KSR Today: A News Downpour

If Tuesday is anything like Monday, on KSR today you can expect a ton of posts, podcasts and much more. The first game week of the Kentucky football season produced plenty of headlines, but the basketball team wouldn’t let Mark Stoops have all of the fun. There’s no time to waste. Let’s dig into all of the action.

Kentucky Basketball Non-Conference Schedule

Kentucky’s schedule is almost complete. There were two surprises when the Wildcats unveiled this year’s non-conference schedule. Tubby Smith will have a long overdue homecoming when he brings High Point to Rupp Arena. Hopefully his jersey joins Rupp’s rafters on New Year’s Eve.

There was a disappointing development. Kentucky will not begin its series with Michigan in Ann Arbor. UK cited scheduling difficulties due to COVID-19, but the Wolverines’ Hunter Dickinson does not care. He Tweeted at his pal Lance Ware, “tell your man Cal (to) stop ducking.”

Surprise Visit!

It was a big recruiting weekend with Cason Wallace, a shooting guard ranked as one of the top 15 players in America, in town. That was just the tip of the iceberg. Jack Pilgrim reported Monday night (while on vacation, mind you) that Shaedon Sharpe is currently in Lexington on a visit to Kentucky. The top-ranked player in the 2022 recruiting class, the Wildcats are in a prime position to secure Sharpe’s services.

New Podcasts Incoming

To hear more about the late-breaking developments in Kentucky basketball recruiting, check out the late night edition of Sources Say with Jack Pilgrim and Shawn Smith.

The KSR Football Podcast is not burning the midnight oil like our basketball recruiting friends. However, we were back in person and boy, did it feel good. For five minutes we discussed the heights of celebrities. Things are normal and order has been restored to the world.

Stoops Defends his Players

Mark Stoops entered his opening week press conference ready to defend his players, to be precise, the six Wildcats currently facing burglary charges. Stoops is typically tight-lipped around sensitive matters. Not in this case.

“I also stand by our players until I have the evidence that tells me otherwise,” he said. “I hope to have all the players out there but I don’t know; that’s out of my hands. We’ll see what happens. We’ll go from there.”

Former LMPD sergeant Denny Butler is working with the players who he believes are wrongfully accused. “I warn Big Blue Nation to stand by in convicting them in the media because the stories are not adding up,” Butler said on KSR.

New Wide Receivers Coach

There’s a new coach on the block. Liam Coen brought his former UMass back-up quarterback, Scott Woodward, to Lexington this spring as a quality control analyst. He has flipped positions with Jovon Bouknight, who was arrested this spring, to become the Wildcats’ next wide receivers coach. Woodward has been acting as the de facto WRs coach throughout the summer. He is the fourth different person to coach the position in the last five years.

Roster Updates

Kentucky’s head coach rolled out the first depth chart of the season and shared a few noteworthy injury updates.

• J.J. Weaver has removed the non-contact jersey at practice, but is still not 100%.
• Reserve OT Naasir Watkins has been suspended for the first four games of the season.
• Wilson Berry’s status for Saturday is uncertain. The Australian punter has been dealing with a minor back injury this preseason.

Classic Prank

The funny name game is nothing new. It’s an oldie because it’s a goodie. A group of kids in Virginia pulled one over on the Henrico School Board and the chair called “Eileen Dover” and other fake names to take the stand. If laughing at this is wrong, I don’t want to be right.