vote Eli Manning simply because of what he did in the fourth quarter of more than twenty games, more than twenty fourth quarter comebacks. He led for the Giants, not a traditionally of late strong franchise. So that's why I would take him again. I don't know that I would have taken him on this ballot, but I do believe he belongs, and so does Vinitieri. Come on, Adam Vinettieri is the only guy who has won two Super Bowls with kicks,
and that's not all he's done. If you follow the NFL, you know what I'm talking about. He was money twenty four years. Adam Vinattieri was phenomenal. He held the NFL records for most field goal makes and attempts in NFL history. He's the best, and you know how kickers are vital. I mean, he's got to go in maybe next year, but he's got to go in. And here's the other thing. Terrell Suggs doesn't go in. He is eighth all time in sacks courier sacks. Okay, Jared Allen does go in,
He's twelfth all time, So explain that to me. I was happy with Sterling Sharp going in. Former packer Jared Allen didn't have strong feelings. He's great, Eric Allen great. Antonio Gates goes in and belongs in tight end. Here's what's cool about that. I got to watch Kent State in the twenty oh two Elite eight here in the Lexington and Antonio Gates was the center on that team.
They pulled a couple of upsets, got to the Elite eight in rupp Arena went thirty and six that year Understan Heath, which led him to some a couple of other good jobs that he couldn't hold. Arkansas one of them. But Antonio Gates was the six five six, sixth center in the mold of Truck Hayes, so he knew he wasn't going to the NBA. But a lot of people said, man, that guy could be a great tight end, and wouldn't you know that's what happened. But the upset Oklahoma State.
They upset the two seed Alabama. Then here in lexing In the upset number three Pittsburgh and lost to Indiana in that game. It sent Indiana to the Final four. Indiana had just upset Duke a couple nights prior, so either way you're going to have kind of a Cinderella. Would have been better if it had been Kent State, but Indiana knocked off Kent State, thus ending Antonio Gates's college basketball career. He turned to football, and wouldn't you know,
now he's a Hall of Famer. I think that's pretty cool. All right, Up next, Evan Buyers of the Kentucky baseball team. A little bit later on, Jeremy Jarman talks a lot of football with us here on the Big Blue Insiders. So come back to the Big Blue Insider, joining us now as a veteran of Kentucky baseball and Evan Byer's left handed pitcher from Nicholasville. Evan, I remember when you signed, I remember when you got here, and I remember, think that's cool. I got a local kid, and you know
he had a nice high school career. I sure hope he gets to contribute, and you've done a lot more than that. Tell me about going into your red shirt senior season and what it's meant to you to develop into a guy who has contributed in so many ways both on and off the field.
Yeah, sir, No, it's been an honor to play for Kentucky, just like my hometown school and always kind of dreamed of being a Wildcat, And it's been cool just to see my development over the past five years, you know, coming in my red shirt freshman year, coming in with Tommy John it was kind of hard to be able to like see if I belong here or not, just because I wasn't able to contribute, But it was cool just kind of seeing how things, you know, went in
college baseball my freshman year, to learn a lot by just watching other guys play and seeing what they do and then developing into the picture I am today. Kind of changed a little bit of my pitching to philosophy. Coach Rozelle helped me to find like a little bit of a lower slot on some of my pitches, and I think it's kind of helped me out a lot.
And so seeing my gross here with all the coaches meaning to help to develop me into what I am today is really cool and I'm super thankful for the opportunity to be here.
Yeah, you kind of got off to a little bit of a slow start, as you said, what most kids do. But the next thing you know, it was a couple of years ago and you're pitching in twenty four games. Your era was like one point six or something. I mean, can you pinpoint anything at that point in your career. You made the second most appearances on the team that year. What really set that season up for you? Because you've been rolling ever since?
Yes, sir, I mean I kind of got to attribute it to my love slot, you know, pitches with coming in there, being able to selp the zone and throw strikes. I think Coacherzee just harps on that coming in there and being able to throw multiple pitches for a strike. And when you built the strike zone, you get a lot more opportunities to come into some big moments. And coach Zelle said, like, I'm a I can throw from
you know, high slot and a low slot. So it's very unique and not many people I've seen that, and so just kind of trying to make yourself unique to get more of an opportunity is what has really helped me, and just working on my low slot stuff this off season. Kind of got away from it a little bit last year. Kind of finding the group this off season, I think is going to help me out a lot and so set me up for success this next season.
I've heard Nick Benngione talk about arm slaught alp before our listeners. Explain what you're talking about there and how it can really be beneficial if you can, you know, as you said, mix.
Things up, yes, sir, So I throw from where my hand placement is like a lot overhead, kind of get your normal throwing motion, and then my low slides have more of a submarine look, so where I'm throwing it and releasing it from a lot lower point kind of closer to the ground. And basically what helps me out is that I got three pitches over top, I got a fasketball changed up on a slider, and I have three pitches from my lower slot kind of underneath mind
shoulder action. So at any point I kind of have six different pitches to go to because they all move a little bit differently from my upslot to my low slot. So it's kind of cool by saying like, hey, like I only have three pitches kind of technically right, but when you think about it, I have six different options to go to and so it just kind of gives a hitter to think about a lot to be coming.
Yeah, and you mentioned Dan Roselle and this much I know about him. Two things. Number one, you always know where you stand with him as a pitcher, right, And number two is his mantra is throw strikes. And that seems like you think, well duh from a pitching coach, But it's not that easy, is it. I mean you've got to constantly pound that zone, especially in the sec.
Yes, certain enough for sure. Like for me, I'm not going to go up there and overpowered. I'm not going to throw up in the mid nineties nineties.
That's just not me.
So one thing that I had to make myself different is that I had to be different, but I also had to throw strikes and hit my spot. We always preach ack entuckuy that it's location, movement velocity, So we focus on the location the most in the movement, and then at last is the velocity. So like the velocity is almost like to carry on top, you know, but we really focus on hitting that location. And I mean, if you don't throw strikes in this league, you're not
going to fitch. There's no point. So for all the listeners out there that want of you a college baseball player, focus on throwing strike, yeah, and then focus on your movement and then your velocity.
We always talk up in the booths, Doug Flynn and Darren Hedrick and Coach Madison and I. We always talk about soft throwing lefties and how confounding they can be, and you're not. You've got good velocity. So I wouldn't say you're a soft throwing lefty, but you are one of those lefties who can, like you said, move the ball around and even against right handed hitters that can be confounding. Tell me a little bit about learning to pitch that way, yes, sir.
No.
For like when I came in, you know, everybody wants to throw hard. Everybody wants to be that power pitcher and blow you away. So I kind of struggled with that at the beginning. I'm struggling to be somebody who I wasn't. I wanted to go in here and gain blocks and throw hard. But kind of like my sophomore year, I didn't get like as many innings as I wanted to see my red shirt freshman year, right, So, you know, talking to coach Rozelle and he's like, hey, we got
to make you different. And so then I had to really trust Coach rozel and just be comfortable with who I am as a pitcher and not try to be anybody that I'm not, because whenever you start trying to be somebody that you aren't is when you get away from all the basics. And we just got to trust that you're good is good enough.
We're talking to Evan Byers, Kentucky left handed pitchers. The Wildcats open up next week and Evan will be one of the if not the key left hand or out of the bullpen. Was it difficult, Evan to make that change when you know you kind of had to take a look inside. You had what four appearances in twenty twenty two, so you had to make changes, and you know you've been you were pitching a certain way all your life, but you realized that you needed to change
the way you were doing business. How tough was that?
It was a little tough to just try to get the mechanics right in the beginning, but I was willing to change. I mean, obviously I didn't get the opportunities that I wanted that red shirt freshman year, and I was willing to do whatever it took to get into the lineup to help the team. Yeah, and so when you ever, you hear kind of like your backs up
against the wall. Like my back was up against the wall at that moment, you know, after four ings my red shirt freshman year, like possibility of me not even making the team that next year. You know, there's always a possibility when you're playing in these big times schools in anywhere. So it was kind of an easy change for me in that aspect where it's like, okay, like if this is what you want, this has helped me get the innings and help me help the team. I'm willing to change and it worked.
When did it When did it become exciting for you? When did you say to yourself, Hey, this is this is okay?
Yeah, It's kind of like when I was working a little bit in the fall, when I was working on it, I was getting some ugly swings and people were like, I've never really seen that before. So it's kind of cool because you know, just being able to be unique and be something that's not really seeing a whole out there in college baseball. There's some some guys do it, but it's not very common. So to be as unique as I am is something that I kind of strive for.
Yeah, you're right about that. I mean we see it's the SEC and you know every weekend guys come in and you know they're they're throwing upper nineties and even touching you know, three figures and uh. And then when you bring in a guy like Evan Byers who can confound batters, I mean, you know, and you know what you're doing out there as well. You've got a plan when you when you get to the mound, don't you.
Yes, there, Yeah, I know kind of have my my go to pitches to a right handed batter and to left handed batter, And we've been kind of working on a little bit of adding some different things because after you pitched four years from the SEC, some people pick up on some tendency. So being able to kind of mix in things and get more comfortable with certain pitches against different batters is what's going to, I think help
me this season. I'm just super excited to get everybody together and everybody see the new team, So it's going to be exciting.
You know.
When we talk to you guys the last couple of years that have been so successful, and every one of you mentions the fall. I knew we were going to be good after the fall and that kind of thing. And Nick said on media day he was really concerned, you know, with so many new faces, but by the end of fall he felt a lot better. How did you feel at the end of fall this year, Evan.
Yeah, like the first you know, a few weeks of the fall kind of coming around, everybody's learning how we do things here at Kentucky because we don't have a whole lot of returners, and so a lot of returners like me, Jackson Novy and Devin Birds really just try to focus on teaching everybody what what our program looks like. And that's not even like playing wise, like just the team culture about the team first mentality being good teammates.
And so there was a lot of pressure on us returners that we are trying to just let this culture leed over into the next year. By the at the end of the fall, you can see people buying in about how to be a good teammate and then buying into the small ball culture that we are here at Kentucky by focusing on base running and bunting, and by no means we'll be perfect by the end of the fall. We're still struggling, you know, to lay down buns to
get the base running correct. But right now we're seeing huge strides in it in the small ball area because that's what we do here. That's what makes us different, that's what makes us put pressure on other teams.
Mar with u k left hand or Evan Buyers after the break here on the Big Blue Siders six thirty WLAP, we're talking to Evan Buyers. Evan a left handed pitcher with the University of Kentucky from Nicholasville, a red shirt senior, and he can't wait to get started. Obviously, when you talk about Kentucky and you say small ball, I know that Nick ben Gione likes to say, we do whatever it takes. It's not just predicated on small ball. And really he read off some of the stats from just
SEC games. Last year. You guys were fourth in home runs, so you can you can win any number of ways. What's that like when you're out there in a bullpen, or you're still on the bench before you go down to the bullpen, watching your team manufacture various and sundry ways to beat the other guys.
Yeah, it's super exciting because we can see our guys just having fun doing like stuff that we do good, and you can see the other team just get so frustrated on how we manufacture our runs, whether it be a home run or we're laying down a bunch to put pressure on the third basement, or we're laying the threat of the bunch bringing the third basement in and then us getting a double down the lone because they're
so far in because of the bunch. It's frustrated for their teams to play us because they think that we have like a million ways to score on them. And it's true, like we talk about having all the basic tools of offense about they running to strike down, discipline, bunteam, hitting for situationally just hitting for power. So we kind of like to say that we have all those aspects
of offense in our toolboat. And so when you have defenses trying to think about what could possibly be going on in this scenario, it speeds up their mind and then one thing another might lead to an error or a pass ball. So just the pressure of having those skills in your tool belt kind of makes it exciting to watch on the bench to see the other defense kind of like gets sped up a little bit.
And obviously the community loves it. The crowds have been getting bigger and bigger, And we talked about the fact that you know, you grew up wanting to be a Wildcat from Nicholas Will. You've played at LCA, and I'm sure you came to a lot of Kentucky games when you were when you were a kid, What did it mean to you to see the stadium? I mean, you guys have been breaking records with crowds for the last couple three years.
No, it's honestly such a cool thing to see, kind of a full circle moment. Went to the regional back in twenty seventeen at the Cliff right and was there to see that big crowd, And then a full circle moment about two years ago when we hosted a regional, and then last year we host a regional and a super to see these crowds and BB in to show out. It's just kind of cool to see how much they
care about Kentucky baseball. We've seen crowds grow from small crowds back here in twenty twenty one, twenty twenty two to just huge crowds here in twenty three and twenty four, And it's amazing to see how much the fan base cares about baseball. You know, we have a big basketball school, big football school, but when you see the VbN show out to baseball, it just makes you proud to be a wild gut.
Yeah.
And the bullpen and the dugout are so vital. I guess it's the bullpen before you guys go down to the pan from the middle of the game on or whatever. But we know how much stock Nick puts in body language and being involved and invested in the game. What is it like being a part of a team where the head coach worries as much about what's going on during the game off the field as he does what's going on on the field.
No, I think it's it's awesome. It really just helps the guys that maybe not play a whole lot or like bullpens pictures, like myself, is that we have value in the dugout. Coach benje always harps on two things, How you help the team when you're playing, and how to helps the team when outside of how and run you're playing right, So no matter what, even when you aren't playing, like you have a purpose in the dugout, you can help the team by bringing energy by just
cheering guys on, motivating them, picking them up. So it's just really cool because it gives you a sense of purpose in the dougout and it's super fun when everybody just gets super excited, like just with all your buddies ain't out in the dugout and just playing baseball and having fun. So at the end of the day, it's a game we're love to have fun and it's a huge aspect to our game to keep our energy up.
You guys, doll delivered a College World Series appearance to the Big Blue Nation. I know how much that meant to you. You went three scoreless against Texas A and m out in Omaha. That obviously was a thrill for you. You wanted to play longer, You guys wanted to stay out there longer. But and again you've only got what I think fifteen guys back from last year. But what
did that mean to you, guys? To get that experience as you hit it, you got to do it all over again, I know, but that's got to just be invaluable for your confidence knowing that it can happen.
Yes, sir, it was cool to bring the first Super Regional championship to the DBN, to be able to kind of as our names out in the history books, just to prove that we can do what it takes to get there. And you know, learning how you know, how it all went down last season, we kind of know what it takes to get there, and that's kind of comforting. Honestly, gives us confidence that we know what it takes to win.
So all we got to do is carried over to this year, and so if we just continue to do what we focus on as a team and continue to do what we do best, it gives me confidence that we can make it back there this year. Obviously, you know, you never know if things are going to pan out in the first few weeks, but I think that we'll once we hit our sad, I think it'll be hard to stop us. I'm excited to see all the new guys just kind of carrying over the culture that we
started last year, and it's going to be different, you know. Yeah, not everything's going to be the same. We have different guys on the team, but we're built for a high explosive offense kind of just to be stealing bases and bunting, you know, hitting those home runs. We need them. But I think it's built kind of similar to the offense that we have last year. So I'm excited to see us finally all work together as a unit and actually play a team that you know isn't ourselves.
Well, and that offense is fun to watch and explosive, But you guys used one of the nation's best defenses last year and really over the last year or three years, And obvious, say with Pete at second base and Grant Smith, uh and prior to him, Ryan River at shortstop, when you go out there having to pitch the first time this year, they're not going to be behind you, obviously, and you won't have Waldy running down baseballs and left
and Nolan and center. So tell me about your confidence in this year's defense with all these new faces.
Right, Yeah, I mean we've I've been blessed since I've been here to have an amazing defense behind me, and I can be confident again this year. We have some some good guys up the middle, like Luke Lawrence and Tyler Bell, Patrick Frere at third base, or Ethan Handle and the Dylan Kons of their first base or whoever
it may be. I'm pretty confident in then. Like, obviously they're a little bit younger than the guys that we've had in the past, right, you know that with when you're young, like you're gonna make mistakes, and we all know that. But we always talk about when some of the might make an air behind you, like they usually look at you and say, hey, get me another one.
I'm ready for the other one. But they've been really good about being vocal in the in the infield when I'm pitching scrimmages, and I really like that, but like, hey, go to the next guy or get us in the dugout took us some run. So the encouragement and vocal leadership that I've seen us share and like developed that communication from the start of the faults and now has been a huge growth. And communication is key and I truly believe that. So I'm excited to see the defense work.
There's a lot of guys out there that you'll see they will make great plays and hopefully make all the routine plays. Yeah, yeah, but it'll be it'll be good to see how they all start to connect, drove.
The season, dominate the routine play well. Finally, I'm curious to see what happens in the Dugout dance numbers, music props, whatever you guys have. It's got to happen naturally organically.
Right, Yes, sir, there's a there's a little bit of brainstorm and that goes on behind the scenes, but yeah, it's definitely gonna happen naturally. I don't think we can use all the same stuff we used last year. Wouldn't be you know, unique. So usually we have a meeting with all the pictures and Trevor Fidz kind of headed up as a doug Out Mafia, which is our director of player development, and we kind of just start brainstorming
the things that we want to do. And I have a feeling that'll probably be in the next few days since our first game is next Friday, so we'll be cooking up some good ideas for the DBN to get involved, and you'll see some carry over a little bit of the same stuff from last year, but We're definitely gonna have to do stuff this year as well.
And you need a new dugout captain, right. I mean it was Ryan Hagen now last year, but he's gone, so.
Yeah, not sure, not sure who that's gonna be. Yeah, coach you Minche might nominate somebody. It might just happen organically. We'll see how it happened.
Okay, all right, I do thank you for your time in best of lu like have a great season.
Thank you. I really appreciate it and I appreciate you having me on tonight.
At UK left hander Evan Bayer's up next to nour number two. Jeremy Jarman of the UK Sports Network, we will go deep on Kentucky football here on six thirty w lap.
Any such tact, taking anything, do anything any.
Welcome back to the Big Blue and sider joining us now one of my favorite people, one of my favorite guests, and a buddy of mine who is part of our UK radio new recoverage of Kentucky football.
Mister Jeremy Jarman.
Are you enjoying your off season, sir, with your youngster and keeping an eye on the basketball team as well as his football team.
Hey Man, the off season has been great. Can't complain good holidays. Did some ice skating with young JJ and Ah. He likes being in motion man ice skating, roller skating, keeping him keeping him busy. There, wife's good and round balls looking great. It's been that's been pretty good. Man. How about you?
You and I talk all the time via text and calls whatever, But I believe this is the first time I've had you on the air since the season was over, and since then, as you know, the portal door has been spinning in both directions. Uh, let's talk first, Jeremy about the guys in general who have come through, including new faces on that old line. As I as I've kind of turned the season over, you and I have talked about this. So many things happened this It's just
a strange year. But in terms of lack of success over the last three years, in my opinion, I still think it comes back to an offensive line that never really has found itself.
Do you see it that way?
I do see it that way.
Uh.
These guys, however, individually and coming from you know the places they're coming from. These guys have all had success. Now you know this hasn't been success on the sec level, But that is not an indicator of future success. You know, I've been on teams with a lot of guys that that didn't play football in the SEC. This is just going to come down to, you know, how good of a job Eric Wolferd can do pulling these guys together, keeping them focused. Uh, these guys, certainly, each one of them,
I'm sure comes in with different deficiencies. Are they willing to get in the weight room, are willing to get in the film room? H and become better football players, become better leaders and ultimately hold each other accountable.
You spend your career in college, I assume high school as well, and the pros kind of attacking offensive lineman, and you talk about deficiencies and everybody has.
Them, whether they're mental or physical.
What cand of coach do to try to facilitate a group of guys working together as one?
That was one of the questions I asked Mark going into last season. You know, around this time last year, was you know, what do you do with so many new young faces, Like what's the you know, what's your what's your theory, what's your you know, what's your subscription model?
To figure that out and ultimately, you know, your off season when you talk about some of the accountability games and things that take place in the off season where you divide guys into groups of eight to ten uh, and ultimately you just kind of have gold oriented boards that guys are able to get points. So just accountability systems, you know, that's one of the things. I think some of the other stuff is things that are just off
the field. You know, what kinds of things are you encouraging these guys to do amongst themselves to build brotherhood and build it quickly but authentically. What kind of challenges are you throwing at these guys when they are in the weight room to you know, to kind of create
that sense of camaraderie. I'll tell you you and I've talked with Corey Peters and some other former guys over the course of the last few weeks, and you know, I had a lot of respect for our strength coach, Mark Hill, who's now athletic director, but I disliked him a lot of days, you know, as as a student athlete. And you know, and I still laugh about some of that stuff today, you know when I see him, But
the relationship is real. You should not enjoy. You should not like your strength coach while you're an athlete not playing football, you shouldn't and and you know, and those are the kind of things that I want to see and hear come out I think over the course. So these these next few months gave I want I want to hear stories about how the strength coach is really pushing these guys to their absolute genetic mask and challenging them.
And by the way, Jeremy's referring to the Mark Ollers too, to the Mark the one with the CE who's the assistant or deputy, a d whatever you want to call it. And now Kentucky's strength and conditioning coach is another Mark Hill. So you're kind of hoping these guys developed this intense disregard, let's say, for him and for coach Edmund.
For sure, you're offensive line and your defensive line. On game base, they have to be absolute, nasty, monocal individuals who just enjoy havoc and wreaking havoc and putting their hands on people. And that mindset, that mindset like that can be built, that can be manufactured, and it has to be manufactured, not necessarily in practice. That's where you kind of sharpened those that mindset is manufactured in the
weight room. You know that's mental, you know, throwing weight around, moving weight six o'clock in the morning, eight o'clock in the morning, just because that's the task at hand, and part of that is it's mental. You know, you gotta find you got to tap into things that happened to you over the course of your college career to get
through some of those. For me, Gabe, the embarrassment of losing the LSU as a redshirt sophomore, those are uncomfortable moments that I had to tap into on days that I just quite honestly didn't want to train, didn't want to work, didn't want a job, didn't want to eat right. But those uncomfortable memories are have to be what fuels you to be a better player and want to be a better teammate.
That blowout loss down at LSU that had you wondering if you were on the right career path on the flight home, You've told me that.
Story many times. And when rich Brooks got home, he thought he was on his way out.
I thought he was gonna have to sell his house. But that was really the beginning of the turnaround. I think so you're right, And you know, as you talk about what happens in the weight room, I think back to all the video clips I've seen from Kentucky and other schools on social media where somebody is moving an enormous amount of weight for the first time, or setting a weight room record, or just doing something incredible, and he's surrounded by a couple dozen of his teammates cheering
him on. It might be one rep, it might be you know, going for a record number of reps, and these guys are screaming like banshees and they celebrate like they've just won a big game when it's over. People like me, I mean, I tried my best in the weight room, but I was never a part of anything like that. What do we need to understand about a moment like that and what it means to a football team?
You almost just answered that.
I think the thing that's not spoken about spoken about a lot of those situations is is that here you have a guy that is getting ready to potentially break a personal record. So the mindset that you have to be in right to be willing to to to be willing to put yourself in that situation because you can get injured weightlifting, right, you know, and also the mental element. You got to be in the right mindset to say, you know what, I'm going for PR today, personal record, Yeah,
I'm going for PR today. And to have your teammates that are there with you, that are pushing you through. I think everybody in the weight room in those moments they understand the significance of that because you know, there's a mental element. There's a big mental element. Yeah, you know you throw that extra five pounds on what difference does that extra five pounds make? Well, you know there's
a mental right. You got to bust through that. You got to bust through that wall of where you thought for so long that this was this was my this was my ceiling. Right, five pounds less, that was good enough. But now you're trying to you're trying to beat that, and you know that's what that's about. And to be surrounded by your brothers or your sisters, you know, in
moments like that really special. And I remember being in those situations, not the ones that I was a part of, like per se because the weight's on my back, but I remember days Mayron Pryor, I mean, just such a strong individual days where we surrounded guys like that in the weight room, you know, Micah Johnson, some of the guys you know that were extremely strong, or some of the guys that were going for vertical vertical leap wrecords that have been working and training for those things just
as important too. Yeah. Yeah.
Jeremy Jarman is my guest from the UK Radio Network Day, former All Conference.
Defensive end for the Wildcats.
We'll talk more football on the other side of the break here on six thirty w LAP come back. We're talking with Jeremy Jarman of the UK Sports Network. Hey, and Logan Stenberg, Christy Thomas anchor our pregame coverage, and then you hear Jeremy all over social media, including the Big Blue Insider throughout the year and the UK Sports
Network websites. We were talking earlier about the offensive line and I go back and I'm looking at the Big Blue Wall and I've talked before with you about how it kind of evolved, and really I think it began when Drake Jackson took over at center. Because Bunchie Stallings was struggling a bit with long snaps. They moved Bunchie over to O guard he becomes an All American, Drake becomes an All Conference performer. You got Big George Asapo a j on that line. You have just incredible talent there.
But those are guys who developed over a number of years now.
And you and I talked before about how Kentucky with the portal is selected or recruited through need. But it's a different process now. You know, you don't have guys who are maybe in their third year finally getting a chance to start. But those first two years when they were part of the process were so vital in becoming a fabric, part of the fabric of the team. Is it possible, Is it fair for us, Jeremy to expect a big blue wall kind of response.
Or I don't know, I don't know what the word is. I'm looking for big blue wall.
Kind of like a resurgence.
Yeah, when you're building through the portal as much as you are recruiting.
I mean, at the end of the day, they make a long yes, no, no, no, it's not unreasonable. I think it's very reasonable, you know, to expect these guys to transition into this league. They're leveling up, they think that they can play in the SEC. They need to come with the mindset that they're here to prove it. You know. Now it's their job to come here and to turn this around and get the moment I'm going.
You know, the only guy probably on the list that's that that we know, without a with without a shadow of a doubt, is going to be able to perform at this level is Josh Braun. You know, the lineman coming from Arkansas formaw let's to see Lineman. Yeah, everybody else they check the boxes, size, strength, performance on the tape, but it's not until you know, really till September where
you really know. And even with that, you can't just go off for the first body of work because we know that longevity, durability that those things have to be there. It's not you know, it's not just one game, it's you know, it's twelve games in a row game, so you got to be durable, uh in the process too.
Yeah, and you know you got to say healthy non conference versus conference play is big. So it's it's a great mystery and it's going to play out right in front of us. And now there will maybe well there will definitely be a new Opening Day QB, whether it's cutter Bully or the kid who transferred in or you know, we'll know by August obviously, but his success, whichever one it is, will depend entirely on that big blue wall.
That's why I think we're always going to wonder about Brock Vandergriff because if you go back Jeremy and look at some of his clips from his first three or four games, including Ole Miss, he looks like a different guy than we saw down the stretch. And not all of that's on him, is it?
It's not all on him. I was concerned about some of the shots he took in the Southern Miss game in a short and a shortened game, and I think I think Brock Vandergriff came to Lexington and gave us everything that he had, and you know, there were some hits that he took in that game where you know, I'm wondering if if it was him or you know, or if it was the expectations that had him feeling the need to try to run through you know, linebackers, and you know, in open field, at the end of
the day, you're a quarterback and nobody's expecting I shouldn't say nobody, but I'm not expecting, you know, Kentucky quarterback to be running over linebackers, therefore trying to run over linebackers unless it's like a fourth to one situation game on the line. I just didn't like some of the
shots that he took early. I think it compromised him and his his mobility and his ability to throw the football in the weeks that came after Southern Miss and it was just basically it was a it was a seesaw, it was a spiral that it most certainly was uncomfortable for him for the remainder of the season.
I wondered if he was trying to match some of those spectacular plays that Will Levis made putting his shoulder into the chest of a linebacker and that was Will's rep But he only did it Jeremy a couple of times. He hurtled one guy, but for this, and this was a guy who was bigger than vandergriff was. But I did wonder that did go through my mind, And there were times I'm staying in my mind, get down, get down slide.
But he was going head first, and that was.
The mo o on him. When you go back and you look at what his teammates at Georgia were saying that they said he wasn't a guy that shoed away from contact. But you know, ultimately, ultimately as the quarterback, you have to stay healthy. You got to. You gotta be serviceable for the coaches and for your team, and you can't. You can't go out there and be something that you're not. And that would be the advice that I have forzout Zach Calzada coming back into the SEC
this season. Don't try and be something you're not. Get the yards as you can get, slide, dive, whatever you need to do, but stay on the field for your team and pick and choose those pick and choose those moments where you know you show your toughness.
I talked to our colleague Jeffikoro more than once about this. Uh, you mentioned Zach coming in and I've talked about Cutter Bowley. Were you surprised given the fact that the staff turned the cutter and almost really had to you by the end of the year as the starter.
But went out and got a guy who.
It looks like he has starting QB written all over him. The guy who came through the portal. He didn't come here to sit, but he knows he's got to win the job, just as Levis did, just as Brock did. Were you surprised Kentucky made it a point to go I didn't get a guy with starting QB credentials.
No I'm not. And they owed it to the team to go out and get a guy that can come in and compete for the starting quarterback job, a guy that's got experienced throwing the ball, being dual threat and mobile. I think that his skill set in Calzada, I think it's very complementary to a team, you know, this team where there's still going to be some question marks. Gay, we've seen college football and we've seen how it has evolved.
Now the NFL is following suit. You gotta have you got to have a guy on your roster that is dual threat. If he's not dual threat, well he better be I mean just absolutely an incredible pocket passer. Yeah. Yeah, he's got to be laser sharp. He's got to have
quick reads. He's got to be willing to get the ball out of his hands because you know, he's got a scheme, a system of comprehension of the blitz schemes, rotations that allow him to process the place quickly where he can get the ball out before he gets hit. And uh, you know, so going into this season seeing these two guys with different skill sets compete, that that's what this is about. And we know what the data shows.
The data shows that whoever's name the starter, that they're probably not going to be a starter for at least one one or two games or or or or more just because you get banged up. That's that's the nature of this league.
Yeah, look at Georgia end of the year, whether it's with Carson Beck on the bench. Yeah, you know, and some think that's what costs Georgia in the postseason. Everybody's blessed like Texas with two guys who could start anywhere in the country.
So, uh but no, you're right.
I mean, you know, and name of a team that goes through a season with a quarterback unscathed, and of course whoever's the quarterback will be looking at a different for the most part, set of receivers. You got a couple guys back, some young guys who are going to get an opportunity, but others who have come through the portal. I kind of think we've all expected Brian Brown to
move on. I guess we shouldn't be surprised that Dane moved on because he needs to go someplace where he can really showcase.
His skills for the NFL, and that was questionable whether he be able.
To do that here.
Well, it should have been here, It should have been here.
Uh and to a point it was, I think, but not to the point where you know, we all thought, oh, this guy, we thought maybe after I think his first year, we wondered what he declare after his third year. But I think this new room of receivers in the receivers coach, who I know you like a lot, I think the balance could end up being a real weapon for the wildcatch.
Do you Yeah, yeah, it can be. And there's there's just you know, there's just there's question marks. And you mentioned Dane, and to lose a player of his caliber, skill set, being a legacy guy, that just can't happen.
You know, just very disappointed there. I think that for him to continue to grow as a player, I think that he needed he needed, uh, you know, stronger performances from guys in the wide receiver room as well, guys that had the ability to play outside play inside and ultimately we got to a point, Gabe, where we had games where he was being targeted. Yeah, twelve to fifteen times a game.
Yeah.
Yeah. And I mean they're just dropping, you know, linebackers right into the you know, right right right into the under the route. Yeah, you know, in breaking routes and stops and curls. Just frustrating. You know, they literally no pundit now actually pun intended. They keyed on him, Yeah, and they forced other players to try to show that they could step up and make some plays. And you
saw Macklin succeed in some instances down the stretch. Tennessee being one of those games when he got a chance to get back out on the outside where you know, maybe he should have been all year.
Well, miss made it a point to not only key on him, double team him. They interfered with him, and he still made big plays. Down in Oxford. We're talking to Jeremy Jerman of the UK Sports Network. More to come here on six thirty WLAP Welcome Back. We're talking with Jeremy Jarman of the UK Sports Network, former Kentucky defensive end and now you hear him with Logan Senberg
and Christy Thomas anchoring our pregame covers. We talked a lot about the offense, didn't talk about running backs, But I need to.
Get you over to the defense.
It's a side where the Wildcats had an okay season last year. But I think you and I agree, he should have been better personnel moving on from all levels, the line, linebackers, Harriston moves on. He's getting some review rave reviews now in some of the all star situations. The real deal he is, the real deal he is, and it's a shame we didn't get to see him at his best is last year.
Here.
So does the defense and I know how you feel about Brad White, but does the defense take a step backward this year? And again some guys that come through the portal, But it's kind of a mystery right now.
I think.
On paper, the defense looks like it's ready to take a step back, if not a couple steps back. However, the thing about Brad White is that he's shown that he can do a lot with a little. He's a good chef and he's very creative of how to get how to get desirable results, you know, in difficult circumstances. It's going to be interesting to see, you know, you know, down the stretch. There's times gave where I would have
liked to have seen more pressure. There's times where I look back at last season and I say, you know, maybe this team when when I look at how how how good this defensive line group was, maybe there's times where we should have had four d tackles across the
across the front at times. Yeah, And you know, you can't go back and redo, but I'll be curious in the spring with practices and going into the fall to see if Brad evolves and maybe gets a little bit more aggressive, maybe transitions and puts you know, four hands down across the defensive line at times versus the outside linebacker edge rush position where it has not been productive or as productive as I know that he would like
over the last few years. And you see us, You see two young edged guys basically get into the portal. We graduate JJ Weaver and there's a lot of there's a lot of room for growth at the edge rush position. In his defense, you.
Lose a talent like Dion Walker, you know, and everybody knew from his freshman year on how great he was.
And he was a guy who allowed some of the guys around him to eat.
I don't know if that happened as much this year as you expected or the experts expected.
But saying goodbye to somebody like that ain't easy, is it.
It's not easy saying goodbye to Keyshawn Silver, who was really good at the nose this year. That was not easy. Losing Trevon Ripke, guy with a lot of experienced guy that I thought extremely highly of, Octavius Oxen Dye. I mean, you just you lose so much beef up front and experience, yeah, and experience there that it's man, it is. It's They're in a tough spot, they really are. They have to get the transfers. They got to get the young players, They got to get them ready to play.
You know, we talked about Hairston, and I keep reminding myself that there have been years. One in particular was the year after Kentucky had four d backs wind up in NFL camps and we all wondered, what in the you know, what are they gonna do? How are they gonna And they were fine the next year because they had developed, recruited, developed, coached.
The guys and built depth.
And I do think that's something while they weren't haven't been able to do that with the O line, I think they have been able to do that. Jeremy with a d BacT, which is a tribute to whoever's been a D backs coach through the years, and Brad White and Mark Stoops because you know how he feels about kind of pitching in and helping with D backs.
Yeah, I think I think at the cornerback position, I think Chris Collins has done an excellent job of coaching that group. That guy, that guy is a he's an up and coming star at the position. The year that Tarryan Nichols. Uh, the emergence of JQ Hardaway at those positions legitimized him. And you know in this defense, I thought Tarryan was was excellent at times. Matchup at Old Miss against all the first team All America. Yeah, you know, taller than him by two to three inches, thought he
competed extremely well. They're huge PBu there in a big play situation in the second half. Uh, there's a lot to like. There's a lot to like there at the cornerback position. You know, you bump back inside and you look at the you know, you look at the linebackers and you know there's some tough losses there to overcome. Yeah, the kind of losses that could make it hard on the back back in for the corners and the safeties.
You talked about how offenses now need quarterbacks who can run it in throw it, and you know it's interesting. Generally things trickle down, as you know, you played in the NFL, but now that dual threat QB stuff looks like it's moving up. You know, whether the pros are borrowing more from the college game when it comes to the playoff. I mean, look at the qbs in the Super Bowl coming up and Jalen Hurts, who's not quite
the runner that Patrick Mahomes, but they're crafty. Right. How of defenses had to adjust and become more I don't know, intricate, if you will, more complex.
To handle this kind of offense.
I think it's just the incorporation of more speed off the edge. You're seeing teams get really smart about how they're coming off the edge, who they're coming off of it with. You know what I'm saying, I'm seeing hybrid safeties now coming off the edge as as an offensive line as often to tackle your kick slide has to be perfect. With a guy that's potentially a ten yard split, he's you know, the safety's four four four five guy, you know, his ten yard split may be you know,
one four. Your kickslide has to be perfect, you know. So I think these teams doing a good job of trying to counter some of you know, counter some of the things that they're seeing with you more blitzes, more chips from the tight ends, more quick game.
Uh.
And when I look at us last year, I'm certain that one of the things that really hindered, really hindered Bush Hamden is the lack of mobility of our offensive line last year. A lack of mobility, and we needed those guys to be able to get out in space for quick hitting screens. And when you can't hit teams that are aggressive pass rushers with screens gave, that's difficult
for an offensive coordinator. So I'm hopeful that with this incoming group of offensive linemen that these guys are having the kind of off season that they need to have, being able to get out in space, wait underneath their knees and their toes, able to catch contact with smaller defenders to aid in an offense that Bush Hampdon is going to deploy this fall.
We'll come back and finish up with Jeremy Jarman in just a minute here on six thirty WLAP.
Welcome back.
We're talking with Jeremy Jerman of the UK Sports Network and we've kind of gone through offense and defense quickly, and we will do this through spring in summer. But haven't had a chance to talk to double JS since
the season ended here on the air. We talk all the time via text and phone calls, but I've talked a little bit through the weeks following the season in Jeremy about Mark Stoops and what he came here to do and how he pledged the day he was hired to do it, and that was hard work recruiting and he said more than what's no shortcuts, but evaluate, recruit, sign, develop, in other words, coach kids into becoming SEC players, you know, multiple kids, And that's exactly how he got this program
to a tend win situation on more than one occasion and had us talking about man one more win and maybe they're in the SEC title game.
That kind of thing.
With the portal in the NIL, he's clearly not happy and I think it's unfortunate. He can't really coach, and most coaches can't the way they want to coach, you know what I mean.
And by that I mean develop a program. But you got to adjust, don't you.
You got to adjust, and you got to be authentic. And I think that that's the thing about Mark that I've always I've always liked this and with them and and his staff, these Youngstown guys, is that they're authentic guys.
And at the end of the day, at the end of the day, these players, your former players, they will continue to helping age you and recruiting if you just if you're just honest, upfront with the kids and the parents, you ask for consent to push them hard, coach them hard, love on them when they need to be loved on, and grind them when they need to be grinded, and and and and and everybody can look back at the memories that were that were made, uh, And I think
that that's what it is. This is this is a situation that I know Mark can dig himself out of if he wants to, if he wants to dig in. You know, had a chance to be at the table with him when he first came in and I saw how he put the frank and the beans on the table and was willing to do whatever it took to get Kentucky football torrelevance. And he did that and he deserves the opportunity to to do that again. To hell
the fan base. I know that we're in a tough situation, but this is how we're gonna get out of it. You know, this is how we got it. I think that our fan base is is smarter than what you know, people like you and I, former players, media people give them credit for. You know, I get online and I see the posts and comments, and I can't interact with a lot of them. I don't think that our bosses would, you know, would would appreciate would But we have a
very intelligent fan base that deserves the truth. They deserve transparency, and I'm hopeful that Mark will give them that in terms of just saying, hey, this is how we're gonna do this thing. And with that, the recruits that are coming in the expectation has got to be, hey, I'm bringing you in here to compete. This is and ay, hey I get you ready next year, I'll get you ready into you We're gonna redshirt you. No, this is
mom Dad. I expect you to be up here, have lodging this fault, you know, every week every weekend for home games, because I'm expecting your son to be on the football field helping us win games. And if he can graduate and get here in January or you know, great, but you know, if he can't get here to June and July, then we'll get him. We'll get him ready.
Then Ohio State spent an enormous amount of money and one a national championship. Uh. Most people believe a led to be led to see. Uh, it may have, but you've got to wonder is that the answer?
Now?
Can you fix this problem by throwing more money at it?
And if that's the answer, there are not a lot of schools that can that can compete like that, you know what I mean.
I'm adamant that you can't buy your way into heaven and you know, but but it can help, you know, if you're blessing you're you're in a football rich state like like the state of Ohio, with the kind of boosters that they have. Those kids that go to Ohio State, they know what the they know what the assignment is, and you know, they have a culture that demands excellence. So I just think what coach days. I think he's an outstanding coach. I know that there's probably ten to
twenty percent of Ohio State fan base right now. They may still disagree with that despite this post recent national championship. But he's a good ball coach and he knows what he's doing. And so you gotta have enough resources to be able to get to get the right prototype, the right physeeke onto campus. But once they get the campus, I mean there's not a ton of separation between athletes from school to school, like when you talk about this
first dring versus this first dring. We take the weight room, we go out and we do in recess. I remember in first grade through fifth grade, we go out and we do phield day, and we do the bag jump and we do the Listen. These guys are pretty comparable across the board strength. You know, short shuttle et cetera. Shuttle and you got a few outliers. You got a few avatars that fall outside of that. But I mean this is when I look at the losses and things.
These losses aren't because we had a guy that was too slow or man, we needed a guy to have a higher vertical. It wasn't that. This is discipline, This is guys needing to lock in and be engaged. This isn't this isn't a this isn't a talent. You know, last season the four and eight, it wasn't talent deficiency. You're not going to sell me on that, and I'm not going to push that narrative execution, execution from the top, from the top down. You know, are the guys ready
to play? Are they confident? Do they have the ability to recognize the changes that the coordinators are throwing at them. I saw guys where it appeared that some guys froze in some moments. You know, maybe some moments were too big for guys. Guys couldn't adapt to pre snap movement. But now, this this wasn't a talent This wasn't a talent deficient football team. I mean, this team's got a lot of pros on it, and we're gonna see that here in the coming months as these guys get drafted.
I have less than two minutes left. What are you going to be looking for here in the spring? I know it's probably a long laundry list or is it now?
For me, it's pretty simple. I want to see which young players are going to make plays this spring. That to me, that's all I'm focused on. I think everything else I think with the transfer guys, I think that that will take care of itself. I want to see the red shirt freshmen, the sophomores that have taken a jump and are ready to make an impact this fall. I want to see that list. That's the only list I want to see.
I would love to see a blue white game, wouldn't Would that help?
I got to think, I mean the fan we would help the fan base, but would that help us everybody figure out who those guys are?
I think it would help everybody, And I think it would help the players because now you're able to You're you're able to create this this you know, this pseudo game day atmosphere and and and and simulate what could be perceived as pressure for some young guys. And I like any time you get a chance to do that.
Yeah, here is Jeremy Jermy. He is a vital part of our coverage of Kentucky football. He and Logan Stenburg Christy Thomas set the table force on game Day with pregame coverage of the Wildcat football games each and every fall, and we're looking forward to it. It's going to be here before long. Double Jays will see you with practice.
I hope sounds good, Gabe. I appreciate it. You're definitely gonna see me out there.
And I can't wait. Hope you enjoyed this hour we spend with Jeremy talking football. We haven't had a chance to talk much with Jeremy Jarman as the offseason war on, so we thought we would get caught up. And since I recorded that, as you can tell, I have come down with a little bit of a cold just in time for the weekend. But I'll still enjoy the Super Bowl and I wanted to share this with you about the Super Bowl. You always look for Kentucky connections, at
least I do. And we talked about Darien Canard who now plays for the Eagles, and if you hadn't heard already, he won two with the Chiefs as a backup. Now he's a backup with the Eagles, so if the Eagles win the Super Bowl, he will win his third consecutive Super Bowl ring. And they keep talking about Ken Norton junior is the only guy who's done it, which is true Super Bowls. That is, the Packers won three straight titles. But Ken Norton Junior, you know, played for the Cowboys.
Cowboys then sides with the Niners and they beat the Cowboys in the Super Bowl. So Canard can win his third ring if the Eagles win it. But there are other Kentucky connections to this Super Bowl, believe it or not. You've got Ethan Driscoll, who is from Louisville, went to Holy Cross High School, played his college football at Marshall and was undrafted, but fought his way into the NFL and now he's with the Chiefs, so he could win a Super Bowl ring. Mackai Becton played at u of
L for three years. He was a really good blocker at u of L, good old lineman, first team All Conference starting guard for the Eagles. So the Louisville Cardinals have a starter on the Eagles O line. But you've also got Jason Michael on the Eagles coaching staff. He's the tight ends coach. He was the starting QB on Western Kentucky's ONEAA national championship team back in twenty oh two. But you got one more, Bobby King. I had never
heard of this guy. He went to Trinity High School, my school, and I had to dig and find out where he went to college. He went to Texas L Paso and played there. He is the Eagles inside linebackers coach. And get this, that job became available when Dj Elliott, Kentucky's former defensive coordinator left the Eagles. I mean, he's done nothing but college football up until that point. He was a Temple as the de coordinator and outside linebackers coach.
So he just moves across town takes a job with the Eagles last year in twenty twenty three, I should say, as inside linebackers coach under Nick Sirianni. Then he leaves in December of twenty four to become the NC State de coordinator and linebackers coach, and that opens up the spot for Bobby King, the former trendy shannows. Now you have it all right, enjoy the Super Bowl. Everybody, have a great weekend. That said good night from the garage and Lexington.
We read it must be going.
Thank you for a memorable afternoon.
Usually one must go to a bowling alley to meet a woman of your stat.
Child such tact to.
Back outsta.
To the.
Tip and then too