Did you know college football starts in 13 days? Only one Saturday from now until Christmas without the sport we so desperately love in our lives, week zero set for August 23 with a slate of games that includes Iowa State vs. Kansas State in Dublin and Stanford at Hawai’i — along with our friends […]
Did you know college football starts in 13 days? Only one Saturday from now until Christmas without the sport we so desperately love in our lives, week zero set for August 23 with a slate of games that includes Iowa State vs. Kansas State in Dublin and Stanford at Hawai’i — along with our friends in Bowling Green getting in on the action with Western Kentucky hosting Sam Houston.
Mark Stoops and the Wildcats, though, kick off the season on Saturday, August 30, now 20 days away. To prepare for that opening matchup at Kroger Field, Kentucky participated in its first football scrimamge of fall camp on the C. M. Newton Grounds, a chance to get the pads popping and get a feel for what to expect from the blue and white this fall with live game reps.
How did things go? Kentucky won — always a good thing for an intrasquad scrimmage.
Mark Stoops calls it a good day for the Cats
Joking aside, the HFC really liked what he saw on both sides of the football and the growth he’s seen since the start of fall camp. Stoops will happily admit things were a bit too up and down the first week, but the Cats found their groove down the stretch in week two, especially in the scrimmage.
“Good scrimmage today. I’m very pleased with the progress we’ve made this week,” Stoops said Saturday. “We went six of the first seven days to start camp and things were a little hit and miss, but the latter part of this week, including the scrimmage, we really picked it up. We became a sharper football team. Not as many mistakes. It was good to get out and put the ball down, get a bunch of reps out there.
“It was a good, physical day. We got a lot of situational work done, which was good. … There’s definite improvement, and we all know that’s what we need to do.”
No major injuries leaving the weekend
Apparently Dante Dowdell and Seth McGowan did not participate while other projected starters received lighter workloads, but it had nothing to do with injuries. In fact, Stoops believes the Wildcats finished the scrimmage relatively healthy, minus a few bumps and bruises.
“The team came out of there relatively healthy,” he said. “A few guys got dinged up, but I hope nothing serious. Good work.”
We saw Chip Trayanum break his hand during a preseason scrimmage a year ago — one of many camp injuries we’ve seen alter a season over the years. We’ll never complain about a healthy day.
One positive takeaway: Points
Outside of a clean bill of health, what did Stoops like about the head-to-head battle of blue vs. white? The Wildcats moved the football and scored touchdowns.
“We got the ball in the end zone, points,” he said. “The bottom line is we scored some points and that’s something we know we need to improve on.”
As for who was putting the ball in the end zone, the quarterback reps were split between Zach Calzada with the ones and Cutter Boley with the twos — although the latter finally got some extended time with the starters, too. Both players did their part.
“Both quarterbacks played good, Zach and Cutter got the bulk of the reps,” Stoops said. “They both played pretty good and took care of the football, converted on some critical third downs. That was an improvement. We had so many snaps, it was spread out. I feel like each guy stepped up. Nobody was walking away disappointed.”
Zach Calzada and JQ Hardaway recap scrimmage
How about from the players’ perspective? Did they leave just as impressed as Stoops was on Saturday?
Calzada appreciated the offense’s ability to execute in live game action while JQ Hardaway enjoyed the competition, but felt consistency is a work in progress for his side of the ball.
“Today, the biggest thing was working on our operation,” Calzada said. “That was the first time being under the 15-second cutoff in the headsets, making sure we were lined up and ready to go, practicing some of our tempo. Staying ahead of the sticks, getting the ball out quick, staying tough in the run game. It felt good to march down the field and score a couple of times.”
“I think we competed really well,” Hardaway continued. “From a defensive standpoint, we need to get the ball on the ground more. We need to be more consistent with our tackling, but I feel like that’s normal with our first time going live.”
KSR’s Scrimmage Content
- What We Learned from the First Kentucky Football Scrimmage of Fall Camp
- Mark Stoops Sees More Quality Football in the Trenches
- Zach Calzada is Embracing Role as Game Manager
- Saturday Scrimmage Insider Notes (KSR+)
Putting a bow on a loaded BBNFL preseason schedule
While the current Wildcats are getting after it in intrasquad scrimmages at Kroger Field, the former Wildcats are playing in their own exhibitions against real opponents during NFL preseason action.
The Hall of Fame Game took place on July 31, followed by a few matchups on Thursday and Friday this past week. Then came a massive game schedule on Saturday featuring 16 different BBNFL members across eight matchups. Some were serious standouts for their teams — including Ray Davis, of all people, solidifying his status as break-in-case-of-emergency kicker for the Buffalo Bills.
Check out the Saturday results/stats and what’s to come in a lighter schedule on Sunday with just three Cats in action:
New York Giants def. Buffalo Bills 34-25
- Wan’Dale Robinson (NYG) – One catch for 11 yards
- Dru Phillips (NYG) – One tackle (solo)
- Ray Davis (BUF) – Four carries for seven yards, one catch for seven yards, 1/1 PAT
- Maxwell Hairston (BUF) – OUT (Knee)
- Deone Walker (BUF) – QB hurry, pass deflection
Minnesota Vikings def. Houston Texans 20-10
- Eli Cox (HOU) – Zero pressures, 81.7 PFF PBLK Grade
Los Angeles Rams def. Dallas Cowboys 31-21
- Zion Childress (DAL) – Led the Cowboys with six total tackles (five solo) and a tackle for loss
Pittsburgh Steelers def. Jacksonville Jaguars 31-25
- Brandin Echols (PIT) – One tackle (solo), one tackle for loss
- Josh Allen (JAX) – N/A
- Luke Fortner (JAX) – Reps at guard and center
Tampa Bay Buccaneers def. Tennessee Titans 29-7
- Will Levis (TEN) – OUT (Shoulder)
- Bryce Oliver (TEN) – One catch for 11 yards
New York Jets def. Green Bay Packers 30-10
- Jamin Davis (NYJ) – Two tackles (one solo), one sack, one tackle for loss
- Jamon Dumas-Johnson (GB) – Five tackles (one solo)
- Carrington Valentine (GB) – One tackle (one solo)
Arizona Cardinals def. Kansas City Chiefs 20-17
- Mike Edwards (KC) – One tackle
Denver Broncos def. San Francisco 49ers 30-9
- Marques Cox (DEN) – Backup left tackle
- Keidron Smith (DEN) – Four tackles (four solo)
Sunday BBNFL Schedule
Miami Dolphins at Chicago Bears – 1 PM ET, NFL Network
- Tre’vonn Rybka (MIA)
New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Chargers – 4 PM ET, NFL Network
- Landon Young (NO)
- Bud Dupree (LAC)
That’s all for now, folks. Let’s finish this weekend with a bang, shall we?
Category: General Sports
