UK notebook: Joker hits recruiting trail

UK notebook: Joker hits recruiting trail
New head coach expected to add four more recruits to '10 class
By Chip Cosby

LINK http://www.kentucky.com/kentuckysports/chipcosby/story/1089309.html


It didn't take Joker Phillips long to get his "Operation Win" theme off the ground.

Right after his introductory news conference to be named Kentucky's 36th head football coach, Phillips hit the road recruiting, making clear that will be the No. 1 point of emphasis during his new regime.

He'll first look to put the finishing touches on UK's 2010 recruiting class. The Wildcats have 24 known commitments, and with the Southeastern Conference's new rule stating that schools can only sign 28 prospects per class, Phillips presumably has four scholarships to work with.

Spots will be held for Dyjuan Lewis, a four-star receiver who originally committed to ex-Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly, and Miles Simpson, a running back from Simon Kenton who took his official visit to UK on Dec. 5 and was also at Rupp Arena last weekend for the Kentucky-Louisville basketball game.

Lewis is scheduled to be in Lexington this weekend for an official visit along with Maudrecus Humphrey, a three-star receiver from Hoover, Ala.

UK is also in the mix for three-star athlete D.J. Howard, a Lincoln (Ala.) product and Auburn commit. According to Kentucky Ink's Jeff Drummond, Howard will visit the Kentucky campus the weekend of Jan. 22.

Phillips is also waiting on Central linebacker Tim Patterson, who probably will choose between Kentucky and Louisville.

The transition from Rich Brooks to Phillips is expected to have minimal impact on UK's commitments because the players had been aware of the possibility of Brooks' retirement and Phillips was heavily involved in recruiting many of them. DeKalb County (Ga.) running back Raymond Sanders told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he actually never met Brooks. Two of Sanders' teammates, Jabari Johnson and Ronnie Shields, have also committed to UK.

"I respect Coach Brooks but it doesn't really have an effect on me. I would have liked to get to know him better and I was supposed to meet him on my visit up there this month," Sanders said. "But Coach Phillips, I know him well. He pretty much ran things around there and he's been learning from Coach Brooks for years. So I know he'll make a great head coach and I'm still excited to go up there."

Staff update

Phillips' second order of business was to begin re-shaping his first UK staff. He informed offensive line coach Jimmy Heggins and defensive line coach Rick Petri that they would not be returning in 2010. Phillips filled the offensive line position Saturday when he hired Arkansas offensive line coach Mike Summers.

That means Phillips currently has two openings: Petri's spot and Phillips' position as wide receivers coach. There are several potential candidates with ties to either UK or Phillips:

Steve Pardue: A Hopkinsville native and coach at LaGrange (Ga.) High School, where Phillips has developed a pipeline that brought UK players such as Wesley Woodyard and Braxton Kelley. When asked about Phillips' promotion, Pardue told WRBL-TV in Columbus (Ga.), "All it means is that my best friend is a millionaire. I am really excited for him and I don't know if there is an opportunity and we have not talked about anything and never really have." With at least five LaGrange products expected to be on the UK roster next fall, Pardue joked, "It might be better for (Kentucky) if I remained a high school school coach."

David Turner: The current defensive line coach at Mississippi State, Turner coached with Phillips on Bill Curry's UK staff in 1993-94.

David Lockwood: Thanks to a strong recommendation from Phillips, Rich Brooks hired Lockwood to coach the Kentucky secondary in 2007. Lockwood spent one season at UK before leaving to coach the secondary at West Virginia, his alma mater. Lockwood served as defensive coordinator at Minnesota for two seasons before coming to UK.

Gerad Parker: A Kentucky receiver from 2000-2004 who spent two seasons as a UK grad assistant, Parker is a favorite of Phillips and considered a rising young star on the coaching circuit. Parker is in his second year coaching receivers at UT-Martin.