Keenan Burton really can’t rank where being selected for the University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame falls on his list of accomplishments.
     “It is right up there with everything. Selfishly, I have been waiting for this call for a long time. In life everything should be earned. I feel like I did that. I did everything I was supposed to do and to be in position for this to happen makes me feel really good.” said Burton.
     He certainly had Hall of Fame numbers for the Kentucky football team when he finished his career in 2007. He ranked fourth in school history in pass receptions (189) and second in both receiving yardage (2,376) and touchdown catches (25). He also set a UK career record for kickoff return average — 25.6 yards per attempt. Burton put those numbers up despite a wrist injury in 2004 and foot injury in 2005
     He helped Kentucky coach Rich Brooks rejuvenate the UK program with regular-season wins over eventual national champion LSU and Georgia along with Music City Bowl wins over Clemson and Florida State. Three of his teammates — linebacker Wesley Woodyard, tight end Jacob Tamme and quarterback Andre Woodson — are already in the UK Hall of Fame.
     Burton admits he wondered if another member from the same team would make the Hall of Fame.
     “I will be honest about that. For a long time I tried to figure out what the criteria was. I am not taking anything away from teammates. They were all amazing. There are some not in who may deserve it, too,” Burton said.
     “I didn’t think I would get in in my 40’s because so many great guys came after us. My numbers were stellar but my NFL numbers are not like some. But I always felt my job was to do things the right way, set an example for others and be loyal to those I love. That is what I did.”
     Like Tamme, Woodson and Woodyard, Burton was not a highly acclaimed recruit. They were not four-star or five-star recruits. Burton jokes they might not have been three-star recruits.
     “We call came here to do a job and win. We did as well as anybody,” Burton said. “With a little more depth, we could have competed for a SEC title and maybe even a national title. But we did our best.”
     Burton was a Louisville high school standout but even the hometown Cardinals did not recruit him. He had no offers at the end of his high school junior season.
     “Kentucky finally came in but wanted me to play safety. If not for that, I would not have been at Kentucky at all,” Burton said. “(Head coach) Guy (Morriss) recruited me as a safety. I asked him if he could at least give me an opportunity at receiver and if it did not work out I told him I would be the best safety he recruited.”
     The St. Louis Rams picked Burton in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft and he signed a three-year, $1.5 million deal that included a $300,000 signing bonus. He had 13 catches for 172 yards and one score as a rookie and had a

Keenan Burton and his family are all smiles over him becoming the fourth player off the 2006-2007 Music Bowl teams to be inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame.

team-high 25 catches for 253 yards in the first nine games of 2009 before suffering a career-ending knee injury.
     “I planned to play 10 years in the league. I did not get drafted into a good situation but I was getting better. When my career got cut short by the injury, I had no idea what to do,” Burton said. “I was not taught financial literacy or how to invest money in college. I had to figure that out with my own resources. I studied and met some good people who helped me.”
     He now works in commercial real estate in Louisville with a focus on multi-family dwellings. His son is 5 years old and his daughter is 9 months old.
     “I chase them around every day and love it,” he said.
     He also still loves Kentucky football and is proud of the part his team played in reshaping the history of Kentucky football. Rich Brooks followed Morriss and was on the verge of perhaps being fired in 2006 when UK caught fire to earn the Music City Bowl trip.
     “I can never put into words what guys like Tim (Couch) and Jared (Lorenzen) did for the program. But we were in a position where not a lot of people believed in us or coach Brooks,” Burton said. “We exceeded expectations and made people want to look at Kentucky football.
     “Randall Cobb, Stevie Johnson, Dicky Lyons … those guys came to Kentucky because we did. Then Bud Dupree comes because of Randall Cobb. I am proud we promoted the growth of the program and then they got (Mark) Stoops and he has built on the foundation we started. I love what he’s done and is going to continue to do and I am loving every minute of it.”

     Kentucky has been locked in some battles for high level recruits with Louisville since John Calipari’s former assistant, Kenny Payne, took over as Louisville’s head coach.
     Payne says the two will always be friends and he learned a lot working for Calipari and watching him during games. Calipari has the same mutual respect for his 10-year assistant. However, those feelings won’t matter when the teams play Dec. 31 in Rupp Arena.
     "Kenny's my brother, he's family. I wish him well, except when we play him. I hope he gets his head bashed in when we play him. Other than that, I hope they win every game,” Calipari said during a media opportunity during last week’s statewide tour to raise resources for western Kentucky tornado victims.
     “Will we recruit against him? Some. But it's not like every kid we're recruiting, they're recruiting. And so I want him to go out and do well. This is his chance. This is his opportunity to prove himself.
     “I’ve said it all along. He should have been hired five years ago at Louisville. But they got him now, he's surrounding himself with good people. He is a good person and so I think it's going to go fine."

     Kentucky sprinter Abby Steiner has won the 200-meter dash at the NCAA Championship and USA Track & Field Championship in recent months and is in Oregon this week competing in the World’s Championships.
     Kentucky freshman receiver Jordan Anthony is also a world-class sprinter and won the USA under-20 200 to earn a spot in the under 20 World’s Championship next month.
     Could he beat Steiner?
     “I will beat her but it would not be a blow-by,” Anthony said. “I have worked out with her indoors but she is blazing. I ain’t ever seen no girl run that fast and make it look so easy. She is so fast that it is amazing to me. We are both blazers and I love watching her run.”
     Steiner came to UK as a two-sport athlete before giving up soccer after one season. Anthony plans to compete in both football and track. He admits he can learn a lot from her journey
     “She is so confident. When I get to most meets, I wonder if I should do this or what. I need her self-confidence,” he said. “It will help when I also get (UK assistant) coach (Tim) Hall on my side. He’s the best sprints coach in the SEC.
     “He already has my respect and then Abby is just the icing on the cake. She is blowing the world up on the track and it really inspires me just to watch her.”

     Remember the buzz when Kentucky got a commitment from offensive lineman Kiyaunta Goodwin, massive 6-8, 340-pound five-star prospect.
     He had his choice of national powers but instead became the highest rated player in coach Mark Stoops’ 2022 recruiting class and one of the highest rated players ever to sign with UK.
     Kentucky lost starting tackles Darian Kinnard and Dare Rosenthal off last year’s 10-win team. However, that does not necessarily mean Goodwin will be on the field a lot when UK opens this season.
     “Goodwin will amaze me if he plays 10 snaps a game,” UK Radio Network analyst Jeff Piecoro, a former UK player and new sports director for ABC-36 in Lexington. “To me, it will be a success if he does that.”
     Piecoro points out how offensive lineman Jager Burton, the highest ranked signee in UK’s 2021 recruiting class and consensus top 150 recruit nationally, barely played last year.
     “Look at Jager and you can see how his body has changed and how he has matured since he got to Kentucky,” Piecoro said. “It’s a big difference for a freshman going from high school to the SEC. It’s just hard.”
     Former UK all-SEC safety Van Hiles says if Goodwin does not play a lot that is a good thing for Kentucky because it likely will mean Deondre Buford, a four-star recruit from Michigan in the 2020 recruiting class, is doing his job at tackle.
     “If Buford holds him off, that means the offensive line is solid. That should mean you can rotate guys,” Hiles said. “Goodwin can play with the 2’s (second unit) and gain his footing instead of going against the top guys in the league right away. If Buford holds up, our offense will be very good and then Goodwin can make his mark starting in 2023.”

     Coach John Calipari says Kentucky might be the only major basketball program in the nation to schedule its foreign exhibition tour as close to home as possible to make it easier for fans to travel with the team.
     Kentucky will play four games in the Bahamas next month and Calipari knows it will help his team.
     “We are bringing in pretty good teams and we will get to figure out some things about our team,” Calipari said. “We don’t know yet how good we will be. I think we will be good, but I don’t know. Remember the team that won 38 straight games (in 2014-15) lost its last game down there (in August of 2014).
     “But we get extra practice time and we can experiment with different things and different ways of playing.”
     Kentucky’s limited practices this summer have been “fabulous” according to Calipari.
     “You’ve got some vets, you’ve got some new guys, you’ve got some rookies. They’re all coming together,” Calipari said.

     “I’m using the phrase, ‘You’re either ambitious or you’re entitled.’ ‘This is supposed to happen because I am and I…’ No, that’s not this team. They are ambitious.”
     That certainly includes Oscar Tshiebwe, the unanimous national player of the year last season. He led the nation in rebounding last year but returned to UK for another season to show NBA personnel — and Calipari — he could do more.
     “He’s been shooting 3’s, handling the ball better,” Calipari said. “I told him, ‘If you come back, you have to prove you’re a better basketball player. Or why would you come back? Be a second-round pick. Be 45 (overall). So what?
     “If you want to be a first-round pick, when they watch you, they have to say, ‘Man, you’re a basketball player.’ They can’t just say you’re a rebounding machine.’ So now, you see him bouncing the ball, you see him shoot the ball, he’s improved.”

     247Sports had ranked five players who transferred to Kentucky to play for Mark Stoops among the top 181 transfers nationally.
     The highest-rated transfer was receiver Javon Baker of Alabama at No. 73 overall. He played in 21 games at Alabama and had seven catches for 101 yards. He seemed like a great addition for the UK offense and quarterback Will Levis — but that sure changed last week. Kentucky confirmed that Baker would not be transferring and it was not Baker’s idea. He still wanted to come but for unspecified reasons Kentucky changed its mind about taking him.
     Another receiver, Tayvion Robinson of Virginia Tech, is transferring to UK and is ranked 132nd by 247Sports. He led his team in receptions (44) and receiving touchdowns (5) in 2021 and was second in receiving yards (559). He started 30 games for Tech. He brings experience to a position where Kentucky has talent but lacks collegiate experience, one reason UK initially was going to also take Baker.
     Defensive back Keidron Smith of Mississippi is No. 90 on the transfer list but he had 223 tackles, 21 passes defended, five forced fumbles, five interceptions, eight tackles for loss and one sack in the last four years. He also filled a need for Stoops.
     Defensive lineman Darrion Henry-Young came from Ohio State and is rated No. 128 even though he played only sparingly in his two years with the Buckeyes.
     Offensive lineman Tashawn Manning of Auburn is the lowest rated at No. 181 but could be as valuable, or more valuable, than any other transfer for what he will add to the Big Blue Wall. His arrival has made it easier to move guard Eli Cox to center knowing Manning can fill Cox’s spot. He made 14 starts at Auburn the last two years and has needed SEC experience like Baker and Smith.
     And how were the players Kentucky lost in the transfer portal? None were ranked among the top 247 players by 247Sports.

  Quotes of the Week

Quote of the Week 1:

     “The value of your autograph is based on how many are out there. My autograph is not worth anything because there are so many of them out there,” Kentucky coach John Calipari on how many autographs he signs.

Quote of the Week 2:

     I just think it is best to prioritize that (law school) and my future. Softball is eventually going to come to an end. I give my all to everything I do. Now I have decided to put that energy into my academics. I didn’t take this decision lightly. It was not a spontaneous move,” Emmy Blane on giving up her senior year of softball to concentrate on getting into law school.

Quote of the Week 3:

     "The best thing for players, if you want them to be good teammates, they have to be about others. They've got to know when you do something and be good-hearted about it and not expect something in return — that's why we do these things,” Kentucky coach John Calipari on the Kroger autograph tour to raise resources for western Kentucky tornado victims.