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First Down Kentucky: Texas not ready for… Vanderbilt?

Posted on by angelo

Good evening, Big Blue Nation. We’re approaching July 1, the official day Texas and Oklahoma join the SEC. Both historic programs bring rich traditions and numerous victories to the SEC.

Kentucky has just one win over both programs in four games. The Wildcats’ historic 13-7 victory over Oklahoma in the 1951 Sugar Bowl ended the Sooners’ 31-game winning streak. Bear Bryant opened the next season in Austin with a 7-6 loss to the Longhorns.

Texas is not Back™ but they enter the SEC with winning records over 13 of the other teams. None of their new conference foes have dominated them like SEC powerhouse Vanderbilt, which is 8-3 all-time against Texas. It’s true, and it’s even more astonishing when we see it arranged like this.

The two programs met 11 times between 1899 and 1923. One hundred years later, the Longhorns joined the SEC for revenge. Buckle up, Nashville.

Kentucky WR Recruiting Development

Kentucky will likely lose its top three pass catchers after the 2024 season. The Wildcats need to recharge their batteries in the high school ranks and they are well ahead of schedule.

Quintin Simmons And Ja’Kayden Ferguson are already in the fold. There was a time when we would have said Shaun Terry could join them. Kentucky was in the mix after decommitting from Notre Dame, but there was a missed connection between the two sides. Tonight he announced his commitment to Missouri.

The addition of Drinkwitz doesn’t hamper Kentucky’s efforts at wide receiver. André Marais OV earlier this week, Preston Bowman is on campus now and two more talented passers are arriving tomorrow.

Kentucky team ties continue

At least once a week, Dean Hood organizes friendly competitions between the Cats after a hearty meal. It looked like the Cats were grilling Bowman on Thursday night. Here’s a look at the shenanigans from earlier this week.

New jug technology is impressive

You’ve seen a jug machine before. It’s been a few decades since a savvy DIYer adapted a baseball pitching machine for football. There haven’t been many technological advancements so far.

Ole Miss introduced its new Monarc pitcher system. Instead of catching stationary passes or spending tedious time clumsily changing the trajectory of the pitcher machine, the Monarc allows players to choose a route from the route tree, select the distance, and the Monarc will will deliver to the target.

Creating chemistry between wide receivers and quarterbacks is invaluable, but it’s not always available. This is an impressive piece of equipment, which I hope Daikiel Shorts is pushing for at the Joe Craft Football Training Center.

This is what an American hero looks like

I am in awe of Reverend Greason. Thank you to Fox and Major League Baseball for shining a light on the incredible story of this man and so many others.

Kenny Chesney is really relevant

Even though I grew up in the birthplace of bluegrass, country music wasn’t a part of my life until late in high school. Kenny Chesney was my gateway drug to the genre. His catalog contained a number of catchy hits, but later in his career it sounded more like island music than country. We all love listening to a Buffett song every once in a while, but is there really any point in just having another beer in Mexico?

The Tennessee Vol fell down my personal pecking order and never fully recovered. Today he did something that is really relevant. Pat MacAfee played him one of his songs again and, like every other person I know who speaks into a microphone, he immediately cringed. Chesney hated the sound of his own voice, particularly early in his career, a trait that seems universal.