And the hits just keep on coming from the wide receiver position. Today, after practice, Coach Mark Stoops intimated after reporters noticed the absence of A. J. Legree, that he has left the program. Jen Smith at the Herald-Leader has details on her blog:
On A.J. Legree not being at practice after it sounded like he was one of their only healthy receivers Monday: "Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I guess he’s wrapped it up. So, he’s gonna quit and go play somewhere else. So we wish him the best of luck."
On if it’s frustrating because WR is a position where they need bodies: "We’ll be fine. We’ll be fine. We’ll be fine. (Laughs) I want the guys that want to be here. Not worried about any of that."
Also, bad news for Jeff Badet:
On Jeff Badet: "Yeah, he’s gonna be out. He got hurt the other day, Monday. He got hurt in Monday’s practice. He was alone. It was a good play-action pass; he was wide-open. He kind of got underthrown and just a freaky accident. It looked like on film his own knee came down on his ankle and he broke a bone in his — he broke his fibular. So he’s gonna be out another two, three months. Clean break. Nothing — no surgery, anything like that. So he’ll be fine. Just needs to rest up."
Broken fibula. Aaaargghh!
On the plus side, more plaudits for Patrick Towles:
On who has made the most of spring: "Well, I said it earlier: I thought Patrick really did a nice job. I thought he did a very good job through his redshirt year. He really improved. And he’s done a nice job throughout spring. So I’ve been pleased with his progress. He’s not perfect, and we don’t expect him to be yet, but he’s really improved a great deal."
This is good news for the football program. We really needed Towles to step up and compete, and it's exciting to me that he may be closer than anyone else to claiming the job this season. That doesn't necessarily mean a redshirt year for Drew Barker, but it could, and I think that's a very good thing. Barker probably needs a year to mature, and he seems to be ready if that's how it winds up.
You have to love these Kentucky kids and their dedication, it is inspiring to see what Towles has struggled with, and yet he just keeps hanging in there, working hard, and getting better.