Keidron Smith really won’t say a lot about why he left Mississippi where he was a productive defensive back for four years but he quickly makes it clear he’s happy to be at Kentucky.
     “I am blessed for coach (Mark) Stoops to give me the opportunity to be here,” said Smith. “I believe I can add leadership to the corner(back) group because they are young. I have a lot of experience and can help those young guys grow up faster. We have big goals and I think we can reach them.”
     Smith had 223 tackles in four seasons at Ole Miss, including 64 in both 2020 and 2021. He has five career interceptions and 21 pass breakups.
     Kentucky’s secondary had issues at times last year and is considered one of the team’s question marks going into this season. Smith knows the UK defensive backs have a chip on their shoulder over that perception.
     “That is one of the reasons I came here. Everybody is hungry. (Senior linebacker) DeAndre Square told me they want to take that next step and I am here to help them do that,” Smith said.
     He wouldn’t bite when asked what the SEC perception of Kentucky’s defense is.
     “We will see what happens. Let what we do on the field dictate everything for us and do our talking,” Smith said. “The life of a DB for anyone who has ever played that position is that you get beat sometimes. You are the last line of defense, so you are going to take the most heat. On television that’s what looks like messes up the most. Live by it, die by it and play the next play.
     “Everybody is on scholarship that plays on Saturdays. Those offensive guys are as good as you. Execution is what comes into play and believing that you can win the battles.”
     Smith played against Kentucky in 2020 when Ole Miss won 42-41 at Kroger Field. Current UK linebacker Jacquez Jones, Smith’s roommate at Ole Miss, also played for the Rebels in that game before transferring to UK last season.
     Jones quickly reached out to Smith when he put his name into the transfer portal but Smith didn’t let that friendship make his decision. Instead, it was a PowerPoint presentation by the UK coaching staff on what the team has done since 2018 that sold him.
     "It was a no-brainer to come here,” he said. “From 2018 to now, they're up and coming and they're going to be a contender this year.”
     Stoops has praised Smith often, including SEC Media Days. The veteran defensive back has not let the praise change him.
     “I hold myself to a standard. I come into a program and I want to add to it.

Keidron Smith had 223 tackles and five interceptions in four years at Mississippi before he transferred to Kentucky. (Vicky Graff Photo)

I don’t want to be a distraction. Coach Stoops has a great thing going and that’s what I came to join and help make even better,” he said.
     Junior Carrington Valentine is one player Smith knows is better than he was last year when he had 61 tackles, five pass breakups and one sack in 12 starts.
     “He has things he can still improve on. He was so young last year when he played more snaps than anybody in his first year of really playing. He’s going to be a great guy this season,” Smith said. “I came here to try to improve him and uplift him as an older guy that has experience in this league. He could be a great playmaker this year.”
     Defensive coordinator Brad Smith brought in three transfer defensive backs but Smith is the only one already tested against SEC competition.
     “He's smart. He's savvy. He picked things up really quickly because of his experience,” White said.
     Now Smith is anxious for the season opener against Miami Sept. 3 to get here so the players can put together a special season.
     “The players are the leaders here. The coaches are there, but this is a player-led program and we want to show what we can do,” Smith said.

Oscar Tshiebwe told SEC Network analyst Tom Hart he was more focused on himself than serving others when he was at West Virginia. (Chet White/UK Athletics Photo)

     It’s hard to constantly continue to be more impressed with Oscar Tshiebwe but the interview he did with SEC Network’s Tom Hart during Kentucky’s exhibition trip revealed several new insights.
     It was no surprise that Tshiebwe talked a lot about his faith and that he was “spending more time with God” or how God changed his life and that of others.
     But what was more revealing was the way he talked about his time at West

Virginia before transferring to Kentucky midway of his sophomore year.
     “At West Virginia, I was more into basketball and my personal life, but like right now, at Kentucky since I transferred because I went through a lot, God humbled me and I just want to serve Him and stay busy doing the work of God,” Tshiebwe said.
     It’s hard to imagine Tshiebwe who has preached at churches in Kentucky and led Bible study classes at UK not being in tune spiritually at any time.
     “I feel like it wasn’t a low point (at West Virginia) because I was just focusing on me, not to serve,” Tshiebwe said. “Right now, I feel like I’m focusing more about serving others, because the Bible says the greatest among you should be a servant.
     “I just want to be a servant, to give people hope so they can believe that they can achieve their dreams.”
     Tshiebwe and UK quarterback Will Levis might be the two most popular athletes in Kentucky and it’s hard to believe that Tshiebwe used to “get nervous all the time” when he was speaking but that’s what he told Hart during the interview.
     “But the more I do it, I just keep getting comfortable. I’m comfortable right now,” Tshiebwe said. “Every time I go preach, I get so excited because I know people love my story, they love about where I came from,. From the beginning again, that really gave me hope.
     “And I feel good. I don’t really get nervous anymore, except when God is giving me some crazy message to go speak. So, I just kind of get nervous, but I just need the Holy Spirit to lead me.”
     Hart constantly praised Tshiebwe’s play on air during UK’s four games. He averaged 11.5 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 23.5 minutes per game. The praise didn’t stop once Hart returned home.
     "Oscar is Oscar. I don’t know that there is any more likable college player in any sport,” Hart posted on Twitter. “He’s authentic. Oh and he’s the reigning Player of the Year, so there’s that."

     New offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello continues to make it clear he plans to use the tight ends a lot this year — and the tight ends did combine for 15 catches in UK’s first scrimmage. However, the biggest surprise here is that freshman Kyle Kattus of Cincinnati has positioned himself to perhaps be in the playing rotation.
     Scangarello called him a “gem” and admitted he was a big Kattus fan.
     “He’s got a long road to go, but he’s got some special qualities. He’s kind of become a favorite, I think, among the offense too as a young player. He’s nasty, plays hard, plays to the whistle,” Scangarello said.
     “I think he aggravates the defensive guys at times, which I love. He’s got a little something to him that’s going to make him a really good football player here.”
     Quarterback Will Levis said Kattus “turned heads” immediately when he got on campus.
     “He’s not the biggest dude at the tight end position, but he’s got a really good feel for the game. He’s a smart kid, physical kid, brings the energy,” Levis said. “I think he’ll get some burn (playing time) this year.”
     Senior tight end Brenden Bates likes the “nasty mentality” that Kattus has shown.
     He’ll bring that physicality, and that’s what you need to be able to play in this room. I think that’s why he’s turning so many heads,” Bates said.
     The good news for Kentucky is that redshirt freshman tight end Jordan Dingle of Bowling Green is doing the same thing according to coach Mark Stoops.
     "He had a couple nice grabs out there, he's just a complete tight end," Stoops said after Saturday's scrimmage. "He's got a good feel for it, he's got a big catch radius and makes competitive catches, he's done a lot of good things."

     ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg is not “going to run all over the country” watching AAU summer games but he has seen enough of Kentucky commit Reed Sheppard of North Laurel to like him a lot.
     ““Reed Sheppard is a bad dude. He can flat play and has really impressed me when I have seen him,” Greenberg said.
     ““He can really do a lot of things. He is going to be a terrific player. He has a great understanding of the game, a great pedigree with his parents being former Kentucky players and a great passion about where he is going to school.”
     “Greenberg said he knew when John Calipari offered him a scholarship that he had to be special.
     ““John doesn’t just hand out scholarships. If he offered, I knew he was good and knew John knew he could help him win games,” Greenberg said.
     “Greenberg thinks Kentucky is going to win a lot of games this year, too, based on what he saw from the Cats’ play in the Bahamas. He knew what Calipari would get from Oscar Tshiebwe and Sahvir Wheeler. He also had heard plenty about the development of Jacob Toppin.
     ““It’s going to be big having CJ Fredrick healthy and the addition of Antonio Reeves gives them two players to stretch the court,” Greenberg said. “Daimion Collins has also really improved and gives them a shot blocker and very athletic guy. Their freshmen are fun to watch and really dynamic and Cal-type players with a toughness and edge about them.”
     “Greenberg understands Kentucky fans have been disappointed with how the last two seasons ended. He thinks this could be a happy year and points out UK was as good as any team in the nation most of last season and had a convincing win over national champion Kansas.

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    Kentucky recruiting target Cutter Boley of Lexington Christian wasted no time showing why he has about a dozen scholarship offers, including Alabama and Michigan.
     In his debut for LCA after transferring from LaRue County, he completed 17 of 25 passes for 367 yards and two scores with one interception and ran six times for 26 yards and another score in a 38-34 loss to Madison Central. His scoring passes for 59 and 63 yards.
     “I had a few mental mistakes but it was the first game and you’ve got to learn from it,” the junior quarterback said. “We got so many positive things from this. I am not moping.”
     It was an impressive debut in his first game leading a spread offense and LCA coach Doug Charles considers him a “special talent” already.
     “I like away games. I like the energy. It was probably the most people I have ever played in front of,” Boley said.
     Former UK offensive coordinator Liam Coen was on coach Mark Stoops’ staff when Boley was offered a scholarship in December of 2021 but Boley likes new UK offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello a lot.
     Boley likes Scangarello's personality — he says Scangarello is the “complete opposite of Coen — and offensive mind. He also likes the constant love he gets from Kentucky fans.
     “I am not focused on recruiting. I am focused on the season. If I get all those offers and don’t produce on the field they go away,” Boley said.

  Quotes of the Week

Quote of the Week 1:

     "It's a battle in the trenches every day. We have some of the best linebackers in the country, I think we have some of the best defensive linemen. Being able to go against those guys everyday is only making both sides of the ball better,” UK center Eli Cox on the daily practice competition.

Quote of the Week 2:

     “My message to the players now is to not drink the poison. Don’t read the clippings. Don’t listen to the accolades of that trip. We were good, but not close to where we are going to be if they stay hungry, yet humble,” UK coach John Calipari after his team went 4-0 in the Bahamas.

Quote of the Week 3:

     “May I say that our basketball coach Hubert Davis and I are getting along wonderfully, we can start with that, and get that out of the way. We are great friends and really enjoy each other,” North Carolina football coach Mack Brown on the Paul Finebaum Show after the Mark Stoops-John Calipari controversy.