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Wildcats Begin Spring Practice in Beautiful Weather
Kentucky football team hits the first for the first time since the end of the 2011 season
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After
the excitement generated from its historic win over Tennessee to end
the 2011 season, the University of Kentucky football team continued its
momentum with an exciting first day of spring practice on a gorgeous
Wednesday morning at the Nutter Training Facility.
“It was
great to be back out here, not only for the coaches but for the players
too,” UK head coach Joker Phillips said. “We have had a lot of things
going on this offseason with our weight program and school and all that
stuff. We have been (working out0 inside, but now we have this great
weather and it is a great time to get out here.”
The
Wildcats practiced for two hours and 15 minutes in helmets, jerseys and
shorts as temperatures moved into the 70s under sunny skies. As
one would expect, the first practice focused on fundamentals and
introduction of team concepts.
“We just worked on our
basic installation with offense, defense and special teams,” Phillips
said. “We only worked on one phase of special teams. (We also
began) to get them lined up in our base defense and get our base calls
in and base adjustments. We did the same thing offensively. We are in
shorts so it is really a time to get in as much teaching as you
possibly can leading up to Saturday when you put the pads on. We will
have another practice Friday in shorts and it will be basic
installation and get all the calls communicated among each other so
they can play faster.”
Phillips said, given that it was
the first practice of the season, he thought the team did well and that
the retention rate from last season was high. The head coach said
offseason meetings played a large role in the player’s retention rate.
“We
have been working on our first-day instillation because we could meet
two hours a week during our offseason,” Phillips said. “We get a total
of eight hours (each week), two hours of those we allow for meeting
time. So we have been installing all through the winter and we didn’t
give them as much as we have in the past on the first day because there
are so many young guys that we are working with. I thought that their
retention was good.”
Kentucky will return to the practice fields Friday for the second of 14 spring practices.
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