Wilson, Neloms Out for Saturday; Quarterbacks Practice
Quarterbacks Maxwell Smith and Morgan Newton both practiced on Wednesday
LEXINGTON,
Ky. – University of Kentucky junior defensive end/linebacker Ridge
Wilson and junior defensive back Martavius Neloms will not play for the
Wildcats this weekend against Tennessee because of injury, UK head
coach Joker Phillips announced after practice on Wednesday. This
is the third consecutive week that the Wildcats will be without Wilson,
who sustained a shoulder injury in Kentucky’s win over Ole Miss on Nov.
5. Neloms, who didn’t play last week at Georgia, will sit Saturday
after sustaining an ankle injury late in the Vanderbilt game Nov. 12.
Kentucky
and Phillips did receive good news on the injury front Wednesday as
quarterback Maxwell Smith and Morgan Newton both practiced. “Both
of them got reps today,” Phillips said. “Yesterday, Morgan was the only
one that got reps and today both of them got reps. We will see how it
goes tomorrow … We think Max has a better chance than Morgan because of
the type of injury.” Coming off an impressive defensive
performance last week at Georgia, Phillips is hoping for more of the
same this week against Tennessee although the Volunteers have a
different offensive attack. Phillips said overall the UK defense has
played well against “downhill” offenses like LSU and Georgia, but
Tennessee tries to run in space. “Tennessee tries to get
you in space and that has been one of our issues, when teams try to get
us in space,” Phillips said. “If you have seen us play and the score
probably doesn’t show it, but LSU is more of a downhill running team
and we did fairly well against those guys. We have had our problems
with teams out in space.” Phillips said the key is to try to put pressure on the quarterback. “We
have to try to get pressure on him (Tyler Bray) and not let him get
comfortable back there,” Phillips said. “Last year, we did that but he
still made plays against us. He is a tough kid, there is no doubt about
that and he is probably tougher now given what he went through with his
thumb. He got knocked around last week and still got up and performed
well. We have to try to get pressure on him and cover their receivers.” Kentucky will return to practice Thursday morning to complete its preparation for the Volunteers. Trevathan
Nominated for Defensive Performance of the Year: University of Kentucky
senior linebacker Danny Trevathan has been nominated for the defensive
performance of the year for his 17-tackle, two forced-fumble
performance last Saturday against Georgia, Intersport announced Monday. The
Defensive Performance of the Year is part of a four-month competition
that lets fans determine which individual performances reign supreme
during the 2011 college football season. The winners will be revealed
during the two hour All-Star Football Challenge special airing at 7
p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 3 on ESPN2. In addition to recognizing the
season's top performances, the All-Star Football Challenge will feature
college football's biggest stars in a live skills challenge. In the 13
year history of the event, 41 first-round NFL draft picks have
participated in the All-Star Football Challenge.
From
now until the end of bowl season, the two top defensive players of the
week will be featured on the All-Star Football Challenge Facebook page
(www.facebook.com/AllStarFootball), along with two top individual
performers among quarterbacks, receivers and running backs. The top
weekly vote-getter will proceed to the finals, which run Jan. 16-22.
Trevathan
tied a career high in tackles against Georgia with 17, while forcing
two fumbles and earning three tackles for loss. Trevathan has had an
incredible year and has proved to be simply too much for many offenses
to handle. This was his third game of the season with 17 tackles and
his eighth with at least 12.
Five Former Wildcats on
NFL Pro Bowl Ballot: Five former University of Kentucky football
players, including kickoff returner Randall Cobb, fullback John Conner,
wide receiver Steve Johnson, punter Tim Masthay and defensive tackle
Corey Peters, are on the National Football League Pro Bowl Ballot. Fans
are encouraged to go to www.nfl.com/probowl/ballot to vote for all five
Wildcats and help them reach the Pro Bowl. The annual contest of the
AFC and NFC's best will take place Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012 at Aloha
Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. A total of 12 former Wildcats are currently playing in the NFL.
|