New UK Assistants Like What They See

  With all of the buzz around National Signing Day beginning to clam down, it's time to finally start putting together the pieces of the puzzle. This year's NSD provided excitement that isn't seen often in Kentucky football, with the fax machine confirming the Stoops had indeed pulled off something close to a miracle. The new recruits brought excitement, but seeing the entire new coaching staff in the same room at once was even better. If you are looking for the difference between 2012 and 2013, look no further than to Stoops highly-motivated young staff. They give off a vibe that is almost indescribable; they make ME want to put on pads and get on the field right away. Their excitement was great to hear, and for the first time they could talk specifically about what their new players will bring to the team. Today I'll be focusing on the WRs, with more to come in the weeks leading up to Spring Football (mark your calendars for March 18th).   WR Coach Tommy Mainord The new guys have 'what you want', what exactly is that? "#1 Athletically they have what we want; #2 The type of person they are. The way we're going to handle things recruiting, is that character is just as important as how athletic they are....We signed 4 great kids; we're lucky to have them."   On Ryan Timmons... "Obviously Ryan is all-purpose; he can do a whole lot of things for us. "   On Jeff Badet... "Jeff Badet can FLY; that guy can REALLY run, he's explosive. When he gets the ball in space, there's a good chance he's going to take it to the house."   On Alex Montgomery... "He's the big, long physical guy that you can put on the outside and he can 'control the valleys' and the corner."   on Javess Blue... "He's another all-purpose guy. He's strong; he's fast; his [ability] to change directions is awesome and he can run through tackles. I got a chance to see him in his bowl game this fall. Just to watch him live catching punt returns, catching kick returns; couldn't be happier with him and the other four guys. They're all four great players but they're not all four alike; that's the great thing about it."   You have a good amount of players returning in addition to the new athletes, what do those numbers allow you to do as a coach? "Not a lot, not as much as we'd like. We've got 6 returning on scholarship and in the spread offense you need more than that. We try to play with 12-15 guys on scholarship for those positions and now we've got 10. We're not where we want to be yet. That's a great thing you can sell recruiting. You tell them, 'Let's draw up the two-deep. We don't have one but let's draw up the scholarship players, the walk-ons, and let's see where you land.' They can see that and see that you can't find a better opportunity. We're still not there, and next year we'll be able to use [that same recruiting pitch] again."   -@RoushKSR