Brooks on the upcoming season: I think that this year's Kentucky football team going into this season is a better team than I had going into last season. The reasons I feel that way is I believe our offense will be much more productive, which it needs to be, because we were not very good a year ago. Mark Hartline should show marked improvement, and I believe he will. All I have to do is think back about three years ago, Andre' Woodson's sophomore season, what he accomplished his junior season, and it was significantly improved. I think Mark Hartline will see a lot of that same type of improvement. The people around Mark Hartline will be more experienced and better, as well.
Defensively, we lost some very good players, but the great news is winning three Bowl games in a row, we've established some depth and better SEC ready talent. And we have some young people that I think are going to be impact players for us on the defensive side, and I do not see us slipping on the defensive side because we lost some good players.
Q. Once you get past Florida, maybe Georgia, do you feel like the east is pretty wide open?
Rich Brooks: The SEC East to me has been, and continues to be, the toughest division in college football, and the toughest conference in college football.
We've changed some history at Kentucky; we have to change more. That would be beating some of the teams in our league that we've struggled to beat over a number of years. And we're a lot more capable of having that happen now than we were three or four years ago.
We've had success against a few teams, but we have to continue to build on that and beat more of 'em, because our goal is obviously to be a factor and have a chance to win the SEC East.
Q. Over the past few years you've made a lot of recruiting inroads to the state of South Carolina. How did that come about? Do you intend on doing it in the future?
Rich Brooks: Hopefully our exposure in the last three years has increased our visibility and our accessibility to some of the better players in the regions that surround the SEC. And certainly South Carolina high school plays good football. It basically started with Joker Phillips, obviously, having recruited the area before he came back to Kentucky.
Q. You talked about the improvement you expect to see from Mark Hartline this year. Last year, as an inexperienced quarterback, what kind of problems did he face? Now that he has some experience, what type of improvement do you expect to see from him?
Rich Brooks: Mark Hartline did a very good job the old term everybody hates to hear managing our offense. He didn't make a lot of negative plays, but he didn't make as many positive plays as he needs to make.
I think that he'll feel a lot more comfortable in our offense. He'll have more experience surrounding him. I mean, we played five freshmen receivers last year. The experience around him will be greater, his understanding of the offense will be greater, and his accuracy I think will improve along with that experience.
Q. What does Trevard Lindley's return mean?
Rich Brooks: Trevard Lindley, simply put, can line up against any receiver in the country one on one. He not only can cover, he can make plays. He can intercept the ball. He can recover it on fumbles and run it for a touchdown, like he did at Arkansas two years ago. He's made as many big plays on the defensive side probably as any defensive player in Kentucky in the last 15 or 20 years.
Q. Talk about Randall Cobb.
Rich Brooks: He has great play making ability. He's extremely quick out of the break. He can accelerate with the ball in his hands. He can throw it and he can run it. He has exciting play making ability. He can run it. He can catch it. He can return it. He can throw it.
Q. Can you talk a little bit more about your defense, particularly guys like Corey Peters, Micah Johnson, what you like about your defense?
Rich Brooks: Well, I think that Corey Peters is one of the better returning tackles in the league. Micah Johnson to me is one of the top linebackers in the SEC. We have good experience coming back at some positions, and we have great speed and talent returning that will replace some of the starters that went on to NFL camps this past year.
Remember the name Winston Guy and Danny Trevathan. Sam Maxwell will be a full time starter. Danny Trevathan at linebacker. Winston Guy at safety. These guys are SEC quality athletes and players. They're gonna replace guys that helped us win three straight Bowl games. And, at the same level, I think they're better than the guys they're replacing when they were starting their years as a starter on our football team. I think our talent level with which we are replacing players that are leaving is night and day different than it was three or four years ago. I think we have some quality people that are gonna make impacts in this league.
Q. On the defensive side of the ball, is it harder, given the spread offense, to keep a true front seven on the field? Do you find yourself having to do more and more five, six defensive backs?
Rich Brooks: Obviously, that offense takes you out of, what I would call, our base defense. It's virtually impossible to have the four down linemen and your three normal linebackers on the field. We'll go to two linebackers and add a nickel back. If forced to, we'll go to our dime package and play with one linebacker.
The real difference is you need to make sure you don't put your players on defense in a situation that they'll have a hard time being successful. And that's not allowing the offense to get you in physical mismatches, whether it be in pass coverage or in the run game.
CB Trevard Lindley
On his individual approach to the opponents:
You know it will be a top notch competitor. I simply come in and play my hardest. I watch a lot of film pre-game and approach each game one week at a time.
On his decision to not enter the draft:
I went back and forth each day, honestly. It was a hard decision because I was projected to go high. Ultimately, my parents and coaches helped me make my decision. I decided to stay because I hurt my shoulder at the end of the season. I couldn't work it out until February. I knew if I stayed one more year I could get that much stronger.
On Kentucky football in general:
Before my year came in, Kentucky never really went to a bowl. Now we've won three in a row. To get to that first one, things have been up hill since then. It put confidence in myself and in my team.
Goal of the season:
Work hard and make it to a better bowl.
On competing in what has been called the toughest division in football:
Playing Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, and Vanderbilt each week leaves you with injuries, or I should say battle wounds. You get past it by knowing you are going to have a good game. No fear.
On the significance of playing against the University of Georgia as a Georgia native:
It is always good to play in my home-state. This will be my last year to play Georgia so I will be sure to call my family up and bring them a win.
OT Zipp Duncan
On the growth of the Kentucky football program:
Being from Kentucky and growing up at Kentucky boy, I take a lot of pride in how far this program has come. We've set the expectations high in the younger guys and that's really what I signed on to do- to turn this program around.
On the competition in the East Division:
The older guys on the team know what it takes to compete in the East and make a bowl came. My job as leader is to pass this knowledge to them. The knowledge passing from the older guys to the younger is what it takes to stay competitive.
On changing the nation's perception of Kentucky football:
Changing the nation's perception of the program has been the goal from Day One. People now look at the schedule and see us as a serious threat. We play with confidence, come to come, and fight until the end.
You can find the full Kentucky Wildcats press conference transcript by following this link.
SEC Football
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