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Spring Ball
Injuries Galore As Wildcats Begin Spring Practice; Claiborne Looking For Durable Running Attack
The date: Tuesday, March 24, 1987, one day before spring practice "'We're very excited about this spring and we're looking forward to it," echoed the comments of Kentucky football coach Jerry Claiborne.
Monday, March 30Eleven injuries, including a slight cartilage tear in Al Baker's left knee and a broken leg suffered by defensive back Chris Moga, were reported following a Saturday (March 28) spring session.
Baker, the heralded Trigg County back, was knocked out of action after UK's third ballgame last season with a broken ankle. According to team trainer Al Green, Baker's
leading candidate to replace Bill Ransdell, led the No. 1 team to one touchdown on two possessions. His lone TD came on a screen pass to sophomore-to-be fullback Andy Murray.
Junior Bill Allen directed the No. 2 offense for two touchdowns against the No. 2 defense. Both, however, came via the ground (Darren Bilberry, seven yards; receiver Ray Gover, three-yard touchdown on a reverse play).
Chuck Broughton and Eric Green took turns guiding the No. 3 offense against the No. 3 Wildcat defense on this chillv after-
BakerKnee Injury
latest injury will not require surgery. Meanwhile, as of last Friday morning the green light had not been given for Baker's immediate return.
Moga's mishap became the third severe injury in the Wildcat camp this spring. Junior defensive back Anthony Gardner tore two ligaments and ripped cartilage in right knee (March 27). He had surgery the following ^Monday. And on the first day of practice rookie receiver Steve Phillips developed bone chips and had surgery the next day.
Other injuries on Saturday included: Mark Brock, Greg Doll, Brent Grim, Mike Meece, Tony Mills, Jamie Ousley, Jerry Reese, Mike Robinson and Butch Wilburn. According to Green those latter injuries were not serious.
Another Wildcat, defensive guard Doug Houser tore cartilage in his right knee during the first day of spring workouts and arthroscopic surgery was performed last Friday. According to Green, the 6-4, 240-pound Houser will be out for the rest of spring ball.
Defensive back Eric Banks suffered a knee injury last Friday. His injury will require surgery and is expected to be out for a minimum of six months.
It was a day of quarterback watching as Kentucky's first 11 -on-11 scrimmage was held at Shively Field last Thursday. Senior quarterback Kevin Dooley, considered the
MogaBroken Leg
noon session. Although Broughton, a 6-foot-4 sophomore-to-be, connected with Gover for a touchdown he struggled during his two possessions. The Ashland product on a couple of instances failed to hit open receivers. Green only played for four plays but was credited with a first down on a nifty option play.
Junior college transfer Glenn Fohr didn't play because the Wildcat staff felt he wasn't quite ready for his debut. Fohr's only been in the UK system for a couple of weeks and according to the Wildcat staff needs to gain confidence.
Sideline chatter: For the first time in Jerry Claiborne's tenue at Kentucky, the Wildcats will be looking for a leader to emerge from the quarterback position. When they arrived following the 1981 season Claiborne and his staff had Randy Jenkins to turn to. Next in line was a talented passer from Elizabethtown, Bill Ransdell. Ransdell is best known as the holder of 17 Wildcat records. As a junior he also was the leader of the 'Cats' 9-3 squad, a ballclub which stunned Big Ten bad boy Wisconsin in the 1984 Hall of Fame game. Now, Claiborne must turn to an inexperienced lot in hopes of finding a signal caller to guide his team against a rugged '87 slate, which features six teams that played in bowl games last season. This spring there are a number of possibilitiesKevin Dooley, Chuck Broughton, Glenn Fohr, Bill Allen, Eric Green and Tim Smith. Said Claiborne during a recent press luncheon, "They (quarterbacks) really haven't been able to do much. All they cart do during the
winter time is throw inside, because of the weather. As far as their weight program and things of this nature, we think they've worked pretty good. They all know that they have a shot because Ransdell has graduated. It's amazing when people know that they've got a real shot of being first string at any position, they work better, it's just human nature. They do better and have more confidence. We're hoping that that's going to happen to our quarterbacks this spring.". . .Besides finding a replacement at quarterback (Bill Ransdell), the Wildcats also need to come up with a starting tight end (replacing Mark Wheeler and Matt Lucas), center (Ken Lange) and wide receiver (Eric Pitts and Cornell Burbage). Tight end Joe Curry will be held back from spring practice and should be back for the start of fall practice. Martin Pennington did play some last season at the tight end position and has improved with a strong winter program. At receiver Tim Jones and Dee Smith are expected to step into starting roles. Both played quite a bit last season. Also Jimmy O'Neal, Raynard Gover and Jim Wet-ta will be counted on at the receiver position. At center, Claiborne is expecting either Mark Brock or Jimmy Hill to fill the void. However, if neither of those two come through the Wildcat coach indicated that he might switch guard Brad Myers (who played center in high school) to center. "Brad Myers might be finding a football between his legs," said Claiborne. "If somebody doesn't come through in that center spot then we'll probably have to move one of those guards (Myers, Dermontti Dawson, Butch Wilburn) in the center spot. We feel like Brock is the strongest he's been since he's been here, and so is Jimmy Hill. We're hoping that they'll improve.". . .Defensively, Claiborne said that making the big plays is "the biggest thing we've got to improve on. We didn't turn the ball over too many times but we did not get the ball
n
Kremer Wants Consistency
turn it over (to our offense) defensively. We must have dropped 10 or 12 interceptions during the course of the year." . . .Claiborne on the development of UK's 5.75 million dollar operationthe Irv Nutter Training Center. "We're very proud of the Nutter Center," said the UK coach. "I can't say enough for Irv Nutter, Seth Hancock and all the people who have contributed to this programthe Nutter Center. It's just a fan-
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