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UK Coach Gave Fair Warning
Easier To Get To Top Than To Stay There
Jerry Claiborne tried to warn University of Kentucky football fans two years ago that it was easier to get to the top than it was to stay there.
UK went to bowls in 1983 and 1984 and won 15 games during those two seasons. Still, Claiborne knew he had not put together a football powerhouse and the Cats stumbled to a 3-8 mark in 1985.
This season the team finished 5-5-1 and just missed a bowl trip by losing to Tennessee. So what does the future hold for the Kentucky football program?
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	Larry Vaught Cats' Pause Columnist
	
T think the program will not do anything but go up," said senior offensive guard Joe Prince. "If you just go back and look the films this year you can see where different players would mess up on different plays and just kill us. We were close to having a great year."
Indeed, Kentucky probably should have won the opener when it settled for a 16-16 tie with Rutgers. And Virginia Tech had to kick a last-second field goal to beat the Cats. And UK played hard enough to beat LSU.
"You can say what if all you want," said senior linebacker Larry Smith, the team's top tackier two straight years. "The bottom line, though, is that you have to do things right and win."
But the players believe that can, and will, happen. "Do not worry about the future of this program," said junior guard Butch Wilburn. "We are going to keep pushing and working until we make the breaks go our way."
'Some people might have lost some confidence in us but we are only inches away from having a big-time winner here," said defensive guard Vic Adams. "I have nothing but confidence in this team. We have been close to the top and we can get there. To reach the top, however, Kentucky must find a way to consistently beat Southeastern Conference powers Georgia, LSU, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama and Auburn.
Claiborne has only an 8-22 record against SEC opponents. He had not beaten Florida until this season and has only one I win over LSU and Tennessee. He still has not beaten Georgia.
"We can compete in the SEC," said Prince. "Even our 0-10-1 year in 1982 we had Georgia down at halftime. And that was the year they had Herschel Walker.
Still, UK normally does not play with confidence against the best SEC teams. However, the Cats showed signs of overcoming that problem this year. UK played one of its most aggressive games in years against LSU but was even more punishing against Florida. The Cats were so inspsired to play the Gators that they almost appeared cocky at times, an attitude SEC foes usually have when they play Kentucky.
"This team needs to play with that type confidence more," I said senior running back Marc Logan. "We should be just as | aggressive and cocky against Florida or Georgia as we are Kent State or Cincinnati.
'We can compete in the SEC but to do so all the players I have to believe it. Then it will happen."
"A lot of players know what it takes to win," said junior tackle Greg Kunkel. "We just have to make sure we get the right idea into everyone's head.
"We have to work to get bigger and stronger. We have the talent to win if we are willing to work hard enough to make it happen."
Kentucky has a banner crop of high school seniors this year. As many as 20 players could sign Division I scholarships and UK must keep the best players here to be successful.
"We cannot be successful if the best high school players in the state do not come here," said Adams, a Middlesboro product. "We have to continue to get the best players in our state to win. But I think it would be just as wise for an out-of-1 state player to come here."
So does Prince, a product of the football program in Mayfield. He said, "Kentucky needs the best players to stay here and play. One thing Coach Claiborne sells is the quality of player you will be here with. This is a good program on and off the playing field. Not every place can say that."
Still, choosing Kentucky over an established winning pro-1 gram could be a gamble not every player is willing to take. But no team wants to win more than Kentucky.
"Football is full of challenges," said freshman wide receiver Dee Smith of Paducah. "Nobody tries to lose and when we lose we are disappointed. We want to win just as much as anybody else."
But the players insist wins and losses are not the best way to measure the value of playing under Claiborne and his staff.
"If a guy wants to work and try to be the best player he possibly can be there is no better staff to play for," said Prince. "If you have the talent to play college football and the desire to improve you have to love playing for Jerry Claiborne.
"I know I am going to come back and follow the Wildcats because this is the type program you need in college j athletics."
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KENTUCKY, like several other Division I schools, is interested in 6-2, 300-pound tackle Greg Armstrong of Heath.
"He is being sought pretty heavy," said Heath Coach Rodney Bushong. "He's a blue-chip player. Against most teams he just dominates the line of scrimmage. Not many-teams ran against him and we usually ran behind him.
"Kentucky is one of several schools that seems very interested in him and he seems pretty interested in Kentucky."
Armstrong led Heath into the Class A championship game this year.
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INTRASQUAD scrimmages normally are not the most thrilling basketball contests to watch. Often the affairs are little more than scoring battles with only token defensive pressure.
Kentucky's final two Blue-White scrimmages, though, certainly were not like that. And the two most intense competitors were assistant coaches Dwane Casey and James Dickey, who served as head coaches.
"The games reminded me of when I was at Arkansas and Gene Keady and Pat Foster were working under me," said Sutton of his two former assistants who are now head coaches at Purdue and Houston, respectively. "Dwane and I James both wanted to win. It is great to have a highly com-1 petitive game. Everybody has more fun that way."
Dickey always plays to win. He said, "If I am shooting marbles I play to win. For 40 minutes I am trying to do all I can to win but then we are friends again.
"At Arkansas we really got intense. We held player drafts and really took the games seriously. We even got technical fouls. I think you will see even more intensity here in the future when we have more players."
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ALL LAST Sutton insisted he wouldn't trade guards Roger Harden, James Blackmon and Ed Davender for anyl backcourt in the nation. And he feels just as strongly this year about freshmen guards Rex Chapman and Derrick Miller.
"They are two of the great freshman guards in the country," said Sutton. "Rex is an unbelievable passer and has great instincts for the game. Rex is also a good shooter but Miller is a great shooter.
"Somebody might have one guard better but nobody has a better pair of freshman guards than us. If they keep their heads screwed on right they could have tremendous careers I here."
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SUTTON STILL does not like the new three-point rule but he plans to take advantage of the shot from 19 feet, nine in-
'Cats To Face Six Bowl Participants In '87 Grid Season
Next season Kentucky will face six teams which are scheduled to play in this year's postseason contests.
Those teams include: Indiana ("All-American Bowl), Mississippi (Independence), LSU (Sugar or Sun), Georgia (Hall of Fame), Virginia Tech (Peach) and Tennessee (Liberty).
Kentucky's schedule for the 1987 season looks like this: Utah State, Sept. 12: Indiana. Sept. 19; at Rutgers, Sept. 26; Ohio University, Oct. 3; Mississippi, Oct. 10; at LSU, Oct. 17; at Georgia, Oct. 24; Virginia Tech. Oct. 31; at Vanderbilt, Nov. 7; at Florida. Nov. 14; and Tennessee, Nov. 21.
Next year is the last season UK will play six Southeastern Conference games.-In 1988. Kentucky will face seven league opponents. Auburn (away), Alabama, LSU (away), Georgia, Vanderbilt, Florida, and Tennessee (away) are the 'Cats' '87 SEC foes.
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Ransdell Paces '86 Wildcat Statistics
Senior quarterback Bill Ransdell, Kentucky's most prolific passer, threw for 1,610 yards during his senior season. Ransdell connected for 151 completions on 256 attempts (58.98 percent).
The Elizabethtown product passed for three touchdowns while being intercepted nine times.
Senior receiver Cornell Burbage caught more passes than any Wildcat during the '86
campaign. He hauled in 24 passes (331 yards), followed closely by senior split end Eric Pitts, who caught 23 passes (238).
On the ground, Ivy Joe Hunter was the most productive 'Cat. Hunter, who was hampered with injuries throughout the season, rambled for 621 yards on 103 carries (6.0 yards per carry). Senior Marc Logan and Mark Higgs rushed for 546 and 527 yards, respectively.
Kicking specialist Joey Woriey hit on a perfect 19 of 19 extra points. Out of 25 field goals attempted, the junior booted 17 through the uprights. Not once, nor twice, but three times did Woriey hit three-pointers from 49 yards (LSU and twice against Tennessee).
Overall, Woriey was Kentucky's leading scorer, compiling 70 points. Logan and Higgs were next with 36 apiece.
On defense Kentucky was led by its linebacker tandem of Larry Smith and Chris Chenault. Larry Smith paced the defense with 133 tackles while Lexington's Chenault was next with a total of 93.
Senior defensive back Tony Mayes, who saved his best performance for UK's home finale, picked off a team-high four interceptions. Three weeks ago against Florida, Mayes broke up four Kerwin Bell passes during UK's 10-3 SEC conquest.
Besides Mayes, during the season five other Wildcats were credited with one theft each.