KSR Today: Big football visitor, Former Cats in action in TBT
Good morning, friends. It may seem like a very slow day in late July when it comes to Kentucky sports, but…well, okay, fine. It is a very slow day in late July when it comes to Kentucky sports. BUT, tonight, you can watch two former Wildcats in action, one in Louisville. And, there’s a pretty important football player on Kentucky’s campus that we need to talk about. Let’s start there.
Northwestern linebacker Nigel Glover visiting today
If you haven’t heard, Northwestern Football is a bit of a mess right now. In turn, several purple-and-white Wildcats have elected to continue their college careers elsewhere, including freshman linebacker Nigel Glover.
Glover, a four-star prospect out of Dayton, OH and the highest-ranked member of Northwestern’s 2023 class, entered the transfer portal on July 17. Kentucky pursued Glover out of high school, and now that he’s back on the market, will be the first program to host him on an official visit, sources tell KSR’s Nick Roush. Glover will arrive in Lexington today. If you see him around campus — or maybe even at KSBar — say hello and tell him how good he’ll look in Kentucky Blue and White and check out who’s with him. He will also visit Michigan State and Michigan.
Speaking of football recruiting, four-star wide receiver Hardley Gilmore included Kentucky in his top three yesterday, along with Penn State and Central Florida. The Cats are the frontrunner for the Top 50 wideout, who will announce his decision on August 25.
Last night, the KSR Football podcast convened to discuss the latest developments with the program, the questionable Preseason All-SEC Media poll, and Adam Luckett’s SEC Power Rankings. If you missed it live (they’ll be going live every Monday night through the season), subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel to receive notifications.
Marcus Lee and Archie Goodwin in action at TBT
Marcus Lee and Archie Goodwin are playing in The Basketball Tournament, aka TBT, tonight on ESPN+. Lee plays for the AfterShocks, a team of former Wichita State Shockers. On Sunday, Lee scored 10 points and grabbed 5 rebounds to help the AfterShocks beat Team Arkansas to advance to the Elite Eight. Tonight, they’ll face Heartfire at 9 p.m. in Wichita for a spot in the Final Four, one step closer to the winner-takes-all grand prize of $1 million.
Here is Lee doing his thing in the AfterShocks’ first win vs. B1 Ballers last week:
Also at 9 p.m. ET, Archie Goodwin makes his debut with Eberlein Drive at Freedom Hall. This is the first day of games in the Louisville regional, and Eberlein Drive, one of TBT’s two remaining teams from the inaugural tournament in 2014, is seeded third out of the eight squads in the pod. Joining Archie on the roster are former LSU Tigers Emmitt Williams and Johnny O’Bryant. Tonight, they open play vs. the No. 6 seed Jackson TN Underdawgs. You can see it live either in person at Freedom Hall or on ESPN+.
If you’re really looking to scratch that basketball itch, games are happening all afternoon and evening at Freedom Hall. The Ville, Louisville’s alumni team, takes on War Ready, Auburn’s alumni team, in the game prior to Archie and Eberlein Drive at 7 p.m. ET. Tickets for the session (which includes both games) start at $25 and for an additional fee, you can add on a postgame meet and greet with former Cards star Russ Smith. Score!
Future Cat Somto Cyril playing in TBT tomorrow
That’s not all the TBT action on the docket. On Wednesday, 2024 Kentucky commit Somto Cyril plays in his first game for Team Overtime in the Dayton region. The future Cat is still an amateur, so he can’t take home any of the prize money if Team Overtime wins; however, it’s great experience and exposure, just a few hours from Lexington.
Team Overtime starts its TBT journey vs. Carmen’s Crew, an Ohio State alumni team, tomorrow at 6 p.m. ET at the University of Dayton Arena. You can see it live on ESPN+.
KSR’s Football Position Previews are rolling out
We are now 39 days from the season opener, which means it’s time to crank up the preseason content. Yesterday, Nick Roush and Adam Luckett launched their 2023 position previews with a look at the quarterback and tailback spots; today, they’ll add two more to the list. We’ll update this running list throughout the week.
Watch the latest Mark Stoops press conference on the KSR YouTube Channel.
Eli Cox and Barion Brown hit the links
We know Eli Cox and Barion Brown are great at football, but what about golf? The two stopped by the golf facility on Monday for a lesson with the women’s golf team, which is coming soon to a social media near you.
The Schnellenberger Trophy is pretty cool
I know we’re supposed to hate all things Louisville on this website, but this also involves a former Kentucky Wildcat. Louisville and Miami are now permanent rivals in the ACC, and yesterday, it was announced that each year, they’ll play for the Schnellenberger Trophy, a pair of the legendary coach’s boots cast in bronze. Schnellenberger, who played for Kentucky from 1952-56 and was a wide receiver/tight ends coach from 1959-60, famously coached Miami to its first national championship and revived Louisville’s football program in the late 80s/early 90s.
Elly De La Cruz did Elly De La Cruz things
The Reds lost to the Brewers 3-2 last night, but Elly De La Cruz still stole the spotlight. After being robbed of a home run in the first inning by a leaping catch at the top of the wall from center fielder Joey Wiemer, De La Cruz put this one well out of reach. It went 456 feet, leaving his bat at a scorching 114 mph. It’s De La Cruz’s sixth homer of the season and second in two days.
The Reds and the Brewers are back at it tonight at 7:10 p.m.
Get well soon, Tim Couch
The Deuce is on the mend after having his second back surgery in three years. Even from a hospital bed, the 45-year-old looks in better shape than almost all of us.
I’ll leave you with a look at the fresh paint on Kentucky’s practice fields. With fall camp starting soon, these very slow news days are almost a thing of the past.
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