KSR Today: Kentucky Wesleyan, Dane Key and Hometown Classic

Kentucky basketball, football recruiting, high school football, and Cats in the NFL? Doesn’t get much better than that to start the weekend.

Let’s roll through some of yesterday’s biggest topics and what’s ahead on Friday.

Kentucky vs. Kentucky Wesleyan

The days of intrasquad scrimmages are behind us this season. Now, it’s time for the Kentucky Wildcats to take on someone other than themselves

Kentucky is set to take on Kentucky Wesleyan in the team’s first exhibition game of two, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on Friday. It will be the first time the Panthers take on the Wildcats since 2004 and just the 13th time in history.

“There are a lot of people around here that bleed purple — Kentucky Wesleyan and Kentucky Wesleyan basketball — and so many folks in Owensboro that love UK basketball,” KWC head coach Drew Cooper told KSR on Monday. “Our community is very excited about this. … We’re going to go out there and give our best shot.”

For Kentucky, the Wildcats are just excited to take on a new opponent with the regular season now just 11 days away.

“Just being able to play against somebody else, that’s going to be good for us. It’s going to be our first time doing that this fall,” said Kellan Grady. “There’s always adversity in a game and we’ll see how we respond to that. We could go through a lull of missed shots — there’s just natural adversity throughout every game no matter who you’re playing.

“I think that’ll be a good collective test for us.”

Kentucky vs. Kentucky Wesleyan will tip at 7 p.m. ET at Rupp Arena, with the exhibition televised live on SEC Network.

Dane Key is a Kentucky Wildcat

The Kentucky football program has added yet another in-state star, as Lexington wide receiver Dane Key announced his commitment to Kentucky on Thursday. He chose the Wildcats over Michigan, South Carolina and Oregon, among others.

A four-star wide receiver, Key is ranked as the No. 228 player in America according to the On3 consensus. The 6-foot-2, 189-pound senior is rated as the No. 36 receiver in the nation and No. 1 player in the state of Kentucky.

Vince Marrow served as Key’s lead recruiter since he emerged as a high-major prospect, but it was Liam Coen’s athlete-friendly offense that helped seal the deal for the Wildcats down the stretch.

“Their new offense is definitely what got me over there,” Key told reporters after the announcement. “Coach (Liam) Coen, he’s got something special and we got it going over there.”

The addition of Key gives the Wildcats the No. 16 football recruiting class in America, according to On3. Key joins four-star commits Tyreese Fearbry, Keaten Wade, Treyveon Longmire, Alex Afari, Grant Bingham, Destin Wade and Jordan Anthony to go with five-star standout Kiyaunta Goodwin.

KSR Hometown Classic

The inaugural Kroger KSR Hometown Classic is set to kick off this evening, a game set to feature the Fleming County Panthers and the Harrison County Thorobreds in Cynthiana.

Coached by Marshall Graham, host Harrison County comes in with a record of 2-7 on the year, with wins coming against Anderson County (35-12) and Boyd County (42-41 OT). The Thorobreds have yet to win a game in October, coming into Friday’s matchup on a three-game losing streak.

As for Fleming County, the Panthers enter the week on a five-game winning streak and haven’t lost since September. The team has outscored its opponents 149-31 during that stretch and is playing its best football of the year.

The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. EST on Friday in Cynthiana. We’ll see you there.

Randall Cobb goes for two scores

With Green Bay down its two leading receivers and top tight end, the Packers had to scramble to create offense in the team’s Thursday evening battle on the road against the Arizona Cardinals.

Who stepped up in their absence? None other than former Kentucky star Randall Cobb, who finished the day with two touchdown catches in a 24-21 upset victory.

His first score came on a two-yard snag in the end zone to put the Packers up 17-7 early in the third quarter.

WR1 Randall Cobb is doing just fine 😎pic.twitter.com/wLCPdKqrwu

— PointsBet Sportsbook (@PointsBetUSA) October 29, 2021

He followed it up with another six-yard catch in the end zone to put Green Bay up 24-14 to open the fourth quarter.

Where you at Randall Cobb managers 😁 pic.twitter.com/qpTbxb3vwX

— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) October 29, 2021

In the two-score game, Cobb became the first former Kentucky player to reach 50 career touchdown receptions in the NFL, per UK Athletics.

He finished the game with just three catches for 15 yards, but Cobb came up with two of the most important grabs of the game for the Packers.