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UK Notebook: Keenan Burton may not play Saturday

October 22, 2007|LARRY VAUGHT

LEXINGTON - Keenan Burton, Kentucky's top receiver, was listed as "questionable" for Saturday's game by coach Rich Brooks because of a strained knee and lingering ankle problem.

"We will have to see in next couple of days how he comes along," Brooks said.

Burton leads UK with 44 catches for 544 yards and six scores, but in the last two games he has only seven catches for 46 yards.

"Keenan is simply one of the best receivers I have ever coached. That doesn't mean he will catch X amount of balls every game," Brooks said. "He has battled sickness and minor injuries. Now he has another one that I won't put in the minor category with a strained knee. Along with a sprained ankle, that has limited his practice and ability to come in and out of breaks at the speed he normally does. But he is still performing at a very high level."

Brooks says UK also has other talented receivers - Dicky Lyons (40 catches, 461 yards, six touchdown), Steve Johnson (35 catches, 597yards, six touchdowns) and Jacob Tamme (28 catches, 304 yards, four touchdowns) for quarterback Andre Woodson to use this year.

"We also are handing off more than last year. There are not as many chances for one guy to dominate the receiving end like a year ago when we didn't have all these guys functioning well," Brooks said. "But that's another reason our offense has been more productive because now teams cannot zero in on one or two guys."

Johnson update

Sophomore linebacker Micah Johnson had athroscopic surgery Monday to have cartilage removed from his knee.

"We hope he will be on the mend and be ready after the bye week," Brooks said on Monday.

"No surgery is minor. Now it is just a matter of how much swelling, how fast it goes away, how the rehab goes. Two weeks and a day would be the first practice going into the next game for hiim. We will be able to judge things better at that point. I have had players play eight days after a knee scope and others out three or four weeks."

Brooks said the injury was from an earlier game, not the Florida game.

Sold out

Saturday's Mississippi State game is now officially a sellout, UK's fourth this season - a record since Commonwealth Stadium was expanded in 1999.

Tennessee is also sold out of public tickets. Students have not yet picked up their tickets. If any are not used, they will go on sale to the public next month.

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