May 23, fp&7
Two QB Hopefuls Emerge From Spring Drills
[Dooley, Fohr Leading Candidates For Top Joq
Way back on March 25, when Jerry Claiborne's Kentucky foot-all team was just kicking off spring practice, there were no less than five candidates for the starting quarterback job left vacant by the graduation of Bill Ransdell. Look at the roster and there they were: Kevin Dooley, Eric Green, Chuck Broughton, Bill Allen and Glenn Four.
The UK coaching staff was hoping two of the handful would step forward this spring and prove they could do the job. "We think the talent is pretty even there. It's just a lack of game xperience is what we're hurting at at that position," quarterback
		
NUHilSBHkaa		Mike Estep Cats' Pause Columnist
		
coach Jerry Eisaman said early in the spring. "The potential is there; we've got the kids who can do it. Now we're going to see who rises to the top and gets the job done.
'I have confidence. I think we'll find one or two that will come to the top. We always have."
If last Saturday's Blue-White scrimmage was any indication, they've done it again.
As the final seconds ticked off the Commonwealth Stadium clock, bringing down the curtain on the spring campaign, two quarterbacks stood head-and-shoulder pads above the rest.
With their performances throughout spring drills, puncuated with their play last Saturday, it looks like either Dooley or Fohr will be the starter next fall.
Fohr connected on 17 of 25 passes in the final scrimmage, for 280 yards and a pair of second-half touchdowns. Combine that with his solid play throughout the spring, and Fohr has solidified his place as the No. 2 QB behind Dooley, completing an improbable move up the totem pole. And while Dooley lost the battle of the statisticshe was 10 of 19 through the air for 79 yards before leaving the game with a minor shoulder injury he won the war, leading the White team to a 17-13 win.
You Already Knew About Dooley. . .
You had to expect Dooley to be there. He was the capable backup to Ransdell for each of the last two seasons, and was as good as gold in leading UK to back-to-back wins against Clemson and Mississippi State two seasons ago when Dollar Bill was sidelined with an injury. Because he worked hard at increasing both his strength and his speed in the winter workouts leading up to spring practice, Dooley was honored with the team's Outstanding Offensive Back award. His success continued right on through the recently-completed spring practice, Dooley left the drills the same way he came inlisted as the No. 1 signal caller on the depth chart.
While it was fairly easy to forecast that Dooley would be in the running for the jobUK's coaches have said all along that he's the man to beat out for the positionwhen spring practice started, no one could have projected that Fohr, the junior transfer from Hudson Valley (N.Y) Community College, would have made such a quick jump into contention. Even Fohr himself wasn't sure he could pull it off. "I wasn't really sure what I could do," Fohr said. "But I felt that if I had good coaching and I tried my hardest, I could at least play with some practice. But I didn't figure I could step right in like this.
"I watch a lot of football on TV, and I see the players and say, 'Wow, how can they do that? They're such superior athletes.' And here I am. It's like I don't believe I'm on the same field with them sometimes."
. . .But Where'd This Other Guy Come From?
But there he was, the unknown quarterback that no other Division I team in the country was willing to sign, contending for the No. 1 quarterback spot after having less than a month of on-the-job training in his new setting.
What he lacked in the way of quantity practice time, he made up in quality.
"We didn't know all that much about him, except what we saw on film," Claiborne said following the Blue-White game. "But we wouldn't have signed him if we didn't think he could help us, we wouldn't have signed a junior college quarterback if we didn't feel like he would help us this year. We think that he came along very, very well. We're pleased with the way he has performed, today
especially."
The reason Claiborne was so pleased is because Fohr performed more like a seasoned veteran this spring than the newcomer to the system that he is.
"Each day I'm feeling a little bit more comfortable, feeling that I know what I'm doing out there," Fohr said. "I'm just working on getting 100 percent. I feel like it's coming along alright, but I've still got a lot of work. I've got a lot of plays to learn, too. I only had 20 days to learn basic plays, and that's what we ran here today was basic plays. I gotta get my steps down and get smooth with the backs, make that smooth handoff and that smooth amount of steps, so that we jell and look good
"Every day I feel a little more confident, it's just been growing on me. I feel that I've got the respect of most of the fellas now. They seem to listen up to me. In the second half when we started hooking up and driving the ball, I could just see 'em staring into my eyes in the huddle and they were just like following me all the way. It felt real good.'
It looked real good, too. After falling behind 17-0, Fohr engineered two scoring drives in the second half to bring the Blue team back into the ballgame. With just under a minute to play in the third quarter, Fohr rolled to his left and found receiver Tim Jones wide open in the back of the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown pass capping a 95-yard drive in which the junior quarterback completed seven of nine aerials. And then the next time the Blue had the ball, Fohr found Jones again, this time for a 54-yard TD strike.
If Fohr made it look easy, and he did, both he and Claiborne
Dooley (left) And Fohr Battle For QB Spot
had a reason for it. Because of the limited practice time in the spring and because of the possibility that a few enemy scouts were liable to be milling around along with Yogi Bear and the rest of the 20,325 in attendance, the UK defenses went exclusively with only a few basic coverages.
"That has me worried, we had only a basic defense out there," Fohr said, without the slightest hint of worry in his voice. "Anybody can do good against basic defenses. It's what gonna happen when a different team comes in with different defenses and they throw it all at you. That's what I'm worried about, how I'll react then."
Because of Dooley's experience then, Claiborne said that if UK's home opener with Utah State were scheduled for next week, instead of Sept. 12, the fifth-year senior from Cincinnati would be the starter.
"If we were playing next Saturday, Dooley would probably be our quarterback due to experience," the coach said. "And again, he was the winning quarterback (in the scrimmage). But we don't play next Saturday, so we'll have to wait until next fall."
Which gives Fohr all summer to prepare himself to make a run at the top spot, something he says he sees as a challenge, and something he says he's looking forward to.
"Yes," he said, "I like all kinds of challenges pretty much. I'm just trying to keep a cool head about it, and see what happens.'
Kevin Dooley will have a big say-so in the matter, but if it keeps happening the way it has so far, Glenn Fohr could be spending a lot of time on the field with those guys he's been marveling about on TV.
Four Wildcats Among All-Stars Selected For Kentucky-Indiana Series
Four future University of Kentucky athletes were among those named to the 11-man Kentucky All-Star basketball team that will challenge the Indiana All-Stars in the annual summer classic.
Leading the way was Kentucky's Mr. Basketball, John Pelphrey of Paintsville, who signed to play for UK during the April signing period. Two of Pelphrey's future teammates at KentuckyDeron Feldhaus of Mason County and Sean Sutton of Henry Clayalong with Paintsville's Joey Couch who will play football at UK, will also take part in the series.
This year's Kentucky-Indiana All-Star Classic games will be played June 20 at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis and June 27 at Freedom Hall in Louisville. For ticket information contact Kay Lutes, Executive Director of the Kentucky Lions Foundation, at (502) 583-0564.
1987 Kentucky Boys' All-Stars
John Pelphrey Joey Couch Matt Eitutis Kevin Ellery Deron Feldhaus Desmond Porter Ernest Rakes Prince Stewart Sean Sutton Donald Tivis LaMonte Ware
Paintsville Paintsville North Hardin Washington Co. Mason Co. Pleasure Ridge Park Boyd Co. Lafayette Henry Clay Paducah Tilghman Hopkinsville
Head coach: Marvin Merideth, Russell Assistant: Charles Baker, East Carter
Lady Kat Tennis Player Swings Her Way To SEC Title; UK Finishes 2nd
Lady Kat sophomore Sonia Hahn, ranked second in the nation, defeated Florida's Shaun Stafford last month (April 26) in the finals of the SEC women's tournament held in Lexington.
Hahn won the individual championship with a 1-6, 6-4,, 6-1.
Despite losing the first set Hahn felt confident she could take home the top prize, as she entered Sunday afternoon's final believing she could win. "I woke up this morning and I just had a feeling that I was going to play well," said Hahn.
With a score of 29, Florida, the nation's top-ranked squad, lived up to its billing by winning the event. UK, No. 11 in the country, came in second with a score of 24, followed by Georgia with a team total of 22.
UK was able to finish second because of its outstanding team play. Besides Hahn's top finish, two other Lady Kats helped the team's cause by virtue of their top six finishes.
Those two UK players who had excellent showings were sophomores Chris Karges and Caroline Knudten.
In doubles competition Hahn and junior Tamaka Tagaki were defeated in the finals by the conference's top-seeded team, Florida's Kathy Goodrich and Jill Hetherington, 6-2, 6-2.