Pookie Jones of Calloway County was not only Kentucky’s Mr. Football in 1989, but he also led Kentucky to the 1993 Peach Bowl and was fourth all-time in total offense at the time he graduated. He later played three years of minor league baseball before spending time in the Canadian Football League.
     Now his son, Jacob, a senior quarterback at West Jessamine High School, is having a Mr. Football-worthy season.
     “Jacob rushed for more yards in five games than I did in a whole season when I won Mr. Football,” Pookie Jones said. “He’s trying to be what could be the first quarterback (in Kentucky) to run for over 2,000 yards and throw for over 2,000 in the same season.”
     It could easily happen. Going into Friday night’s game at Madison Southern, Jacob Jones has rushed 142 times for 1,365 yards and 18 touchdowns in seven games. He has completed 105 of 170 for 1,689 yards and 20 touchdowns with two interceptions. He’s averaging 195 yards rushing per game and 241 yards passing and with three regular-season games and at least one playoff game left, he could easily surpass 2,000 yards in both areas.
     “If he is not a top five kid in the state, I have not seen one,” said Woodford County coach Dennis Johnson, another former Mr. Football and UK star who played in the NFL.
     In a 77-35 loss to Woodford, Jones completed 14 of 24 passes for 242 yards and four touchdowns and ran 22 times for 139 yards and one score. He had a 77-yard scoring pass and 79-yard scoring run.
     “He makes plays with his feet and throws the ball great,” Johnson said. “If he played for (Frederick) Douglass, St. X or Trinity, he would be seen as one of the best kids in the state. What he adds to that team and brings individually is unreal.
     “I look at what he is doing, and he’s definitely a top five guy in the state. He’s got the stats, speed and arm talent. He even played defense against us and did a good job.”
     Yet the 6-2, 201-pound West Jessamine senior has only two Division I scholarship offers — Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky. He got an early offer from UK but Pookie Jones senses the Wildcats have backed off.

     Seven true freshmen — Barion Brown, Dane Key, Deone Walker, Alex Afari, Keaten Wade, Josh Kattus and Kiyaunta Goodwin — have already played too many games to be redshirted and have coach Mark Stoops even more excited about their futures than when the season started.
     Stoops says receiver Brown is “very, very explosive” and getting better daily.
     “He’s getting stronger, getting adapted to the speed of the SEC. He’s got that. Very, very talented,” Stoops said. “You see it every day. It’s nice to see the youngsters out there because they seem to be able to play forever, which you love because they’re right back on the field on Monday and Tuesday, and practicing fast, playing fast, and looking good.”
     Brown has 17 catches for 288 yards and two scores and is averaging 47.7 yards per kickoff return with one 100-yard touchdown.
     While Brown is a starter and already a three-time SEC honoree, defensive coordinator Brad White is just as happy with reserve linebacker Wade.
     “Definitely shown improvement. It helps him from a confidence standpoint to get reps,” White said. “He is at his best when he believes what he is doing is right. He is such a great young man.
     “He reminds me of a young Josh Paschal in that he always wants to do the right thing. At some point when Josh was settled into the system, I would tell him sometimes it is okay to cut loose and go be a football player. When you are a young player you want to do it right and don’t want to let those other guys around you (down).
     “He is so conscientious about trying to do everything right but the more confidence he gains in himself, the more he can just cut loose. I have seen flashes of it and am looking forward to seeing more.”
     Goodwin, an offensive tackle, has played the least of the seven freshmen who have played four games or more. He was also the highest rated recruit in the group but Stoops has no problem with his work ethic.
     “He’s working his way into shape and I believe will be a very good player. When that is, we don’t need to rush people,” Stoops said. “Look at guys

     SEC Network/ESPN announcer Tom Hart is a Kentucky fan favorite and will be in Lexington for a doubleheader this weekend.
     He will work Big Blue Madness Friday in Rupp Arena and then be at Kroger Field Saturday night for the UK-Mississippi State football game.
     Hart has already seen coach John Calipari’s team play. He had a “front row seat” to UK’s four exhibition games in the Bahamas. He was impressed with the roster but wants to make it clear who his favorite player is — walk-on Walker Horn, the son of Darrin Horn, who briefly worked with Hart on the SEC Network.
     “I think freshmen Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston are going to be impact players immediately,” Hart said. “They are really good. Oscar (Tshiebwe) is Oscar. Very few coaches have anybody so dependable like John has with him.”
     Hart’s biggest surprise so far has been transfer Antonio Reeves.
     “If he can be the offensive threat and spot-up shooter he was in the Bahamas …,” Hart said. “If he finds ways to get open and knocks down jump shots, I really think the sky’s the limit for this Kentucky team this year.”

     Just remember the name Quinshon Judkins, a 210-pound freshman running back at Mississippi who ran for 105 yards and one score on 15 carries against Kentucky.
     "Very explosive, very tough to get down, good balance, speed. He’s explosive,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said.
     How good can he be?
     “His potential would be one of the big-time players in this league. He already is. Probably the sky’s the limit for him,” Stoops said. “It seems like he’s got a great attitude. He plays extremely hard and he’s a complete back at a young age, so that says a lot about him and the coaching that he’s getting there.”
     He is averaging 97 yards rushing per game and has eight touchdowns for Ole Miss this season.

     ESPN NFL draft analyst Todd McShay had an interesting take on Kentucky quarterback Will Levis on the “The Russillo Podcast” recently. He has Levis as one of the nation’s top three quarterbacks and projected top 10 pick in the 2023 draft.
     However, McShay worries that Levis is too strong.
     “His short accuracy suffers because of his obsession with weight training,” McShay told Ryen Russell. “Find me a quarterback in the NFL who’s a weight room legend that’s a real success.”
     McShay said Tim Tebow of Florida was “too pumped up” and Brady Quinn of Notre Dame were perfect examples of quarterbacks who were too strong and not accurate enough.
     “When you can rear back and just drive the ball down the field, yeah, there’s accuracy there. But when it comes to touch and finesse, Levis is missing inside the strike zone too much, and taking away from yards after catch, and sometimes just missing outside of the strike zone and it’s leading to incompletions,” McShay said. “That’s a little thing he has to work on.”
     ESPN senior draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. does not seem as concerned. He recently was on the KJM show — hosted by Keyshawn Johnson, Jay Williams and Max Kellerman —and made a case for how Levis could be the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft (an opinion that UK offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello also has).
     “Levis is the guy in an NFL offense at Kentucky, has had some rough

     North Hardin coach Brent Thompson is not surprised by the way Octavious Oxendine, his former player, is performing for Kentucky this year.
     Oxendine is a fixture in the UK defensive front and a leader on and off the field for assistant coach Anwar Stewart and defensive coordinator Brad White.
     “A lot of that goes to the amount of work he puts in every day,” Thompson said. “Fans do not always get to see the daily work. Every time he was here (on a break from UK) he wanted on our field or in the weight room.
     “He is the hardest worker we have ever had. He was never satisfied no matter how much he did or how well he did.”
     Oxendine has 11 tackles this season and two quarterback hurries but statistics do not always measure a defensive lineman’s value.
     “I do think he is better this year,” Thompson said. “One game he was quick getting off the ball but did not use his hands. Another game he was hustling to the ball better. I just tell him to continue to run like that and good things will happen.
     “I try to find little things I see and send the to him or talk to him about during the week. He is very critical of himself. He knows I will not change and I will always be one who is honest about his play. If he does not do well, I will tell him how it is. But he’s playing very well this year.”

  Quotes of the Week

Quote of the Week 1:

     “Our energy was down, we’ve just got to bring the energy all game – nobody had no juice to them,” Kentucky linebacker JJ Weaver on what went wrong with the UK defense in the second half against South Carolina.

Quote of the Week 2:

     “He has a good team every year. You are supposed to and that’s what he does year in, year out. We are trying to get to that point,” Milt Wagner, director of player development for Louisville basketball, on UK coach John Calipari.

Quote of the Week 3:

     “They all want to play. You will earn it in practice, so everybody’s trying to earn the right to play. So, I think that’s sparked our competitive spirit,” UK coach Kyra Elzy on having a 15-player roster this year competing for playing time.