Mike Douglas will be Missed on the Defensive Line
[caption id="attachment_168250" align="alignnone" width="586"]
Rich Glickstein/AP[/caption]
Mike Douglas has rarely been in the middle of the limelight. A humble man that goes about his business the right way, Douglas will take center-stage at Commonwealth Stadium for the final time tomorrow. "It's going to be a bittersweet moment because Kentucky's all I've known for the last five years. We've been through a lot," Douglas said. "This is home."
Douglas has had to work for everything he's ever earned at Kentucky. A bit of a tweener to start his career, he developed his fundamentals and technique by staying close to Collins Ukwu. After a redshirt season, Douglas earned time contributing to Special Teams but could never consistently crack into the rotation with the former coaching staff. Still, Douglas persisted, never deviating from habits he learned as a child growing up with his mother, aunt and grandmother. He told Larry Vaught after his commitment to Kentucky:
Rich Glickstein/AP[/caption]
Mike Douglas has rarely been in the middle of the limelight. A humble man that goes about his business the right way, Douglas will take center-stage at Commonwealth Stadium for the final time tomorrow. "It's going to be a bittersweet moment because Kentucky's all I've known for the last five years. We've been through a lot," Douglas said. "This is home."
Douglas has had to work for everything he's ever earned at Kentucky. A bit of a tweener to start his career, he developed his fundamentals and technique by staying close to Collins Ukwu. After a redshirt season, Douglas earned time contributing to Special Teams but could never consistently crack into the rotation with the former coaching staff. Still, Douglas persisted, never deviating from habits he learned as a child growing up with his mother, aunt and grandmother. He told Larry Vaught after his commitment to Kentucky:
“I am excited to have this decision made. It never really bothered me being recruited and dealing with the phone calls. I still take out the garbage and do my chores. Nothing has changed except I know now I have my chance to play in the SEC."Douglas' persistence has paid off under Mark Stoops, developing into a key contributor on the defensive line. His numbers are rarely flashy (except last week's 6 tackles and 3 QB hurries), but his leadership keeps the wheels turning on the defensive line. Versatile enough to play both tackle and defensive end, when things start to fall apart, he holds them together. After being taught by Ukwu, he constantly keeps young guys like Matt Elam and Adrian Middleton close by. Doing things the right way all of the time is extremely difficult and requires precise discipline, especially when faced with adversity. Just before the commencement of Fall Camp, Douglas' apartment - shared with Javess Blue, Melvin Lewis and Nate Willis - and all of his belongings were destroyed in a fire. No one was hurt, but football could not have been easy to concentrate on. But like always, Douglas continued to go about his business the right way. When you do things the right way you start to become a little luckier. Call it skill, call it luck, but his tipped pass against South Carolina was the start to one of the biggest plays in the history of Kentucky football. After going about his business the right way for five years, Mike had a Monday Night dream of Senior Day, "Walking out on the field, getting an applause from the fans, just real emotional." Ensure his hard work is rewarded with a dream come true before kickoff Saturday.
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard