Newton Not Letting Adversity Faze Him

I didn't notice that hand placement until I started thinking of a caption. Our boy Larry Vaught put the 'droid down for a moment to catch some quotes from the football team regarding Morgan Newton's journey into his fourth and final season as a Wildcat. Newton has battle ridicule from fans (coupled with praise when he did good things) and injuries within the past year. It surely had to be a struggle to see the biggest win of the season come at the hands of another quarterback, but it seems Morgan has kept his head held high and is ready to battle to be a positive factor for the Kentucky football team this year. Great to hear this news. All positive news from the football camp is great at this point. Check out Larry Vaught's article for more. Here are some quotes Larry gathered from football program folks for the piece:

Matt Smith:  “I think he has handled it pretty well. I know it is tough when you have an injury like that and it takes you out of what you want to do and gives you a setback. He has handled it maturely and professionally,” said senior center Matt Smith. “He is not going around complaining about anything or saying this or that about the team or taking down anybody else.” “He took a lot of criticism for us last year and handled it very well. He tried not to listen to a lot of the outside stuff that was going on and tried to focus on what he needed to do. But again, a lot of that comes back to us. We are going to be working on us up front so he can do what he needs to do in the backfield.” Joker Phillips: “Physically, he looks as good as he has ever looked. He has trimmed down some. I know in May I was coming in about 6 o’clock and Morgan was waiting at the door for somebody to let him in,” Phillips said. “He is out there working with our trainers and doing all those things. I think that has helped him mentally. “He has been to the Manning Academy working with those guys again. I think that helps him being around those guys and other college and NFL quarterbacks. Just understanding how to be a leader. I think Morgan is a leader, but sometimes I don’t know if he knows how to be a leader and take charge of things. That is one of the things he needs to be better this year to compete for this job.” “I don’t know worry about Morgan. He is a mentally tough kid. He gets it. He is a smart kid. He is one of those guys on our team that made a 4.0 (grade-point average last semester),” Phillips said. “He understands the game. His dad played college football. He has been around great players his dad played with. All that helps him understand how to deal with these type situations.”

Interesting stuff here. With Morgan Newton, Maxwell Smith, and Patrick Towles in tow, there is a lot of heart and talent behind center for the Blue and White this year.