Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This podcast stuff The Leech Report is presented by Boone's
Butcher Shop in Barnstown at one hundred Old Bloomfield Pike,
family owned and operated since nineteen forty six, with fresh
meat cut on site daily. Boons Butcher Shop Friday Edition
Football Friday Edition of the Leech Report presented by Bobcat Enterprises.
(00:20):
Show's pre recorded today. Our broadcast crew is making our
way down to Georgia and we put this one on
tape to be able to get an earlier start. A
little later we'll hear from the Georgia Radio play by
play voice Scott Howard bit of a scouting report on
the dogs. We'll talk about the start of the Keeenland
Fall racing meat, but we always start with our Wildcat
News of the day and it is presented by just
Seppes of Lexington. They're located off Nicholasville Road, just past
(00:43):
Man of War. Keeenland Meat is here. So if you're
planning a day at Keelan see if you can work
in a trip to Giuseppes, maybe playing around a UK
event or any special occasion. There's no place better for
a celebration like that than gi Sepes. Sit in the
Lounge Aerry if you haven't done that lately or ever,
because it is a really cool experience. Dave Hall's live
(01:03):
jazz music to a company a fantastic Giuseppes Meal, get
to open table. Make your reservations now for j just
Sepies of Lexington. To get things started, we'll play an
interview that I did earlier this week with Mike Hartline,
the former Kentucky QB. Let's stuck with Van Hiles about
this recently. How underappreciated Mike's time at Kentucky is when
(01:24):
you look back over the outstanding quarterbacks in the last
quarter of a century or longer, he's the last one
to throw for over three thousand yards his senior season.
He did that with twenty three touchdowns against only nine interceptions.
He was the most outstanding offensive player at the Liberty
Bowl in the end of the two thousand and eight season,
and in that season, his first year as the starter
(01:44):
after two years as an understudy to Andre Woodson, he
had some of those ups and downs that young quarterbacks have.
He lost the starting job for a while, got it
back for the Bowl game, and came through, as we noted,
big time. He's now on the UK staff as an
offensive quality control coach working with the quarterbacks, and so
I thought it'd be interesting to chat with him and
talk about how he can help a now red shirt
(02:07):
freshman Cutter Bowley, who is getting the keys to the
car for the first time with Kentucky football, to navigate
those choppy waters and to battle through the adversity like
he faced last Saturday night down at South Carolina and
Mike he's probably going to face tomorrow at Georgia. Like
you were once in someone in the position Cutters, and
you were the understudy, but yours you played that role
(02:29):
for two years and then kind of ascended to the
job on schedule. Cutters is ahead of schedule, But still,
what can you do or say to help him?
Speaker 2 (02:38):
You know, it's all in the process and the way
you improve is by playing, and he's getting a lot
of experience right now. But understanding, I think fully, especially
at a young age, like if you can't waste a
day and you can't take one for granted. So whether
there's ups and downs, right, don't ride the roller coast
(03:00):
or understand this is a tough league, it's a tough season.
It's always going to be that way. Make peace with
that and focus on yourself what needs to be done
and accomplished, play to play and having great body language,
conference and confidence and demeanor. I mean, that's that's big
echoes everywhere. So it's always a process, it is. It's
not like someone can come in and next thing.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
You don't light the world on fire. Like there's good moments,
there's bad moments.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
You got to take them all the same and learn
from everything and just keep your head on your shoulders,
have a positive attitude.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
You got there playing golf, you hit a bad shot,
you let hang your head, get down, but you're you're
playing for yourself. You know. When you're the quarterback, everybody's
looking at you.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Right, yeah, yeah, you're going to react exactly. And that's
that's the responsibility of the position.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
I mean, and what I can know full well is
when you finally accept the real responsibility of the position,
it doesn't get it doesn't get easier. You just get
more clarity and I think from their things to start
to make more sense and you start to understand what
it takes. And everybody's looking to you. Everybody understands that
we only flow as good as we practice, as good
(04:01):
as we play, so again, you got to make peace
with it and you got to just be the most
the hardest work in the room.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
You don't got to lift the most weights, you don't
got to run the fastest.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
He's got to be the hardest work in the room
and things that goes. So it's a process as a
young player. But we got full confidence and we just
do our part to help him and guide him. And
from there, you know, he's got to trust in his
ability and his preparation to go out and get a
job done.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
When cutter comes to you, do you hear him asking
the right questions?
Speaker 4 (04:29):
I do.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
I think he's got a really good head on his shoulders.
I think he's grown a ton from the spring to
the fall. Luckily he got a little bit of experienced
last year.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
It all helps.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
But he's thinking the right way. It's just putting it
out the practice. Everybody knows that, like you can come in,
say all the right things, do all the right things
in the meeting room, but is it translating to the field.
And you see improvement all the time, which is great,
But it all comes down to execution on Saturday, and
that's what we're working towards and understanding, like make things simpler,
make things to where you're.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Not having to think so much. But we're the position that.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Has to think the most, and you have to find
that way in your brain how it deciphers that works
for you.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
And everybody's a different player.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
How can you help him come bounce back from a
tough game like the last one going into a place
like Georgia.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
I only can relate to my experiences. I mean, I've
been through the roller coaster of it. I understand what
it feels like. And when you are your worst enemy,
it doesn't make things any better. I always I tell
them this, like you can be you should be your
worst critic, but your biggest fan, because when you do
something that you're not expected to do or something doesn't
go your way, understand it and he got to move on.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
You got to have a short memory.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
So I try to relate them as best I can,
knowing full well I'm not asking him to be anybody
other than himself, but he, as every player does, like you.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Got to find your way through that.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
And it also stems to positivity, being hard on him
but at the same time having his back, and I
think that's the key.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Everybody has their own kind of skill set, whether it's
physical skills or just you know, way they carry themselves, whatever,
the things that his tool box that you like as
a quarterback.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
For his size, he's more athletic than you think. I mean,
it's something that I can't relate to that wasn't something
that I was. But at the same time, I think
it's still developing. You know, he's still young, he's still trying.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
To figure out what he's really really good at. He
takes coaching well, he takes it to the field.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
It's banking those reps practice after practice to where when
it comes to a game it feels like you've already
been there. So he does a great job retaining information
taking into the field, trying to make it real in
every scenario at practice. I think that's a big part
about it. But he's more athletic than you think. He's tough,
and he's got good body language, and he keeps everything
(06:43):
in perspective and he moves on pretty fast, so short
memory is good for him. Other than that, everything else
from there I think will come into place. I mean,
he wouldn't be here if he couldn't throw the ball.
He wouldn't be here if he couldn't play quarterback in
this league. A lot of people can do, can throw
the ball, can do all these type of things, But
what are those space in between, the spaces that make
you different? And I think that's what we're kind of
pushing forward to him as far as being a game manager,
(07:06):
delivering ball, keeping drives alive, and putting the ball in
the end zone.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Stead was a college basketball player. Brothers and sister that
played college athletics. Does that do you think help him
deal with adversity?
Speaker 3 (07:18):
I think so.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
I mean, anytime you can have close family members that
have been in the spotlight again, they can.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Give you perspective.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
And I don't thinkbody anyone truly understands unless they've been
in this same position doing the same things, what it's
really like.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
However, people that are close to you that.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Have been in athletics, like they get it, they get
the pressure, they get the preparation.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
I think those things behind the scenes can only help you.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
So, how are you enjoying coaching and why did you
come down in this path?
Speaker 3 (07:46):
I think, honestly, it was kind of a calling. It
got to the point where I.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Felt, through some people who I talk to all the
time that were involved in football that they thought I
could do a good job. So people believing in me
was number one. Number two was just taking the leap
and giving it a shot. Whether it worked out or not,
I just felt in the end, I thought it was
something I could be good at. I thought it was
something that I could make a difference for young men.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Like my coaches did for me. And it's rewarding in
the end.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
It's just that that's what you get the most out
of it with the amount of work you put in
when you see it being rewarded back to you, whether
it's someone a player's gets through a tough time, or
things go well on the field, whatever it is, like.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
That's that's how it works.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
But I love the game obviously and that helps. But
at the same time, all the work we put in
is very, very rewarding when you feel like you can
make a difference in a young man.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Lunch sounds like he has the makings of an outstanding
young coach. That is Mike Hartline And this is the
Leach Report. We're presented each day by bobcat Enterprises. We
will be right back. It is opening day for the
Keenland Fall Meet and a gorgeous new paddock that fans
will see when they get out there, along with some
(08:57):
fantastic racing. Todd Trump joins us from FanDuel TV, which
we'll have on side coverage all weekend and all throughout
the Queenland Meat and Todd. Have you seen the new
paddic at Queland. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (09:08):
So I'm excited because We've done some video and some
stories on it, but I can't wait to see it
for myself in person, because I have to say that
for me is the biggest thing with most racetracks. For example,
you know, I'm out in California a good part of
the year, and when people are coming to Santa Nita
for the first time and they ask me about it,
(09:28):
I tell them you need to go to the paddock,
and I tell them which way to walk, because there's
just something about the entrance to any racetrack and your
walk to the paddock. And Keenland has managed all these years,
even though I'm coming back to a familiar site, to
truly make me feel like I'm back at home. It's
always been one of my favorite paddocks, and so I'm
(09:50):
excited to see the changes in person. It's one thing
to have seen our video coverage. It's quite another to
make that walk up into the grandstand into that paddox.
So I'm very excited to see it for myself a
person I have not as of yet.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Who are you most excited to see compete? For the equine.
Speaker 5 (10:09):
Athletes, Well, it's amazing too. I think one of the
greatest sporting gestures for this time of year. And I
look back at a lot of great Fall meets, which
obviously impact horses that go to the Breeders' Cup, but
there were two horses who are absolutely locked in to
be in a Breeder's Cup race, and yet they're going
to face each other on Sunday. The Judmont Spinster, where
(10:31):
you have Nitrogen, who's had a really star cross year.
It's been a great year. But from this sense, she
was strictly on the turf the first part of the
year and she was clearly the best three year old
silly on the turf. Then they put her on the
dirt and she kept winning and she dominated the Alabama
and so she is the clear leader in the three
(10:53):
year old Philly division both on the turf and the dirt.
And then you have Torpedo Anna last year's horse of
the Year and the horse who's dominated older females all
year long. So when we get to this time of year,
we always ask well, how did the three year olds
measure up against older horses? Be it the horses that
we're running on the Trip of Crown Trail now trying
to get to the Breeders' Cup Classics, or be it
(11:14):
the Phillies who are on the Oaks Trail and now
they're going to take on older horses. This matchup between
Torpedo Anna and Nitrogen easily could have waited until the
Long Gene Breeders Cup Distaff. But it tells you something
about the draw of the Judmont Spinster. It tells you
something about the draw of Kingland Racecourse this time of year.
(11:34):
So on Sunday when they run the Judmont Spinster and
we could see the best three year old Philly against
the best older distaff horse out there at Torpedo Anna
and Nitrogen, that is a true treat. And that's Sunday.
We're going to see a lot on Friday and Saturday.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Thorpedo Anna made her debut in a race at Keeland
as a two year old and blew the field away
and kind of signaled what was coming. And Brian Hernandez
has been a border in every start and he had
that awful injury it's going to take him to three
months to recover from. So she gets her first different
(12:10):
rider and it's one of the best in the world
in Pratt. But is that a concern as you handicap
that race?
Speaker 5 (12:16):
You know, I don't you know when you have a
matchup that's that is that close? Those are That's the
type of minutia that you have to look at. The
bottom line is it's what you said. Pratt is one
of the best riders in the world. Yes, Brian Hernandez
knows her better than anybody, and we're just happy that
he's going to be Okay, I'm on the road to recovery.
But Pratt is kind of used to this, especially he's
(12:39):
in bigger barns like Bob Baffer and Chad Brown, where
he will move horse to horse and another rider will
be taken off and he'll be brought in. So he
is kind of that guy out of the bullpen's. He's
kind of like Shotani and that he can be a
starting pitcher, he can be a guy that you bring
out of the bullpen as well, So I have every
confidence that he's going to be fine. And he's the
(13:00):
type of guy who will go back and watch the
type of year that she's had, maybe look at ways
that she has to deal with her And clearly he's
going to be talking to Brian Hernandez Junior before he
gets on that horse. And Ken McPeak is another guy
who's obviously very detail oriented, so kind of exciting to
have prought there. I wish it were Brian because obviously
he's earned it throughout her career, but I'm just glad
(13:22):
that he's going to be okay in the end.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
When you're handicapping Keener races because your hosting coverage, but
I know you also are a horse player, So what
are some of the things that are Keenland specific that
kind of factor into how you play the races beyond
what you see in the form.
Speaker 5 (13:37):
Well, you know, we're in for a stretch of pretty
dry weather and I feel a lot of times when
the track gets really dry out there, it could speed favoring,
So I think that's something to watch early. And that's
the difficult part about a boots set meat like Keenland,
or even say a Saratoga or del Mark because it's
a shortened time. By the time you pick up on
(13:59):
the trend, we're already well through the meat, So you
got to kind of recognize these things early. And what's
nice about the way they start out at the Fall Meet.
With the Fall Stars weekend, we're not trying to judge
a maiden claiming race and looking whether or not there's
a bias or cheap claiming races. We're going to see
some serious racesources with Fall Stars Weekend, and so those
(14:19):
trends will be meaningful what you see on opening day Friday,
and you got to pick up on it. So I
definitely take a look at that track as it relates
to weather. It looks like the weather is going to
be phenomenal from Friday all the way through next week
really and so for the main track, I would watch
for speed if it's going to be really dry and
(14:40):
hot the way they expect. As far as the turf,
the turf has been consistent over the years. It's very
difficult to win from an outside post. I'll still take
a chance every once in a while from post twelve,
but from ten to twelve, those out three you know
when they have overflow fields and they will on Saturday
and the First Lady. There's so many great race but
(15:01):
they will have those bigger fields on the turf, and
winning from the outside is very difficult. Winning on the
lead over the years, I think has been very difficult,
So I was looked for closers on the turf and
I always look for something in the middle of the field.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Dot Thank you much, see you at the track.
Speaker 5 (15:17):
Look forward to Tom.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Vandal's got all your Keenland coverage this fall for the
Fall Meet that includes the Today at Keeenland Show each
race day morning at eleven thirty that also airs on
the CW here in Lexington. I'm a part of that
helping out with a race preview and a long shot
pick along with the host, Scabby Godet and Scott Hazelton.
Keeland Select is a longtime partner here on the Leech
(15:39):
Report and they have a new promotion coming up for
the Fall Meat that is starting today. You can earn
one hundred dollars back when you wager two hundred dollars
on Keenland Racing during October through Keenland Select dot com.
Wager a total of three hundred dollars on any track
in the first thirty days after you sign up and
earn another one hundred dollars bonus. Use the code Fall
(15:59):
twenty two twenty five when you sign up at keenland
select dot com. It is for new customers only. This
is the Leads Report and we were presented by Bob
Kat Enterprises. We'll be right back down. Between the hedges
is one of the legendary places to play in college football.
You're gonna be playing in there for the first time.
Do you kind of get excited about those opportunities?
Speaker 5 (16:18):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 6 (16:19):
I think aways to see opponents is always very exciting opportunity.
And yeah, my first time playing on there, so I'm
really excited to see what they're all about.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
You had kind of a breakout game on the road
down at Ole Miss last year.
Speaker 6 (16:29):
Yeah, yeah, sir, that was my first away game as
a freshman, so that was a great game. And like
I said, I just love playing those away games and
those environments and going down there with your team. It's
just y'all and you just got to put it together.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
I know you guys are frustrated offensively that it hasn't
clicked better yet. What's it going to take to get
it there.
Speaker 6 (16:45):
I think it's just take a lot of practice and
hard work and just continue to execute, continue to do
what we do out here during the week, and just
keep practicing hard. And when it comes to game nege
operate well as on offense and really when it comes
to those moments XQ well as a whole unit cutter.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
You've been around a lot of quarterbacks coming up through football.
How did he handle that adversity the other night and
how do you think I'll handle it moving forward?
Speaker 6 (17:07):
I think he handled it pretty well. I mean he's
a very confident quarterback. Is what you love to have
as a quarterback, and you know, when something happens, you
just have to move on. I think he does that
very well, and that's something you learn and coach Soops
teaches all the time when aniversity hits, you just got
to move on from it, you know, I mean, go
make the next play.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
So yeah, it seems like all the great quarterbacks people
their teammates talk about how they command the huddle. Is
they'd like that for him?
Speaker 6 (17:28):
Yeah, one hundred percent. I mean I remember his first
time coming against Florida last year, you know what I mean,
he came in you know, owned It felt like he
was super confident guy. And I mean I've known him
for a while, so I mean that's what I expected.
And he comes in there and commands it for sure.
And he's a great leader for sure.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
So how is he as a roommate.
Speaker 6 (17:45):
He's a good roommate, been together now for a while,
super chill. We hang out, see each other every day,
so I like having a quarterback as a roommate. We're
constantly talking about offense. Josh too as one of the
tight ends. So it's awesome.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
And is Willie Rodriguez He's said the three roommates split
up the cookie duties. He said, Cutter's kind of a
cheeseburger guy. Catus cooks the healthier meals. Willie says he's
into something like lasagna. It is the Lead's Report, coming
to you from the Clark's Pumping Shop Studio. Return, Refresh
and refuel. We'll be right back. Welcome Back into the
Lead's Report, presented by Bobcat Enterprises and Justin Roland normally
(18:19):
joins us from Cats Illustrated dot Com on Thursdays, but
with us for this pre recorded Friday show to talk
some Kentucky football to start, it is at Katzillustrated dot
Com on the on three Sports network to find the
content from Justin and his team and also the ways
for fans to interact if your House of Blue member
(18:41):
or the other message boards. I imagine that's not a
festive place to be right now, is it?
Speaker 5 (18:45):
No?
Speaker 7 (18:46):
No? But fortunately, even though things look bleak for Kentucky
and football, there's enough changes in the sport and changes
on the horizon and enough interesting things happening that there's
plenty of things to talk about. People are a little
bit down at the moment.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
If you look at just one game, the South Carolina game,
and you look at a disastrous second quarter, you can say,
you know, they lost the game in three series in
the second quarter. They don't have the explosiveness right now
to catch up from that kind of hole that they
put themselves in, and you just kind of draw line
through that one bad night. But I think people don't
(19:24):
look at it in the context of just the one
game right now, Right.
Speaker 7 (19:28):
Yeah, I don't think so. I mean, this was the
fourth game of the year, and it was off of
a bye week and the first real test. I don't
want to say it was good enough but a seven
point loss to Old Miss, now that you know Old
Miss is undefeated and a true playoff contender, that's not
the end of the world. But when you pair that
with your second serious test is a lopsided to a
(19:50):
team that was defeated by a combined sixty to twenty
seven margin against Vanderbilt and Missouri, that kind of puts
it in perspective. Carolina's clearly a team towards the bottom
of the SEC right now, and it makes you look
at the rest of the schedule and say, what is
really on the table if that's the sample through.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
Two games in the SEC.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Justin you had a post at your site yesterday talking
about a lot of the issues that fans are talking
about when it comes to Kentucky football and the future.
And I think it would be naive to think that
anybody who'd be a key player in all of this
discussion wouldn't be gaming out different scenarios just as things
(20:32):
change from week to week. But kind of seems like
the bottom line is that there's a lot of water
still to go under the bridge.
Speaker 7 (20:39):
Right Yeah, yeah, no doubt. There's a lot of stuff
going on behind the scenes. Not saying like anything groundshaking,
But there's been changes in the UK Athletics department, and
obviously Stoop C's eyes under contract for several more years,
and people are curious how he's going to get it
turned around. You're going to have to get it turned
(20:59):
around quickly. But I think the situation is that the
people who look at the numbers believe that Stoops is
probably intent on selecting his money, and so he's got
the leverage right now, and I would be surprised if
that changes, at least in the very near future.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Best case scenario is that they find a way to
make last Saturday's game look like a one game blip,
and it's a brutal October certainly, but they find a
way to generate some positive momentum, and they have a
young quarterback, and if he gets better and the offense
starts to click with the cutter Bowli, then the picture
(21:41):
looks different in November than it does in early October.
Speaker 5 (21:44):
That's the whole plan.
Speaker 7 (21:45):
I mean, if you want to be optimistic, or at
least keep some optimism. We went into this year thinking
that this was probably a two year plan, right like
fans might.
Speaker 5 (21:55):
I don't know if.
Speaker 7 (21:56):
Everybody wants to hear that, but it was can you
get it moving back in the right direction this year?
Can you re establish that physical idea? Andy, Maybe you
bring Cutter back next season, and he's really somebody that
you're excited about. So you don't throw him out just
because he had some struggles against South Carolina. They can't
let him be a sitting duck back there. You got
to give him a little bit more time and see
if that arm can create some big plays downfield.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
And daunting's schedule coming up for Kentucky with three teams
that are in the top twenty five or in the
top fifteen. Actually right now, as we look at the
rankings and starts with Georgia, it doesn't look like maybe
quite as good a Georgia team as the number one
rank squad that came in here last year. But it's
still Georgia. It's still down between the hedges, and for
(22:40):
Kentucky players, they have to kind of I would assume,
look at this is like time to make a stand
and whatever that looks like. But you don't want it
to look like that second quarter.
Speaker 7 (22:51):
Again, right, I mean we've seen them come up and
play Georgia tough before but getting over the over the
over the edge against the Bulldog's a different story. And
then you get them after a home loss to Alabama,
which is their margin for error in the playoff quest
is less than ever, it seems like a bad spot
(23:12):
to get them, so Kentucky this week what fans are
probably need to be looking for is what areas can
they grow in? Where can they get anything going against Georgia?
And maybe that's the strength you build on in the
weeks after that.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
At a loyalist right in and say, what kind of
a coach has a philosophy of not being able to
come from behind? And I said, well, it's not a philosophy,
but it's who they are at the moment. They have
to try to manage the game to just stay close
and like they did in the Old Miss game, have
a chance to be around in the fourth quarter and
(23:44):
pull out a win. It's not, you know, particularly the
way you always want to describe your team. But they
do have a young quarterback. They have some young receivers
that could offer hope with improvement, but it.
Speaker 7 (24:00):
Takes time, right you know, if Mark stops or whoever.
The coach to Kentucky is if they were trying to
win in the big twelve or in the acc then
maybe you could see more pressman coverage. Maybe you could
see more of an offensive approach that leaves you open
to three and outs, but you're pushing the ball down field,
trade and blows. Maybe that gives you a better chance
(24:21):
to come back. That strategy also puts you in a
precarious position against more talented teams that can beat you
in one on one matchups. And the whole philosophy for
stoops in Kentucky is you think a football is a
big open field, that the game can be anything you
want it to be. They just try to break it
up into manageable segments. You make the field smaller, you
(24:44):
make the game smaller, and you focus on situations instead
of that big open field where the advantage belongs to
Alabama and Georgia and teams like that. And as long
as you play sound football, as long as you're mentally
prepared and you execute just good precision football, no penalties,
no turnovers, that's a great strategy. But when the operation
(25:05):
is having problems and then it doesn't look as good.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Talk with Justin Rowland Kantsi Illustrated dot Com, it's at
Roland rivals on Twitter. Basketball will start the preseason two
weeks from today actually against Purdue with an exhibition game
Blue White Game or the Madness is coming up next weekend.
And I think this time of a year ago, we
(25:31):
didn't know what to expect really with an entirely new team,
and so I think my sense was that the fans were,
you didn't really know what to what to believe about
the team, or were just hopeful that they were going
to have some fun. And I think they got more
of that than even they expected. What's the expectation bar?
Where's it set this year?
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Do you think?
Speaker 7 (25:52):
I mean, I think a lot of people have, like
Purdue and Houston and maybe one or two other teams
in the very top team, but Kentucky no reason. They're
not like right there, right in Tier two, right in
the in the ballpark of being in the national championship conversation.
But I think Rob Doster from the Field of sixty eight,
when they had the access to the Kentucky practice, asked
(26:12):
the probing question, and that's mark Pope built this team
with last year in mind. He went through an SEC
schedule and he saw maybe where they had weaknesses, where
they had deficiencies where his first roster was not what
they needed in the SEC and he's tweaked the approach,
and Dost pointed out Pope's best teams have just had
a ton of floor spacers and they've gone, they've leaned
(26:33):
heavily into the kind of team that Hope wants to
coach offensively. This team maybe has some parts that he
is less accustomed to coaching, some guys like the body
where it's like, hey, we played this guy last year.
We need more of those kind of guys. How are
those guys going to fit into Kentucky? And how is
the Mark Pope offense going to thrive with a very
(26:56):
different kind of set of parts? And how can he
incorporate parts that we're not a part of what he's
done before in without losing some of the offense. And
it's obvious that the goal has been to improve.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
The deep justin Rowlandkaants Illustrated dot Com. Thank you, Thanks Tom,
It's justin Rowland Kants Illustrated dot Com on the on
three Sports Network. Don't forget to check out the Leech
Report on WLX eighteen weeknights around five point fifty right
after Bill Mex's weather forecast. We talked about the start
of the Keelan Meat last night. We'll be proviewing Kentucky
Georgia later today. Please check it out. Let your friends
(27:30):
know that we're doing this new project. Thanks to everybody
who's tuned in so far. This is the Leach Report
Radio Network and we'll be right back. It's the Leech
Report Football Friday. And joining us is Scott Howard. He's
the radio play by play voice for the Georgia Bulldogs
and Scott, I think the conventional wisdom is that the
Dogs are going to be quite angry because they lost
(27:51):
their home long home field winning streak to the Tide
last week. What's the mood there for the Georgia fans
and players and coaches.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
Well, yeah, I don't know how angry they are. We'll see,
you know. I think they're just trying to write the
ship after that lost to Alabama last week. But earlier
in the week it was, you know, the conversation was
we just got to get ready for the next one.
You know, we've got another big game coming up with
Kentucky this this weekend, So learn from what happened last
(28:23):
week and get ready for the next one. So you know,
I think they've tried to flush what what what they
saw against Alabama and just try to forge ahead. That's
that's usually the mission under Kirby Smart. It's like, we
don't have any time to dwell on last week, and
you know, we're just trying to get better and and
play better in the next game.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Coaches always have a healthy respect for other coaches, but
it seems to be a genuine friendship between Kirby and
Mark Stewps.
Speaker 4 (28:51):
Yeah, it does. And you know, Kirby was talking a
little bit about that earlier this week, So yeah, I
think they do genuinely like each other. I think they
play golf together when time allows. You know, they've both
been around a pretty good while, so they've both been
around at their schools and double digit years, so they're
(29:11):
some of the longest tenured coaches in the conference. And
and uh, you know, Mark is is certainly the longest.
But you know, a couple of defensive guys and they've
got a lot in common in the business. And yeah,
they have forged a real friendship.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
I think this Georgia team, when they are aren't playing
as well as coach Smart wants, what's usually happening that
annoys him.
Speaker 4 (29:39):
Well, that's a good question, you know, and it's probably
an assortment of things. Uh, he didn't. He didn't show
his cards a whole lot, to be honest with you,
at least publicly. I'm sure he does in his coaches
meetings and and behind closed doors and all of that.
But you know, I mean if you ask him what
(29:59):
does his team to work on? Where do they need
to get better? I mean he'll just he'll throw out
a litany of things, and you know, tacking, tackling, blocking,
you know, knowing your assignment, getting us in the right play,
creating more turnovers. I mean, there's there's a list of
things as long as your arm that he'll probably run through.
(30:19):
Because he's he's a perfectionist, and you know, football is
it's hard to get to that perfect point. I don't
think anybody ever does. There's always something to work on,
and he's certainly no different from that crowd. So they're
just trying to work on everything to get better, and
that includes offense and defense.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Quarterback that kind of emerged last season. How has Stockton looked?
Speaker 4 (30:46):
You know, good at times and at other times, you know,
maybe maybe like a first time starter. I mean, the
you know, the decision process is still a work in progress,
making the right decision, knowing where to go with football.
I mean, he's a very good athlete. It's a good runner,
it's a good passer. But you know, I would say
(31:08):
through four games this year, it looks like there's been
I don't know if hesitation is the right word or
if it's just you know, I'm still learning this process
or confusion or what. But you know, sometimes they're receivers
running open and we're not getting the ball to them. So,
you know, I think it's still a learning process for Gunner.
But so he's had some good moments. He was really
(31:32):
good at Tennessee, made some really great pros. You know,
played very well Alabama game last week. You know, our
passing game didn't really get in gear. Ran the ball well,
but didn't throw it too well. So it's you know,
it's it's weak to week. So we'll see what this
week holds. And you know, hopefully from George's perspective, you know,
(31:53):
he has a good, solid game.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
When you look at stats, one thing that the word
Georgia usually ranks high that is low at the moment
is taking the ball away from the opponent. Has there
been opportunities that haven't taken advantage of, or just not
playing as well on defense.
Speaker 4 (32:09):
Well, you know, that's uh, that's the point of contention too.
And you know you asked about Kirby and what what
irritates them earlier, But that's one of the things that
the last it has been that way the last couple
of years. Really Georgia hasn't forced a lot of turnovers.
They get, you know, they get some interceptions. I think
we had eight last year, but you know, as far
as knocking the ball out and recovering fumbles, we haven't
(32:32):
been real good at that. And it's you know, it's
kind of continuing through the first four games this year.
We haven't we haven't forced a lot of fumbles and
and any ball that has been on the ground, we
don't always get to it. So that's something they're looking to, uh,
to improve on. They work on it a lot, you know,
(32:52):
and the tackling thing. And you know, just from a
personal standpoint, that's one thing that irritates me when a
defender is trying to get the ball out instead of
tackling the runner. And here's the guy, you know, he's
still running, he's getting five to ten more yards and
you know, you're trying to punch the ball out of
his arm. It's like get the guy on the ground
and you know, hopefully the other stuff happens. But tackling
(33:16):
and forcing the turnovers is still something that Georgia works
on consistently.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
Just again, just looking at numbers, sacks only five sacks
thus far. That certainly seems low for a Georgia defense.
Speaker 4 (33:30):
Yeah, and you know, I know, I know a lot
of folks like to look at that and see what
kind of pressure getting on the quarterback. And you know,
if you ask the coaches about that, something kind of
poo poo the sack number. And so you can affect
the quarterback in different ways without you know, getting sacks.
I mean, who doesn't want that? You know, who who
doesn't like a good sack on defense? I mean it's
(33:52):
kind of the the final answer. But you know, George's
had to replace a lot of linemen, we've had to
replace edge rushers. We just haven't been able to get
to the quarterback. Tennessee's quarterback, My goodness, I don't know
that anybody got rid of the ball quicker than he
did you know. And there's a lot of reasons for that.
(34:13):
And we saw that with Alabama last week too. Ty
Simpson just really knew what he was doing. They were
well schooled and what they wanted to do offensively and
how they wanted to throw the football and quarterbacks we've
played so far, I really haven't been giving Georgia a
lot of time to get to them. They know where
they want to go with it and they've been getting
(34:34):
getting rid of it or taking off running. So again,
still some stuff that Georgia has to work on and
hopefully they can build on those numbers.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
One thing that seems to have been a constant through
a lot of different coaches over the years for the
Dogs is how good they are in the kicking game,
punting and field goals. Is that continuing?
Speaker 4 (34:54):
Yeah? I mean Peyton Woodring is a place kicker and
you know he's been rose a semi finalist I think
every year if not a finalist that he's been at Georgia.
And kind of the same with the Guy Award with
Brett Thorson who was injured in the SEC Championship game
last year and against Texas and just came back a
(35:17):
couple of games ago after working through a knee injury.
So he's back punting and he doesn't seem to have
lost too much power. He's he's been terrific. Woodring's been terrific.
He's got a long streak of consecutive field gold's made
under fifty yards. I mean it's approaching like forty in
a row that he hasn't missed in less than fifty.
(35:39):
So he's very consistent. He's good, he's got pretty good range.
You know, Thorson's a tremendous punter, not just from distance
and power, but you know, hang time, ball placement, pooch
kicks inside the twenty, all of that kind of stuff.
And Bo Gardner is the long snapper, and that's an
(36:00):
other guy that was up for the Individual Position Award
last year in long snapping. So George is very fortunate.
Right now. They've got, you know, three special teams guys
that are very good at what they do. And in
Gardner and then the two kickers and Thorson and Woodron.
Speaker 1 (36:15):
What about explosive plays. Who's a guy and I guess
it could be on either side of the ball that
is most likely to bring people out of their seats.
Speaker 4 (36:24):
Probably zach Riah Branch would be my first response to
that question. He's been very good so far the transfer
from Southern cal He's a receiver with a tremendous amount
of speed. You know, he's he's turned a couple of
short screen passes into long touchdowns, so he's dangerous once
he gets the ball in his hands, and you know,
(36:47):
running the football, you know you would say, well, Nate
Frasier's your guy, He's your explosive running back. But you know,
he's had some problems hanging on to the football. He's
fumbled a little bit in his last four or fives
and had one against Alabama and after he coughed it
up in the red zone, didn't take any more snaps
the rest of the game. And Chauncey Bowen's finished out
(37:10):
the game and had a really fine performance over one
hundred yards for the first time against Alabama. But he's
capable of explosive runs too. He just doesn't have the
breakaway speed that Fraser does. But you know, those are
some of the names that can that can contribute with
explosive opportunities on offense.
Speaker 1 (37:29):
Scott, I appreciate the time as always, and we will
see you in the press box on Saturday.
Speaker 4 (37:34):
All right, Tom, thank you. We'll look forward to seeing
you guys. Have a safe trip.
Speaker 1 (37:38):
Scott Howard, the longtime radio play by play man for
the Georgia Bulldogs, joining us here on The Leach Report.
Our show's presented by Bob Kent Enterprises, and we'll continue
in just a moment. Football Friday edition of The Leach Report.
Appreciate you joining us with this pre recorded show today.
Be back live in the studio with Van Hiles on Monday.
(37:58):
This day in UK history is always a sert of
Kentucky Roadshow sports cards and memorabilia. They're on Romney Road
here in Lexington and at roadshowcards dot Com. A happy
birthday to my broadcast partner on the UK Football Network.
That's Jeff Picoro celebrating today and on this day. In
nineteen ninety eight, the Cats went out and played at
War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock against Arkansas. They lost
(38:18):
the game a close one, but Tim Couch set a
school record with sixty seven pass attempts in the loss.
That night. He was so good that the legendary Arkansas
coach Frank Broyles gave him some compliments after the game.
Good luck. If you're headed to Kentland, you can see
my picks under the expert Picks tab at keeenland dot com.
Good Luck and we'll see you back on Monday for
(38:40):
the Leech Report, presented by Bobcat Enterprises
This podcast stuff The Leech Report is presented by Boone's
Butcher Shop in Barnstown at one hundred Old Bloomfield Pike,
family owned and operated since nineteen forty six, with fresh
meat cut on site daily. Boons Butcher Shop Friday Edition
Football Friday Edition of the Leech Report presented by Bobcat Enterprises.
(00:20):
Show's pre recorded today. Our broadcast crew is making our
way down to Georgia and we put this one on
tape to be able to get an earlier start. A
little later we'll hear from the Georgia Radio play by
play voice Scott Howard bit of a scouting report on
the dogs. We'll talk about the start of the Keeenland
Fall racing meat, but we always start with our Wildcat
News of the day and it is presented by just
Seppes of Lexington. They're located off Nicholasville Road, just past
(00:43):
Man of War. Keeenland Meat is here. So if you're
planning a day at Keelan see if you can work
in a trip to Giuseppes, maybe playing around a UK
event or any special occasion. There's no place better for
a celebration like that than gi Sepes. Sit in the
Lounge Aerry if you haven't done that lately or ever,
because it is a really cool experience. Dave Hall's live
(01:03):
jazz music to a company a fantastic Giuseppes Meal, get
to open table. Make your reservations now for j just
Sepies of Lexington. To get things started, we'll play an
interview that I did earlier this week with Mike Hartline,
the former Kentucky QB. Let's stuck with Van Hiles about
this recently. How underappreciated Mike's time at Kentucky is when
(01:24):
you look back over the outstanding quarterbacks in the last
quarter of a century or longer, he's the last one
to throw for over three thousand yards his senior season.
He did that with twenty three touchdowns against only nine interceptions.
He was the most outstanding offensive player at the Liberty
Bowl in the end of the two thousand and eight season,
and in that season, his first year as the starter
(01:44):
after two years as an understudy to Andre Woodson, he
had some of those ups and downs that young quarterbacks have.
He lost the starting job for a while, got it
back for the Bowl game, and came through, as we noted,
big time. He's now on the UK staff as an
offensive quality control coach working with the quarterbacks, and so
I thought it'd be interesting to chat with him and
talk about how he can help a now red shirt
(02:07):
freshman Cutter Bowley, who is getting the keys to the
car for the first time with Kentucky football, to navigate
those choppy waters and to battle through the adversity like
he faced last Saturday night down at South Carolina and
Mike he's probably going to face tomorrow at Georgia. Like
you were once in someone in the position Cutters, and
you were the understudy, but yours you played that role
(02:29):
for two years and then kind of ascended to the
job on schedule. Cutters is ahead of schedule, But still,
what can you do or say to help him?
Speaker 2 (02:38):
You know, it's all in the process and the way
you improve is by playing, and he's getting a lot
of experience right now. But understanding, I think fully, especially
at a young age, like if you can't waste a
day and you can't take one for granted. So whether
there's ups and downs, right, don't ride the roller coast
(03:00):
or understand this is a tough league, it's a tough season.
It's always going to be that way. Make peace with
that and focus on yourself what needs to be done
and accomplished, play to play and having great body language,
conference and confidence and demeanor. I mean, that's that's big
echoes everywhere. So it's always a process, it is. It's
not like someone can come in and next thing.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
You don't light the world on fire. Like there's good moments,
there's bad moments.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
You got to take them all the same and learn
from everything and just keep your head on your shoulders,
have a positive attitude.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
You got there playing golf, you hit a bad shot,
you let hang your head, get down, but you're you're
playing for yourself. You know. When you're the quarterback, everybody's
looking at you.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Right, yeah, yeah, you're going to react exactly. And that's
that's the responsibility of the position.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
I mean, and what I can know full well is
when you finally accept the real responsibility of the position,
it doesn't get it doesn't get easier. You just get
more clarity and I think from their things to start
to make more sense and you start to understand what
it takes. And everybody's looking to you. Everybody understands that
we only flow as good as we practice, as good
(04:01):
as we play, so again, you got to make peace
with it and you got to just be the most
the hardest work in the room.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
You don't got to lift the most weights, you don't
got to run the fastest.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
He's got to be the hardest work in the room
and things that goes. So it's a process as a
young player. But we got full confidence and we just
do our part to help him and guide him. And
from there, you know, he's got to trust in his
ability and his preparation to go out and get a
job done.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
When cutter comes to you, do you hear him asking
the right questions?
Speaker 4 (04:29):
I do.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
I think he's got a really good head on his shoulders.
I think he's grown a ton from the spring to
the fall. Luckily he got a little bit of experienced
last year.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
It all helps.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
But he's thinking the right way. It's just putting it
out the practice. Everybody knows that, like you can come in,
say all the right things, do all the right things
in the meeting room, but is it translating to the field.
And you see improvement all the time, which is great,
But it all comes down to execution on Saturday, and
that's what we're working towards and understanding, like make things simpler,
make things to where you're.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Not having to think so much. But we're the position that.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Has to think the most, and you have to find
that way in your brain how it deciphers that works
for you.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
And everybody's a different player.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
How can you help him come bounce back from a
tough game like the last one going into a place
like Georgia.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
I only can relate to my experiences. I mean, I've
been through the roller coaster of it. I understand what
it feels like. And when you are your worst enemy,
it doesn't make things any better. I always I tell
them this, like you can be you should be your
worst critic, but your biggest fan, because when you do
something that you're not expected to do or something doesn't
go your way, understand it and he got to move on.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
You got to have a short memory.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
So I try to relate them as best I can,
knowing full well I'm not asking him to be anybody
other than himself, but he, as every player does, like you.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Got to find your way through that.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
And it also stems to positivity, being hard on him
but at the same time having his back, and I
think that's the key.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Everybody has their own kind of skill set, whether it's
physical skills or just you know, way they carry themselves, whatever,
the things that his tool box that you like as
a quarterback.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
For his size, he's more athletic than you think. I mean,
it's something that I can't relate to that wasn't something
that I was. But at the same time, I think
it's still developing. You know, he's still young, he's still trying.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
To figure out what he's really really good at. He
takes coaching well, he takes it to the field.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
It's banking those reps practice after practice to where when
it comes to a game it feels like you've already
been there. So he does a great job retaining information
taking into the field, trying to make it real in
every scenario at practice. I think that's a big part
about it. But he's more athletic than you think. He's tough,
and he's got good body language, and he keeps everything
(06:43):
in perspective and he moves on pretty fast, so short
memory is good for him. Other than that, everything else
from there I think will come into place. I mean,
he wouldn't be here if he couldn't throw the ball.
He wouldn't be here if he couldn't play quarterback in
this league. A lot of people can do, can throw
the ball, can do all these type of things, But
what are those space in between, the spaces that make
you different? And I think that's what we're kind of
pushing forward to him as far as being a game manager,
(07:06):
delivering ball, keeping drives alive, and putting the ball in
the end zone.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Stead was a college basketball player. Brothers and sister that
played college athletics. Does that do you think help him
deal with adversity?
Speaker 3 (07:18):
I think so.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
I mean, anytime you can have close family members that
have been in the spotlight again, they can.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Give you perspective.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
And I don't thinkbody anyone truly understands unless they've been
in this same position doing the same things, what it's
really like.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
However, people that are close to you that.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Have been in athletics, like they get it, they get
the pressure, they get the preparation.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
I think those things behind the scenes can only help you.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
So, how are you enjoying coaching and why did you
come down in this path?
Speaker 3 (07:46):
I think, honestly, it was kind of a calling. It
got to the point where I.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Felt, through some people who I talk to all the
time that were involved in football that they thought I
could do a good job. So people believing in me
was number one. Number two was just taking the leap
and giving it a shot. Whether it worked out or not,
I just felt in the end, I thought it was
something I could be good at. I thought it was
something that I could make a difference for young men.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Like my coaches did for me. And it's rewarding in
the end.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
It's just that that's what you get the most out
of it with the amount of work you put in
when you see it being rewarded back to you, whether
it's someone a player's gets through a tough time, or
things go well on the field, whatever it is, like.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
That's that's how it works.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
But I love the game obviously and that helps. But
at the same time, all the work we put in
is very, very rewarding when you feel like you can
make a difference in a young man.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Lunch sounds like he has the makings of an outstanding
young coach. That is Mike Hartline And this is the
Leach Report. We're presented each day by bobcat Enterprises. We
will be right back. It is opening day for the
Keenland Fall Meet and a gorgeous new paddock that fans
will see when they get out there, along with some
(08:57):
fantastic racing. Todd Trump joins us from FanDuel TV, which
we'll have on side coverage all weekend and all throughout
the Queenland Meat and Todd. Have you seen the new
paddic at Queland. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (09:08):
So I'm excited because We've done some video and some
stories on it, but I can't wait to see it
for myself in person, because I have to say that
for me is the biggest thing with most racetracks. For example,
you know, I'm out in California a good part of
the year, and when people are coming to Santa Nita
for the first time and they ask me about it,
(09:28):
I tell them you need to go to the paddock,
and I tell them which way to walk, because there's
just something about the entrance to any racetrack and your
walk to the paddock. And Keenland has managed all these years,
even though I'm coming back to a familiar site, to
truly make me feel like I'm back at home. It's
always been one of my favorite paddocks, and so I'm
(09:50):
excited to see the changes in person. It's one thing
to have seen our video coverage. It's quite another to
make that walk up into the grandstand into that paddox.
So I'm very excited to see it for myself a
person I have not as of yet.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Who are you most excited to see compete? For the equine.
Speaker 5 (10:09):
Athletes, Well, it's amazing too. I think one of the
greatest sporting gestures for this time of year. And I
look back at a lot of great Fall meets, which
obviously impact horses that go to the Breeders' Cup, but
there were two horses who are absolutely locked in to
be in a Breeder's Cup race, and yet they're going
to face each other on Sunday. The Judmont Spinster, where
(10:31):
you have Nitrogen, who's had a really star cross year.
It's been a great year. But from this sense, she
was strictly on the turf the first part of the
year and she was clearly the best three year old
silly on the turf. Then they put her on the
dirt and she kept winning and she dominated the Alabama
and so she is the clear leader in the three
(10:53):
year old Philly division both on the turf and the dirt.
And then you have Torpedo Anna last year's horse of
the Year and the horse who's dominated older females all
year long. So when we get to this time of year,
we always ask well, how did the three year olds
measure up against older horses? Be it the horses that
we're running on the Trip of Crown Trail now trying
to get to the Breeders' Cup Classics, or be it
(11:14):
the Phillies who are on the Oaks Trail and now
they're going to take on older horses. This matchup between
Torpedo Anna and Nitrogen easily could have waited until the
Long Gene Breeders Cup Distaff. But it tells you something
about the draw of the Judmont Spinster. It tells you
something about the draw of Kingland Racecourse this time of year.
(11:34):
So on Sunday when they run the Judmont Spinster and
we could see the best three year old Philly against
the best older distaff horse out there at Torpedo Anna
and Nitrogen, that is a true treat. And that's Sunday.
We're going to see a lot on Friday and Saturday.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Thorpedo Anna made her debut in a race at Keeland
as a two year old and blew the field away
and kind of signaled what was coming. And Brian Hernandez
has been a border in every start and he had
that awful injury it's going to take him to three
months to recover from. So she gets her first different
(12:10):
rider and it's one of the best in the world
in Pratt. But is that a concern as you handicap
that race?
Speaker 5 (12:16):
You know, I don't you know when you have a
matchup that's that is that close? Those are That's the
type of minutia that you have to look at. The
bottom line is it's what you said. Pratt is one
of the best riders in the world. Yes, Brian Hernandez
knows her better than anybody, and we're just happy that
he's going to be Okay, I'm on the road to recovery.
But Pratt is kind of used to this, especially he's
(12:39):
in bigger barns like Bob Baffer and Chad Brown, where
he will move horse to horse and another rider will
be taken off and he'll be brought in. So he
is kind of that guy out of the bullpen's. He's
kind of like Shotani and that he can be a
starting pitcher, he can be a guy that you bring
out of the bullpen as well, So I have every
confidence that he's going to be fine. And he's the
(13:00):
type of guy who will go back and watch the
type of year that she's had, maybe look at ways
that she has to deal with her And clearly he's
going to be talking to Brian Hernandez Junior before he
gets on that horse. And Ken McPeak is another guy
who's obviously very detail oriented, so kind of exciting to
have prought there. I wish it were Brian because obviously
he's earned it throughout her career, but I'm just glad
(13:22):
that he's going to be okay in the end.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
When you're handicapping Keener races because your hosting coverage, but
I know you also are a horse player, So what
are some of the things that are Keenland specific that
kind of factor into how you play the races beyond
what you see in the form.
Speaker 5 (13:37):
Well, you know, we're in for a stretch of pretty
dry weather and I feel a lot of times when
the track gets really dry out there, it could speed favoring,
So I think that's something to watch early. And that's
the difficult part about a boots set meat like Keenland,
or even say a Saratoga or del Mark because it's
a shortened time. By the time you pick up on
(13:59):
the trend, we're already well through the meat, So you
got to kind of recognize these things early. And what's
nice about the way they start out at the Fall Meet.
With the Fall Stars weekend, we're not trying to judge
a maiden claiming race and looking whether or not there's
a bias or cheap claiming races. We're going to see
some serious racesources with Fall Stars Weekend, and so those
(14:19):
trends will be meaningful what you see on opening day Friday,
and you got to pick up on it. So I
definitely take a look at that track as it relates
to weather. It looks like the weather is going to
be phenomenal from Friday all the way through next week
really and so for the main track, I would watch
for speed if it's going to be really dry and
(14:40):
hot the way they expect. As far as the turf,
the turf has been consistent over the years. It's very
difficult to win from an outside post. I'll still take
a chance every once in a while from post twelve,
but from ten to twelve, those out three you know
when they have overflow fields and they will on Saturday
and the First Lady. There's so many great race but
(15:01):
they will have those bigger fields on the turf, and
winning from the outside is very difficult. Winning on the
lead over the years, I think has been very difficult,
So I was looked for closers on the turf and
I always look for something in the middle of the field.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Dot Thank you much, see you at the track.
Speaker 5 (15:17):
Look forward to Tom.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Vandal's got all your Keenland coverage this fall for the
Fall Meet that includes the Today at Keeenland Show each
race day morning at eleven thirty that also airs on
the CW here in Lexington. I'm a part of that
helping out with a race preview and a long shot
pick along with the host, Scabby Godet and Scott Hazelton.
Keeland Select is a longtime partner here on the Leech
(15:39):
Report and they have a new promotion coming up for
the Fall Meat that is starting today. You can earn
one hundred dollars back when you wager two hundred dollars
on Keenland Racing during October through Keenland Select dot com.
Wager a total of three hundred dollars on any track
in the first thirty days after you sign up and
earn another one hundred dollars bonus. Use the code Fall
(15:59):
twenty two twenty five when you sign up at keenland
select dot com. It is for new customers only. This
is the Leads Report and we were presented by Bob
Kat Enterprises. We'll be right back down. Between the hedges
is one of the legendary places to play in college football.
You're gonna be playing in there for the first time.
Do you kind of get excited about those opportunities?
Speaker 5 (16:18):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 6 (16:19):
I think aways to see opponents is always very exciting opportunity.
And yeah, my first time playing on there, so I'm
really excited to see what they're all about.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
You had kind of a breakout game on the road
down at Ole Miss last year.
Speaker 6 (16:29):
Yeah, yeah, sir, that was my first away game as
a freshman, so that was a great game. And like
I said, I just love playing those away games and
those environments and going down there with your team. It's
just y'all and you just got to put it together.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
I know you guys are frustrated offensively that it hasn't
clicked better yet. What's it going to take to get
it there.
Speaker 6 (16:45):
I think it's just take a lot of practice and
hard work and just continue to execute, continue to do
what we do out here during the week, and just
keep practicing hard. And when it comes to game nege
operate well as on offense and really when it comes
to those moments XQ well as a whole unit cutter.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
You've been around a lot of quarterbacks coming up through football.
How did he handle that adversity the other night and
how do you think I'll handle it moving forward?
Speaker 6 (17:07):
I think he handled it pretty well. I mean he's
a very confident quarterback. Is what you love to have
as a quarterback, and you know, when something happens, you
just have to move on. I think he does that
very well, and that's something you learn and coach Soops
teaches all the time when aniversity hits, you just got
to move on from it, you know, I mean, go
make the next play.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
So yeah, it seems like all the great quarterbacks people
their teammates talk about how they command the huddle. Is
they'd like that for him?
Speaker 6 (17:28):
Yeah, one hundred percent. I mean I remember his first
time coming against Florida last year, you know what I mean,
he came in you know, owned It felt like he
was super confident guy. And I mean I've known him
for a while, so I mean that's what I expected.
And he comes in there and commands it for sure.
And he's a great leader for sure.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
So how is he as a roommate.
Speaker 6 (17:45):
He's a good roommate, been together now for a while,
super chill. We hang out, see each other every day,
so I like having a quarterback as a roommate. We're
constantly talking about offense. Josh too as one of the
tight ends. So it's awesome.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
And is Willie Rodriguez He's said the three roommates split
up the cookie duties. He said, Cutter's kind of a
cheeseburger guy. Catus cooks the healthier meals. Willie says he's
into something like lasagna. It is the Lead's Report, coming
to you from the Clark's Pumping Shop Studio. Return, Refresh
and refuel. We'll be right back. Welcome Back into the
Lead's Report, presented by Bobcat Enterprises and Justin Roland normally
(18:19):
joins us from Cats Illustrated dot Com on Thursdays, but
with us for this pre recorded Friday show to talk
some Kentucky football to start, it is at Katzillustrated dot
Com on the on three Sports network to find the
content from Justin and his team and also the ways
for fans to interact if your House of Blue member
(18:41):
or the other message boards. I imagine that's not a
festive place to be right now, is it?
Speaker 5 (18:45):
No?
Speaker 7 (18:46):
No? But fortunately, even though things look bleak for Kentucky
and football, there's enough changes in the sport and changes
on the horizon and enough interesting things happening that there's
plenty of things to talk about. People are a little
bit down at the moment.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
If you look at just one game, the South Carolina game,
and you look at a disastrous second quarter, you can say,
you know, they lost the game in three series in
the second quarter. They don't have the explosiveness right now
to catch up from that kind of hole that they
put themselves in, and you just kind of draw line
through that one bad night. But I think people don't
(19:24):
look at it in the context of just the one
game right now, Right.
Speaker 7 (19:28):
Yeah, I don't think so. I mean, this was the
fourth game of the year, and it was off of
a bye week and the first real test. I don't
want to say it was good enough but a seven
point loss to Old Miss, now that you know Old
Miss is undefeated and a true playoff contender, that's not
the end of the world. But when you pair that
with your second serious test is a lopsided to a
(19:50):
team that was defeated by a combined sixty to twenty
seven margin against Vanderbilt and Missouri, that kind of puts
it in perspective. Carolina's clearly a team towards the bottom
of the SEC right now, and it makes you look
at the rest of the schedule and say, what is
really on the table if that's the sample through.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
Two games in the SEC.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Justin you had a post at your site yesterday talking
about a lot of the issues that fans are talking
about when it comes to Kentucky football and the future.
And I think it would be naive to think that
anybody who'd be a key player in all of this
discussion wouldn't be gaming out different scenarios just as things
(20:32):
change from week to week. But kind of seems like
the bottom line is that there's a lot of water
still to go under the bridge.
Speaker 7 (20:39):
Right Yeah, yeah, no doubt. There's a lot of stuff
going on behind the scenes. Not saying like anything groundshaking,
But there's been changes in the UK Athletics department, and
obviously Stoop C's eyes under contract for several more years,
and people are curious how he's going to get it
turned around. You're going to have to get it turned
(20:59):
around quickly. But I think the situation is that the
people who look at the numbers believe that Stoops is
probably intent on selecting his money, and so he's got
the leverage right now, and I would be surprised if
that changes, at least in the very near future.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Best case scenario is that they find a way to
make last Saturday's game look like a one game blip,
and it's a brutal October certainly, but they find a
way to generate some positive momentum, and they have a
young quarterback, and if he gets better and the offense
starts to click with the cutter Bowli, then the picture
(21:41):
looks different in November than it does in early October.
Speaker 5 (21:44):
That's the whole plan.
Speaker 7 (21:45):
I mean, if you want to be optimistic, or at
least keep some optimism. We went into this year thinking
that this was probably a two year plan, right like
fans might.
Speaker 5 (21:55):
I don't know if.
Speaker 7 (21:56):
Everybody wants to hear that, but it was can you
get it moving back in the right direction this year?
Can you re establish that physical idea? Andy, Maybe you
bring Cutter back next season, and he's really somebody that
you're excited about. So you don't throw him out just
because he had some struggles against South Carolina. They can't
let him be a sitting duck back there. You got
to give him a little bit more time and see
if that arm can create some big plays downfield.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
And daunting's schedule coming up for Kentucky with three teams
that are in the top twenty five or in the
top fifteen. Actually right now, as we look at the
rankings and starts with Georgia, it doesn't look like maybe
quite as good a Georgia team as the number one
rank squad that came in here last year. But it's
still Georgia. It's still down between the hedges, and for
(22:40):
Kentucky players, they have to kind of I would assume,
look at this is like time to make a stand
and whatever that looks like. But you don't want it
to look like that second quarter.
Speaker 7 (22:51):
Again, right, I mean we've seen them come up and
play Georgia tough before but getting over the over the
over the edge against the Bulldog's a different story. And
then you get them after a home loss to Alabama,
which is their margin for error in the playoff quest
is less than ever, it seems like a bad spot
(23:12):
to get them, so Kentucky this week what fans are
probably need to be looking for is what areas can
they grow in? Where can they get anything going against Georgia?
And maybe that's the strength you build on in the
weeks after that.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
At a loyalist right in and say, what kind of
a coach has a philosophy of not being able to
come from behind? And I said, well, it's not a philosophy,
but it's who they are at the moment. They have
to try to manage the game to just stay close
and like they did in the Old Miss game, have
a chance to be around in the fourth quarter and
(23:44):
pull out a win. It's not, you know, particularly the
way you always want to describe your team. But they
do have a young quarterback. They have some young receivers
that could offer hope with improvement, but it.
Speaker 7 (24:00):
Takes time, right you know, if Mark stops or whoever.
The coach to Kentucky is if they were trying to
win in the big twelve or in the acc then
maybe you could see more pressman coverage. Maybe you could
see more of an offensive approach that leaves you open
to three and outs, but you're pushing the ball down field,
trade and blows. Maybe that gives you a better chance
(24:21):
to come back. That strategy also puts you in a
precarious position against more talented teams that can beat you
in one on one matchups. And the whole philosophy for
stoops in Kentucky is you think a football is a
big open field, that the game can be anything you
want it to be. They just try to break it
up into manageable segments. You make the field smaller, you
(24:44):
make the game smaller, and you focus on situations instead
of that big open field where the advantage belongs to
Alabama and Georgia and teams like that. And as long
as you play sound football, as long as you're mentally
prepared and you execute just good precision football, no penalties,
no turnovers, that's a great strategy. But when the operation
(25:05):
is having problems and then it doesn't look as good.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Talk with Justin Rowland Kantsi Illustrated dot Com, it's at
Roland rivals on Twitter. Basketball will start the preseason two
weeks from today actually against Purdue with an exhibition game
Blue White Game or the Madness is coming up next weekend.
And I think this time of a year ago, we
(25:31):
didn't know what to expect really with an entirely new team,
and so I think my sense was that the fans were,
you didn't really know what to what to believe about
the team, or were just hopeful that they were going
to have some fun. And I think they got more
of that than even they expected. What's the expectation bar?
Where's it set this year?
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Do you think?
Speaker 7 (25:52):
I mean, I think a lot of people have, like
Purdue and Houston and maybe one or two other teams
in the very top team, but Kentucky no reason. They're
not like right there, right in Tier two, right in
the in the ballpark of being in the national championship conversation.
But I think Rob Doster from the Field of sixty eight,
when they had the access to the Kentucky practice, asked
(26:12):
the probing question, and that's mark Pope built this team
with last year in mind. He went through an SEC
schedule and he saw maybe where they had weaknesses, where
they had deficiencies where his first roster was not what
they needed in the SEC and he's tweaked the approach,
and Dost pointed out Pope's best teams have just had
a ton of floor spacers and they've gone, they've leaned
(26:33):
heavily into the kind of team that Hope wants to
coach offensively. This team maybe has some parts that he
is less accustomed to coaching, some guys like the body
where it's like, hey, we played this guy last year.
We need more of those kind of guys. How are
those guys going to fit into Kentucky? And how is
the Mark Pope offense going to thrive with a very
(26:56):
different kind of set of parts? And how can he
incorporate parts that we're not a part of what he's
done before in without losing some of the offense. And
it's obvious that the goal has been to improve.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
The deep justin Rowlandkaants Illustrated dot Com. Thank you, Thanks Tom,
It's justin Rowland Kants Illustrated dot Com on the on
three Sports Network. Don't forget to check out the Leech
Report on WLX eighteen weeknights around five point fifty right
after Bill Mex's weather forecast. We talked about the start
of the Keelan Meat last night. We'll be proviewing Kentucky
Georgia later today. Please check it out. Let your friends
(27:30):
know that we're doing this new project. Thanks to everybody
who's tuned in so far. This is the Leach Report
Radio Network and we'll be right back. It's the Leech
Report Football Friday. And joining us is Scott Howard. He's
the radio play by play voice for the Georgia Bulldogs
and Scott, I think the conventional wisdom is that the
Dogs are going to be quite angry because they lost
(27:51):
their home long home field winning streak to the Tide
last week. What's the mood there for the Georgia fans
and players and coaches.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
Well, yeah, I don't know how angry they are. We'll see,
you know. I think they're just trying to write the
ship after that lost to Alabama last week. But earlier
in the week it was, you know, the conversation was
we just got to get ready for the next one.
You know, we've got another big game coming up with
Kentucky this this weekend, So learn from what happened last
(28:23):
week and get ready for the next one. So you know,
I think they've tried to flush what what what they
saw against Alabama and just try to forge ahead. That's
that's usually the mission under Kirby Smart. It's like, we
don't have any time to dwell on last week, and
you know, we're just trying to get better and and
play better in the next game.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Coaches always have a healthy respect for other coaches, but
it seems to be a genuine friendship between Kirby and
Mark Stewps.
Speaker 4 (28:51):
Yeah, it does. And you know, Kirby was talking a
little bit about that earlier this week, So yeah, I
think they do genuinely like each other. I think they
play golf together when time allows. You know, they've both
been around a pretty good while, so they've both been
around at their schools and double digit years, so they're
(29:11):
some of the longest tenured coaches in the conference. And
and uh, you know, Mark is is certainly the longest.
But you know, a couple of defensive guys and they've
got a lot in common in the business. And yeah,
they have forged a real friendship.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
I think this Georgia team, when they are aren't playing
as well as coach Smart wants, what's usually happening that
annoys him.
Speaker 4 (29:39):
Well, that's a good question, you know, and it's probably
an assortment of things. Uh, he didn't. He didn't show
his cards a whole lot, to be honest with you,
at least publicly. I'm sure he does in his coaches
meetings and and behind closed doors and all of that.
But you know, I mean if you ask him what
(29:59):
does his team to work on? Where do they need
to get better? I mean he'll just he'll throw out
a litany of things, and you know, tacking, tackling, blocking,
you know, knowing your assignment, getting us in the right play,
creating more turnovers. I mean, there's there's a list of
things as long as your arm that he'll probably run through.
(30:19):
Because he's he's a perfectionist, and you know, football is
it's hard to get to that perfect point. I don't
think anybody ever does. There's always something to work on,
and he's certainly no different from that crowd. So they're
just trying to work on everything to get better, and
that includes offense and defense.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Quarterback that kind of emerged last season. How has Stockton looked?
Speaker 4 (30:46):
You know, good at times and at other times, you know,
maybe maybe like a first time starter. I mean, the
you know, the decision process is still a work in progress,
making the right decision, knowing where to go with football.
I mean, he's a very good athlete. It's a good runner,
it's a good passer. But you know, I would say
(31:08):
through four games this year, it looks like there's been
I don't know if hesitation is the right word or
if it's just you know, I'm still learning this process
or confusion or what. But you know, sometimes they're receivers
running open and we're not getting the ball to them. So,
you know, I think it's still a learning process for Gunner.
But so he's had some good moments. He was really
(31:32):
good at Tennessee, made some really great pros. You know,
played very well Alabama game last week. You know, our
passing game didn't really get in gear. Ran the ball well,
but didn't throw it too well. So it's you know,
it's it's weak to week. So we'll see what this
week holds. And you know, hopefully from George's perspective, you know,
(31:53):
he has a good, solid game.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
When you look at stats, one thing that the word
Georgia usually ranks high that is low at the moment
is taking the ball away from the opponent. Has there
been opportunities that haven't taken advantage of, or just not
playing as well on defense.
Speaker 4 (32:09):
Well, you know, that's uh, that's the point of contention too.
And you know you asked about Kirby and what what
irritates them earlier, But that's one of the things that
the last it has been that way the last couple
of years. Really Georgia hasn't forced a lot of turnovers.
They get, you know, they get some interceptions. I think
we had eight last year, but you know, as far
as knocking the ball out and recovering fumbles, we haven't
(32:32):
been real good at that. And it's you know, it's
kind of continuing through the first four games this year.
We haven't we haven't forced a lot of fumbles and
and any ball that has been on the ground, we
don't always get to it. So that's something they're looking to, uh,
to improve on. They work on it a lot, you know,
(32:52):
and the tackling thing. And you know, just from a
personal standpoint, that's one thing that irritates me when a
defender is trying to get the ball out instead of
tackling the runner. And here's the guy, you know, he's
still running, he's getting five to ten more yards and
you know, you're trying to punch the ball out of
his arm. It's like get the guy on the ground
and you know, hopefully the other stuff happens. But tackling
(33:16):
and forcing the turnovers is still something that Georgia works
on consistently.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
Just again, just looking at numbers, sacks only five sacks
thus far. That certainly seems low for a Georgia defense.
Speaker 4 (33:30):
Yeah, and you know, I know, I know a lot
of folks like to look at that and see what
kind of pressure getting on the quarterback. And you know,
if you ask the coaches about that, something kind of
poo poo the sack number. And so you can affect
the quarterback in different ways without you know, getting sacks.
I mean, who doesn't want that? You know, who who
doesn't like a good sack on defense? I mean it's
(33:52):
kind of the the final answer. But you know, George's
had to replace a lot of linemen, we've had to
replace edge rushers. We just haven't been able to get
to the quarterback. Tennessee's quarterback, My goodness, I don't know
that anybody got rid of the ball quicker than he
did you know. And there's a lot of reasons for that.
(34:13):
And we saw that with Alabama last week too. Ty
Simpson just really knew what he was doing. They were
well schooled and what they wanted to do offensively and
how they wanted to throw the football and quarterbacks we've
played so far, I really haven't been giving Georgia a
lot of time to get to them. They know where
they want to go with it and they've been getting
(34:34):
getting rid of it or taking off running. So again,
still some stuff that Georgia has to work on and
hopefully they can build on those numbers.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
One thing that seems to have been a constant through
a lot of different coaches over the years for the
Dogs is how good they are in the kicking game,
punting and field goals. Is that continuing?
Speaker 4 (34:54):
Yeah? I mean Peyton Woodring is a place kicker and
you know he's been rose a semi finalist I think
every year if not a finalist that he's been at Georgia.
And kind of the same with the Guy Award with
Brett Thorson who was injured in the SEC Championship game
last year and against Texas and just came back a
(35:17):
couple of games ago after working through a knee injury.
So he's back punting and he doesn't seem to have
lost too much power. He's he's been terrific. Woodring's been terrific.
He's got a long streak of consecutive field gold's made
under fifty yards. I mean it's approaching like forty in
a row that he hasn't missed in less than fifty.
(35:39):
So he's very consistent. He's good, he's got pretty good range.
You know, Thorson's a tremendous punter, not just from distance
and power, but you know, hang time, ball placement, pooch
kicks inside the twenty, all of that kind of stuff.
And Bo Gardner is the long snapper, and that's an
(36:00):
other guy that was up for the Individual Position Award
last year in long snapping. So George is very fortunate.
Right now. They've got, you know, three special teams guys
that are very good at what they do. And in
Gardner and then the two kickers and Thorson and Woodron.
Speaker 1 (36:15):
What about explosive plays. Who's a guy and I guess
it could be on either side of the ball that
is most likely to bring people out of their seats.
Speaker 4 (36:24):
Probably zach Riah Branch would be my first response to
that question. He's been very good so far the transfer
from Southern cal He's a receiver with a tremendous amount
of speed. You know, he's he's turned a couple of
short screen passes into long touchdowns, so he's dangerous once
he gets the ball in his hands, and you know,
(36:47):
running the football, you know you would say, well, Nate
Frasier's your guy, He's your explosive running back. But you know,
he's had some problems hanging on to the football. He's
fumbled a little bit in his last four or fives
and had one against Alabama and after he coughed it
up in the red zone, didn't take any more snaps
the rest of the game. And Chauncey Bowen's finished out
(37:10):
the game and had a really fine performance over one
hundred yards for the first time against Alabama. But he's
capable of explosive runs too. He just doesn't have the
breakaway speed that Fraser does. But you know, those are
some of the names that can that can contribute with
explosive opportunities on offense.
Speaker 1 (37:29):
Scott, I appreciate the time as always, and we will
see you in the press box on Saturday.
Speaker 4 (37:34):
All right, Tom, thank you. We'll look forward to seeing
you guys. Have a safe trip.
Speaker 1 (37:38):
Scott Howard, the longtime radio play by play man for
the Georgia Bulldogs, joining us here on The Leach Report.
Our show's presented by Bob Kent Enterprises, and we'll continue
in just a moment. Football Friday edition of The Leach Report.
Appreciate you joining us with this pre recorded show today.
Be back live in the studio with Van Hiles on Monday.
(37:58):
This day in UK history is always a sert of
Kentucky Roadshow sports cards and memorabilia. They're on Romney Road
here in Lexington and at roadshowcards dot Com. A happy
birthday to my broadcast partner on the UK Football Network.
That's Jeff Picoro celebrating today and on this day. In
nineteen ninety eight, the Cats went out and played at
War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock against Arkansas. They lost
(38:18):
the game a close one, but Tim Couch set a
school record with sixty seven pass attempts in the loss.
That night. He was so good that the legendary Arkansas
coach Frank Broyles gave him some compliments after the game.
Good luck. If you're headed to Kentland, you can see
my picks under the expert Picks tab at keeenland dot com.
Good Luck and we'll see you back on Monday for
(38:40):
the Leech Report, presented by Bobcat Enterprises
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