KSR Today: Brad White, Kentucky defense take the podium

Good morning, folks! It’s a cloudy morning here in Lexington, but Kentucky football will hit the turf later today for another fall camp practice. Which means we’ll have plenty of post-practice content coming throughout the day. After hearing from the offense on Tuesday, today we’ll hear from defensive coordinator Brad White and various defensive players. As always, KSR will have boots on the ground. Stay tuned.

Otherwise, it’ll be another typical day around the KSR headquarters, mostly spent waiting on Kentucky men’s basketball to drop the full non-conference schedule. Also, with Drew Franklin and Shannon The Dude off from the radio show this week, Chris Tomlin is today’s special guest joining Matt Jones and Ryan Lemond on the airwaves. As another minor note, if you happen to be in Bowling Green this afternoon, you can get an autograph from Antonio Reeves at the Greenwood Mall from 4:30-6:30 p.m. EST.

Now let’s dive into the rest of this morning’s news and notes.

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MBB non-conference schedule coming together

Speaking of, it’s been a busy week for the state of Kentucky men’s basketball’s 2023-24 nonconference schedule. The matchup against North Carolina was given a date (Dec. 16), Marshall was added to the schedule with a day-after-Thanksgiving showdown, and it was confirmed that the series with Notre Dame is no more. The same goes for UK’s series with Michigan.

Here’s what we know about Kentucky’s 2023-24 non-conference slate so far.

• TBA: vs. Stonehill | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
• TBA: vs. Texas A&M University-Commerce | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
• Nov. 6: vs. New Mexico State | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
• Nov. 14: vs. Kansas | Champions Classic | United Center, Chicago, IL
• Nov. 20: vs. St. Joe’s | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
• Nov. 24: vs. Marshall | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
• Nov. 28: vs. Miami | ACC/SEC Challenge | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
• Dec. 2: vs. UNC Wilmington | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
• Dec. 16: vs. North Carolina | CBS Sports Classic | State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
• Dec. 21 at Louisville | KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, KY
• Dec. 29 vs. Illinois State | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
• TBA: vs. Gonzaga | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY

Why Demie Sumo-Karngbaye transferred to UK

You may not be able to say his name correctly, but you need to learn it before the Wildcats kick off the 2023 Kentucky football season at Kroger Field.

Demie Sumo-Karngbaye (pronounced DEHM-ee SUE-moh KARNG-bay) started his career at NC State. Like Devin Leary, this offseason he decided to make the move to Lexington. Like Leary, he’s a New Jersey native. DSK shared how their friendship played a big role in why he ultimately chose to transfer to Kentucky.

“Devin, that was the first reason I’d say (why I came to Kentucky),” Demie Sumo-Karngbaye told KSR.

Their chemistry is already showing up in practice. Don’t be shocked if it carries over into the season. You can hear more from DSK and his one-on-one with KSR below.

Babe, wake up — New 11 Personnel just dropped

We are one week into Kentucky football fall camp. What have we learned? In the team’s first 2-Minute drill, the Kentucky offense shined and it’s reflective of what Adam Luckett and Nick Roush have been hearing from the Joe Craft Football Training Facility. 11 Personnel breaks down the latest from preseason practice and much, much more. Highlights:

• Devin Leary is built to succeed in Liam Coen’s offense
• Playmakers begin to emerge from Fall Camp
• Shade thrown Rich Scangarello’s way.
• Rich Brooks is ready to build the Mark Stoops statue, but where?
• Realignment shakes up CFB Playoff
• Other Fall Camp Buzz around college football

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Everyone thank Tim Couch’s dad

Prior to choosing Kentucky, Tim Couch was committed to the Tennessee Volunteers. And he probably would have stayed with the Vols had it not been for his father. Couch was a guest host on Kentucky Sports Radio Wednesday morning and, in addition to sharing his thoughts on the current Wildcats, told a few stories from his playing days.

Couch had already given Tennessee a verbal commitment, but when head coach Phillip Fulmer and offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe came to Hyden, KY to talk about their plans for him, his dad, a huge Kentucky fan, decided he’d had enough of all that orange — and thank God he did, although it did lead to a brief falling out between the two.

The entire story is pretty wild to hear. Couch also talked about a night in November 1998 when he lost two friends to a drunk driving incident. You can listen to everything he had to say below.

UK’s Laney Frye advances at U.S. Women’s Amateur

Nicholasville native Laney Frye has advanced again in the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship after upsetting No. 25 Leigh Chien in the match-play round of 64 through 22 holes at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles. This marks the second straight summer that Frye, ranked No. 40, has made it to the match-play round of 32 — she took down Chien in 2022, as well.

Frye will square off against No. 8 Nikki Oh at 10:30 a.m. ET later this morning. The Golf Channel will continue its live coverage of the 123rd U.S. Women’s Amateur from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. EST. 

Our Bluegrass girl has advanced to the #USWomensAm Round of 32 for the second straight summer! 😮‍💨🔥💃@laneyfrye pic.twitter.com/eX4QlUTnJt

— Kentucky Women’s Golf (@KentuckyWGolf) August 10, 2023

Fellow UK women’s golfer Jensen Castle’s time at the championship has ended, as the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion lost to third-seeded Gianna Clemente, 4&3. 

Devin Leary went on Finebaum

Still rocking a full jersey and pads, Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary made an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show yesterday. As he’s done at all his media spots since arriving in Lexington, the college veteran was excellent and thoughtful in conversation with Paul.

Leary sat down for about a 10-minute discussion, breaking down his reasoning behind transferring to Kentucky (shoutout to Liam Coen), the leadership he’s bringing to the program, why he’s not paying attention to preseason predictions, and much more.

Devin Leary explains why he chose @UKFootball as a highly-coveted transfer QB this year and his excitement about the playmakers he'll get to play with: pic.twitter.com/kREdYTclo2

— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) August 9, 2023

For me, it was Leary’s quote about Coen that stood out above the rest:

“He’s truly a player’s coach,” Leary said. “I think he’s someone that understands what it’s like to play the position. He’s played the position. Coming from the (Los Angeles) Rams, he’s seen it operate at the highest level being around guys like Jared Goff, Matt Stafford. It’s really cool for me, being an aspiring quarterback, wanting to learn from the best, and every single day he challenges us quarterbacks to be the very best, bring your A-game every single day, represent yourself like a pro, and just someone that I love to learn and develop under.”

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