If Kentucky head coach Rich Brooks had not recognized the extent of his team’s injury issues before his weekly teleconference on Sunday, he certainly did afterwards.
“I just hadn’t seen as long of a list as that on a Sunday as we had,” said Brooks yesterday at his Monday press conference. According to The Courier-Journal, Brooks spent two and a half minutes outlining his team’s injury list, which included sophomore playmaker Randall Cobb, starting running back Derrick Locke, and starting quarterback Mike Hartline.
The Wildcats expect to have Cobb (thumb) and Locke (knee) back for Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt. The status of Hartline was less certain.
“Certainly, I'm not going to put Mike Hartline out there if he can't get out of his own way, let alone pull the ball down and run it if he has to,” said Brooks on Monday. “Having said that he looked pretty good last week.”
True freshman Morgan Newton started at quarterback for the Wildcats in last week’s 37-12 win over Eastern Kentucky, throwing for 187 yards and two touchdowns. Newton was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for his performance.
According to The Courier-Journal, at least 15 significant players missed the team’s practice Sunday with injuries.
