The House of Blue

***Third practice of training camp today, which means players were in 'shells' … helmets, shoulder pads and short. One more day of that look before moving into full pads.

“It's good to have the pads on,” UK coach Joker Phillips said. “The difference between today and the first few days is you get to see who will put their face on someone. We're still not full speed tackling but you get to see who will play behind their pads and put their face on people. We talked about playing with balance and playing with their head up. Another good day. The weather has been great but we need a little more heat.”

***Sounds like someone is going to ask for a daily QB derby update and that Joker is basically not going to say anything that will tip his hand, at least the first few weeks of practice. However, it does sound like you might see that battle take shape after the second scrimmage, which is likely to be Saturday, Aug. 18.

“It's still hard to evaluate after three days, especially when you're installing,” Phillips said. “We'll take it slow. We've got two weeks before I'd like to get it done, which means two scrimmages. We've got seven days of install that we're trying to build up to the first scrimmage. We'll see if it shakes its way out then but probably not. Making a decision after scrimmage one is probably too soon.

“There are a lot of encouraging things but some discouraging things too, which comes with only being out here three days putting new things in. I like their leadership out of that position, all four of them. All four of those guys have great leadership and presence.”

***I asked Joker about the technical aspects of Martavius Neloms having to move back to corner after shifting from corner to safety last year. Is it more difficult than it appears? How much mental re-training does it take in terms of assignments and mentality, etc. Look for some of those thoughts in a story to come soon, but it also led to Joker saying the current starters at safety are senior Mikie Benton and sophomore Ashely Lowery.

***Joker said he's impressed with the return to UK of safety Dakotah Tyler. Tyler left school in 2011 for personal reasons but is back after paying his own way this summer. He'll go back on scholarship this fall. He's another piece to the puzzle that helped Phillips and the defensive staff feel comfortable moving Neloms back to corner. For his part, Tyler said he's got a new appreciation for football and is just thrilled the staff stuck with him while he handled his business – which he didn't want to make public – and worked his way back to UK.

***Joker was asked if maybe he and the staff have put too many expectations or burden of stardom on Bud Dupree. You'll like who Joker compared the sophomore to in terms of his ability to handle all of that:

“I think Bud is plenty capable of handling those expectations,” Phillips said. “Randall Cobb was one of those guys that when he walked on campus you knew he had 'it'. Bud has 'it'. He has all the leadership qualities. Physically he's as good a looking kid as has walked through the doors here. He has high goals for himself. I don't think it's too much pressure or too much to expect.”

***Finally, Joker said he is seeing a big-time competition beginning to take shape and play out at the SAM linebacker, which he said was the Winston Guy slot in 2011. Miles Simpson is the current lead dog there. (*Note, I think Joker meant to say the hybrid spot instead of SAM. Dupree has been the SAM.)

“He's another guy that is starting to be a leader over there and do the necessary things to allow you to be excited about him,” Phillips said of Simpson. “He's a film guy, a smart guy. Always in position. Plays with leverage. Keeps his head up. Great tackler. We're excited about him. He, Josh Forrest and Kory Brown give you encouragement about the SAM linebacker position.”