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10-01-2012, 07:09 PM
The University of Kentucky football team, already reeling from a 1-4 start, took another direct hit Monday morning when coach Joker Phillips announced starting quarterback Maxwell Smith will require surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left ankle.
With Smith out “indefinitely,” Phillips also announced that plans to redshirt touted freshman Patrick Towles have been scrapped and the Wildcats will play him and fellow true freshman Jalen Whitlow on Saturday against 19th-ranked Mississippi State.
Phillips said the plan all along was that if Smith went down with a serious injury, the Wildcats would “pull the redshirt off and play (Towles), and that’s what we intend to do.”
Smith completed 103 of 150 passes (68.7 percent) for 975 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions in three complete games and two snaps against South Carolina before his injury.
“He’s down, obviously,” Phillips said. “He worked his tail off to be in the position to play major-college football.”
In Smith’s place, UK will rotate the more mobile Whitlow and pocket-passing Towles against an unbeaten Bulldogs team that leads the Southeastern Conference with nine interceptions. Whitlow will likely start.
“We’ll have to play them both,” Phillips said. “It’s going to take an effort of both of them. And it could be right in the middle of a series. It could be play after play after play, switching them out.”
Towles was a top-10 quarterback recruit nationally and his father told The Courier-Journal last week that he was frustrated by the decision to redshirt him this season. Terry Towles said Patrick didn’t care about using a year of eligibility on a partial season — that he wanted to help now.
Towles has been running the scout-team offense all season, though, and hasn’t operated Kentucky’s actual offense since preseason camp.
“He’s in the meetings, pays attention in the meetings,” Phillips said. “We’ll see tomorrow exactly how much he knows.”
The 6-foot-5, 242-pound Towles, who threw for 3,820 yards, rushed for 589 yards, accounted for 57 total touchdowns and threw just one interception as a senior at Highlands High School, has shown Phillips one thing he likes this fall.
The coach said Towles can often be seen “screaming, trying to get the scout team jacked up. Now we need him to get our No. 1 offense on that level.”
And although it’s a daunting task, Phillips said playing with two talented freshman quarterbacks is at least a little exhilarating.
“I think it is exciting,” he said. “Because I can tell you this: The team we’re playing has no idea what they’re about to get. We don’t know.”
In other injury news, safety Dakotah Tyler is out with a torn ACL, and tailbacks CoShik Williams and Raymond Sanders are banged up and listed as day to day.
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/2...ck_check=1
With Smith out “indefinitely,” Phillips also announced that plans to redshirt touted freshman Patrick Towles have been scrapped and the Wildcats will play him and fellow true freshman Jalen Whitlow on Saturday against 19th-ranked Mississippi State.
Phillips said the plan all along was that if Smith went down with a serious injury, the Wildcats would “pull the redshirt off and play (Towles), and that’s what we intend to do.”
Smith completed 103 of 150 passes (68.7 percent) for 975 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions in three complete games and two snaps against South Carolina before his injury.
“He’s down, obviously,” Phillips said. “He worked his tail off to be in the position to play major-college football.”
In Smith’s place, UK will rotate the more mobile Whitlow and pocket-passing Towles against an unbeaten Bulldogs team that leads the Southeastern Conference with nine interceptions. Whitlow will likely start.
“We’ll have to play them both,” Phillips said. “It’s going to take an effort of both of them. And it could be right in the middle of a series. It could be play after play after play, switching them out.”
Towles was a top-10 quarterback recruit nationally and his father told The Courier-Journal last week that he was frustrated by the decision to redshirt him this season. Terry Towles said Patrick didn’t care about using a year of eligibility on a partial season — that he wanted to help now.
Towles has been running the scout-team offense all season, though, and hasn’t operated Kentucky’s actual offense since preseason camp.
“He’s in the meetings, pays attention in the meetings,” Phillips said. “We’ll see tomorrow exactly how much he knows.”
The 6-foot-5, 242-pound Towles, who threw for 3,820 yards, rushed for 589 yards, accounted for 57 total touchdowns and threw just one interception as a senior at Highlands High School, has shown Phillips one thing he likes this fall.
The coach said Towles can often be seen “screaming, trying to get the scout team jacked up. Now we need him to get our No. 1 offense on that level.”
And although it’s a daunting task, Phillips said playing with two talented freshman quarterbacks is at least a little exhilarating.
“I think it is exciting,” he said. “Because I can tell you this: The team we’re playing has no idea what they’re about to get. We don’t know.”
In other injury news, safety Dakotah Tyler is out with a torn ACL, and tailbacks CoShik Williams and Raymond Sanders are banged up and listed as day to day.
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/2...ck_check=1
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
LOSERS QUIT WHEN THEY'RE TIRED, WINNERS QUIT WHEN THEY HAVE WON
LOSERS QUIT WHEN THEY'RE TIRED, WINNERS QUIT WHEN THEY HAVE WON
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10-02-2012, 01:16 AM
Has Joker not learned anything???????
The two QB system DOESNT work, unless you Tebow and Leak.
:HitWall:
It just gets better and better.
The two QB system DOESNT work, unless you Tebow and Leak.
:HitWall:
It just gets better and better.
10-02-2012, 02:48 AM
well this should be interesting.
I'm in love with Tawnya.. hehe..
Tom is not my friend....
if you have any questions send me a p.m.
Tom is not my friend....
if you have any questions send me a p.m.
10-02-2012, 08:25 AM
crazytaxidriver Wrote:well this should be interesting.
Interesting and pointless...
10-02-2012, 09:51 PM
Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Towles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go birds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Using my head though, I would rather see him stay redshirted another year.
Using my head though, I would rather see him stay redshirted another year.
10-02-2012, 11:58 PM
RunItUpTheGut Wrote:Has Joker not learned anything???????
The two QB system DOESNT work, unless you Tebow and Leak.
:HitWall:
It just gets better and better.
But with 2 true freshman it HAS to work...
10-03-2012, 01:15 AM
zaga_fan Wrote:But with 2 true freshman it HAS to work...
Best.Post.Ever.
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