Kentucky sends 115 handwritten letters to QB recruit

I did not get any mail today. None. I was like Charlie Brown looking for one simple Valentine in the mailbox, with my voice echoing “Hello in there” to no avail.

Drew Barker, a high school quarterback in Kentucky, got some mail today. In fact, he got a lot of it from the University of Kentucky. Kentucky sent Barker, a Class of 2014 Army All-American, 115 handwritten letters.

115 handwritten letters.

Photo source: Drew Barker Instagram

Getting Barker, one of the top recruits in the state of Kentucky and one of the top ten pro quarterbacks in the country according to 247 Sports, would be a huge pick-up for Kentucky under new head coach Mark Stoops, who knows a thing or two about what it will take to succeed in recruiting battles in the hotly contested SEC. Whether or not Kentucky can keep Barker in state remains to be seen. Following a recent trip to South Carolina it appears Barker is enthusiastic about a possible future with the Gamecocks and Steve Spurrier. But this is high school recruiting. If we know nothing else, nothing is guaranteed until the letter is signed in February. Even then nothing is assured.

This is not the first time we have seen this technique employed by schools, but my question continues to be whether or not this actually works with recruits. Has anyone kept track of these stories to tell if it is worth the time, effort and postage to send so much mail on one day to a kid? Or is it nothing more than a publicity stunt aimed to gain viral attention on social media and spark some interest in the program?

Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

This day in college football history: Arkansas outlasts Kentucky in seven overtime game, 71-63

On this day in 2003, Kentucky and Arkansas could not have a game decided in four quarters. Heck, they could not decide a game in four overtimes! That’s right, Arkansas and Kentucky played a seven-overtime game, with the Razorbacks coming out on top by a final score of 71-63.

The game tied an NCAA record for the most overtimes in a game, which was also played by Arkansas (2001 vs. Ole Miss). In 2002 Arkansas also played a six-overtime game against Tennessee. When this game went to overtime there must have been some Arkansas fans thinking “Not again!”

Arkansas took a 21-7 lead in to halftime but Kentucky battled back to tie the game at 24-24 when Jared Lorenzen connected with Chris Bernard with 1:38 to play in regulation. Arkansas running back DeCori Birmingham scored on a 25-yard touchdown run to open the seventh overtime, and capped it with a two-point conversion against what must have been a tired Kentucky defense. Kentucky fumbled on fourth down from the five-yard line to bring an end of the marathon game.

… Continue Reading

Kentucky players show off diving skills

Don’t look for these guys in Rio de Janeiro in 2016

Kentucky’s football players were treated to a day at the pool, and with a diving board ready to take a beating many players decided to try showing off their skills in hopes of perhaps joining Kentucky’s diving team in the offseason. Some players had some good motion in the air, even for big guys. Actually, that’s even more impressive.

When not diving the players took a special camera in to the water with them and recorded themselves whisking down the pool’s slide. It all makes for some interesting video and gives us a look at how players unwind from the grueling summer practices they are currently going through.

I will say this. I was impressed with Joker Phillips’s backflip abilities. … Continue Reading

Uniform Madness: No. 5 Kentucky all-black vs. No. 12 Bowling Green

Maryland Bracket: Where teams do not wear their right colors

Somebody needs to have a talk with these two schools in the 2012 Uniform Madness bracket. Staying in the Maryland Bracket we have one team who violates the black-jersey rule and another who should re-think their uniform fashion.

There is something you should keep in mind here as we work our way through the Uniform Madness. The selection committee is not a fan of yellow jerseys or black jerseys, unless those colors are associated with the school.

Either go head to toe, or not.

Enter the Kentucky Wildcats, who for some reason felt a need to hop on the black alternate jersey bandwagon. The gimmicky jersey came with another college football gimmick, the blackout game, this past season against Mississippi State. The problem, of course, is Kentucky is known for blue, and white. Not black. This is an immediate violation according to the committee (although we did have to leave some black jersey gimmicks out of the field).

Making things worse is the fact that Kentucky did not go all out on their blackout idea, leaving blue on the shoulders and helmet. It is the selection committee’s belief that if a school opts to have a blackout, then the football attire should match accordingly, from head to toe.

Of course, that is not a guarantee that it would result in being left out of this unwanted tournament.

Of course, there are some schools who seem to reject the obvious color schemes. None more so than Bowling Green.

Orange, brown and white? No green?

The Bowling Green Falcons dress in orange and brown, spitting in the face of the obvious color option, green. It is not the fact that the uniforms are necessarily ugly (although they leave something to be desired), but when given an option to add some character to a uniform with a cool color like green, rather than warm colors like orange and brown, why not think of something? Anything?

The selection committee advises that Bowling Green review this advice if and when the time comes for the program to evaluate their brand. Should the school adopt a new look, green should most definitely be in the color scheme.

The chosen scheme and look is also somewhat identical with another football team in the state of Ohio, the Cleveland Browns. Ask yourself this, if you want to look like any professional football team, would it really be the Cleveland Browns?

It may be worth mentioning that the Green Bay Packers won a Super Bowl in 2011. Hmmm…

So, which uniform was the worst? Cast your vote below and send one of these get-ups to the second round. Voting will continue through Thursday night, with polls closing at 11 p.m. EST

Archived Photo: Georgetown vs. Kentucky, 1925

Great image from the 1920s

Click to view full size image.

When Kentucky was known as the “Gray Colonels.” This photo was taken in 1925 at Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C. For the historic college football fan, what is there not to like about this photo?

HT: Reddit

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