5 Notes (and 1 dumb joke) from the 2016 UK Football Women's Clinic

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to join a few hundred of the most diehard UK Football fans you'll ever meet for a morning of gridiron goodness at Commonwealth Stadium. This was my fourth time covering the UK Football Women's Clinic, and, like always, I had a blast. Before we move forward to another week of news, here are some things that stuck out to me.

The Practice Facility truly is amazing

Since Thursday, we've had about a zillion pictures of UK's new $45 million practice facility on the site, and with good reason. The facility is truly impressive, and although I haven't toured many practice facilities in the country, I can't imagine many being better than it. No expense was spared, from retina scanners to IMAX-quality sound in the team meeting room, to two semi-truck loads of flat screen TVs and custom finishes galore. It's one of those buildings that, once you walk in, you don't want to leave, which is kind of the goal, right? The players' excitement over their new home was palpable, and JoJo Kemp, Blake Bone, Courtney Love, and others stuck around doing drills and goofing off in the weight room long after the tours were over.

Matte is in

UK will debut its new uniforms this fall, and while they aren't that different from the old ones, one thing is very clear: matte is in. Players modeled the anthracite (dark grey), white, and blue versions of the unis, and each was paired with a matching matte helmet. Matte helmets have been a pretty big trend in college football unis the past few years, and I must say, although I tend to be more old school when it comes to stuff like this, I was impressed. The anthracite uniform is particularly striking in person.

Lamar Thomas is a rockstar

Since the moment he left Louisville's staff to join Mark Stoops in Lexington back in February, we knew Lamar Thomas was no shrinking violet. UK's new wide receivers coach has won the UK fanbase over by taking on Louisville trolls and entertaining the masses during his guest hosting stint on KSR earlier this summer. At the clinic, Thomas was a rockstar, chatting up fans, taking selfies, and photobombing fans' pictures. Aside from Stoops, I'd say he had the longest autograph line out of anybody. When I introduced myself to Thomas, he pleaded to come back on KSR, a request we can surely grant, right?

.@LamarCoachT pleading to come back on KSR pic.twitter.com/At4cilDr1Z

– Tyler Thompson (@MrsTylerKSR) July 23, 2016

Freddie Maggard also had his share of followers when he crashed the clinic to watch his wife, Jen, kick some butt during field drills. Jen was the star of the passing drills, throwing touchdown after touchdown to ladies in the end zone. I'd say Freddie must have given her some pointers, but after spending some time with her, it's clear Jen's a badass in her own right. I hope to have her on my podcast this week.

About that period joke...

By now you've heard about Eddie Gran's unfortunate period joke. Since I was there, I'll give a little context. Gran was breaking down the schedule of a typical practice, which includes thirteen "periods" of activity. In an attempt to bring some humor to the presentation, Gran said, "(Darin) Hinshaw likes to joke we have 13 periods in practice and women only have one." After a beat of "did he just make a period joke?!" shock, the crowd stirred with boos and awkward laughter. Gran attempted to backtrack, putting his hands up and protesting, "Hinshaw said that, not me!" and reminding the crowd he has three daughters. I'm sure Eddie Gran thought the joke was harmless. It was probably a hit in the locker room; however, in a room of two hundred plus women who paid $75 each to be there, it was tone deaf. I'm of the belief that period jokes are never funny, especially when made by a man to a large group of women, but I talked to others who weren't bothered by it. I'm actually more bothered by the fans who attacked me for reporting it than the joke itself, a topic I'll get into on my podcast this week. For now, let's just leave it as a dumb joke. If this is the worst thing that happens to UK Football this season, consider us lucky.

My, what a different five years makes

The UK Football Women's Clinic has been going on since the Guy Morriss era, but the first one I attended was in 2011 when Joker Phillips was coach. Back then, the clinic was held under the north bowl of the stadium, which got brutally hot in late July. Now, it's held in the luxurious (air-conditioned!) Woodford Reserve Club, yet another upgrade that speaks volumes to the money UK is pouring into the football program in recent years. Here's a "before and after," featuring former defense coordinator Rick Minter (remember him?!):

The Football Women's Clinic is the best fan experience UK offers

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the Football Women's Clinic is the best fan experience UK offers, and that includes the Basketball Women's Clinic, which has essentially become a glorified autograph session. Because the crowd is a little smaller, coaches and players are able to mingle and interact with fans more, making for a truly unique experience. JoJo Kemp, Landon Young, Courtney Love, Jacob Hyde, Blake Bone, and JD Harmon were among the many players that hung out at the clinic, had lunch with fans, and led tours of the new practice facility, and Stoops and his staff should be proud of how they represented the program. One dumb joke aside, it was a truly enjoyable experience that should be on every fan's bucket list.