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LEXINGTON — Two months ago freshman tight end Tyler Robinson was sure he would be redshirted at Kentucky this year. Instead, he put himself in contention to be UK’s starter when the Wildcats open the season Sept. 4 at Louisville and will likely go into the game No. 2 on the depth chart. “I would have thought that I would have been redshirted when I got here (in June). I didn’t know what to expect or how it would be. I just figured I would go out and get a couple of reps.

LEXINGTON — With the numbers Randall Cobb accumulated, it’s no wonder the Kentucky junior was a little tired in the second half. “There was a point at the beginning of the fourth quarter that I was ready to lay down on the sidelines and take a nap,” joked Cobb after Kentucky’s 38-20 win over Vanderbilt here Saturday.  “I was just so tired and gassed.” He says the training he has done with strength coach Ray “Rock” Oliver helped rejuvenate him. “I was able to catch my breath and get  my legs back under me,” Cobb said.

DeAndre Liggins played so well in Kentucky's win over Tennessee that it appeared the junior might be ready to turn into a prime-time all-around player for Kentucky. However, as good as Liggins was overall against Tennessee, he regressed in Saturday’s 81-77 loss at Vanderbilt. Liggins, who has done so many things right all season, finally talked to one official too many when he was hit with a technical foul after he scored and didn’t draw a foul he felt was committed.

HOOVER, Ala. — If Thursday was his final practice as a Kentucky player, Randall Cobb didn’t show it. He interacted with teammates like always from pre-practice stretching to cheering as seniors hit the tackling dummy as part of UK’s ritual for the final practice of the season. Rather than worry about the decision he must make by Jan. 15 about whether to put his name into the NFL draft or return to UK for his senior year, Cobb again insisted he was focused only on Saturday’s Compass Bowl against Pittsburgh.

When Kentucky opened preseason practice, few would have believed that Jordan Aumiller could have emerged as one of UK’s best tight ends, or maybe even the best. It was just over a year ago that the Boyle County graduate was scheduled to be grayshirted — UK had too many signees and Aumiller had undergone shoulder surgery after his senior basketball season — when he ended up reporting with other freshmen when UK’s scholarship numbers worked out. However, Aumiller spent his 2009 redshirt season at linebacker, not tight end. He didn’t move to tight end until last spring.

LEXINGTON — If defensive tackle Mark Crawford makes a big play, and he has four tackles for loss and two quarterback sacks this season, he normally cannot contain his emotion. “I think everybody plays with emotion. I think everybody shows it different. You can have quiet leaders on the field and then the rah-rah guys. I think all the guys on the field play with emotion. They just show it differently. If I make a play or do something, I try to focus so much energy on that play and then it comes out after play.

Georgia’s Drew Butler is one of the Southeastern Conference’s best punters and one of the best in the country. So how hard does he think it would be for true freshman Joe Mansour of Georgia to be Kentucky’s placekicker this season? “It is hard. Possibly being a punter is different, but you have to change a lot to the speed of the game as well as the expectations,” Butler said. “You are put in certain situations in training camp where the coaches might put a couple of wind sprints on this kick or you have to make this kick to win the scrimmage to prove to teammates you have what it takes and prove to coaches you can be reliable.

Sophomore offensive lineman Larry Warford, who moved from California to Richmond for his high school senior season, had a solid season for Kentucky and even earned some all-conference honors. He shared his thoughts on the season and the future after UK’s loss to Pittsburgh in the BBVA Compass Bowl: Question: How did this year go for you overall? Warford: “It was good. I think I improved a lot from last year both physically and mentally. I thought I could do what I have done in two years, but it was somewhat of a surprise because we have a lot of good guys out here that could take my spot.

Kentucky receivers coach Tee Martin not only spent last season trying to help Randall Cobb improve, but he’s continued to help him since Cobb decided to bypass his senior year at UK and go to the NFL. The two knew each other before Martin came to UK, and have continued their friendship now that Cobb has given up his final year at Kentucky to be in this week’s NFL draft. It has not been unusual this spring to see Martin throwing pass after pass to Cobb after UK’s practices ended.

LEXINGTON - Fans are already speculating on who Kentucky should consider for its next football coach, but two of coach Joker Phillips' best young players says the coach is not the reason UK is off to a 1-2 start after Saturday night's 32-31 overtime loss to Western Kentucky. “Coach Phillips is a good coach. He is trying real hard to help us be great. We just have to follow his footsteps and continue to listen to what he says and keep pushing ourselves,” said sophomore linebacker Bud Dupree, who had a late personal foul penalty that enabled Western to score in overtime.

Eight-year-old Mary Grace Williams has many hobbies, chief among them “being hilarious” and singing. The latter her earned her an opportunity to perform with the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre in one of the country's first university productions of “Les Misérables,” led by renowned singer and director Everett McCorvey. “She really didn't have any experience. We had no idea she was interested (in singing) like she was. She started singing at church, and it just kind of grew from there,” said the Rev. James Williams, Mary Grace's father.

Kentucky softball coach Rachel Lawson isn't content on just making it to the Super Regionals. “Our goal is to win the national championship,” Lawson said earlier this week. “To be in the (Super Regionals) is special in the sport of softball and our ultimate goal is to go to the (College) World Series). This is a good week in Kentucky softball.” The Wildcats (41-19) won their regional last weekend after defeating Virginia and Marshall at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington.

Jeff Sheppard has high hopes for the highly touted recruits on their way to Kentucky, but he also has tempered expectations. The former Kentucky star said he's excited about the players coach John Calipari is bringing into the program, and particularly those who will be arriving in the coming weeks as part of this year's No. 1-ranked recruiting class. However, Sheppard said the shortcomings of last season's Kentucky team should underscore the fact that there's no guarantee of success, and he said his fellow Kentucky fans should realize just how difficult it is to do what will be expected of the incoming freshmen.

Kentucky coach John Calipari will be the keynote speaker at the Henry Iba Citizen Athlete Awards on June 3 in Tulsa. “We have had the big names of college basketball as well as baseball and football here,” said Greg Kach, chairman of the Iba Athlete Awards for the Rotary Club of Tulsa. “I don't know John personally, but I know his reputation as a giver and someone that likes to be involved in the community.” Calipari's foundation has raised millions of dollars to help people in need.

Marcus Lee is a dynamic basketball player - that's why he played in the McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic along with five other future Wildcats. However, he's an interesting personality away from basketball, too. First, he has an interest in graphic art. “I have always loved kind of messing around with technology and drawing art. I like to look on the computer and create the interior of a house. When I am on my phone, I am thinking they should have done this better and I will write little notes about how they could do it better,” said Lee. “If I had time, I would probably go to my brother's work - he works at Apple - and see if I could sit down and talk to them about their Apple products.” He plans to major in business and then wants to “come back and get my Masters in technology” for future business ventures.

The NBA had its draft lottery Tuesday night and chances are, former Kentucky center Nerlens Noel wasn't paying much attention if he is taking the same approach he has taken toward mock drafts. Many analysts predict Noel will be the top pick in the June 27 draft, a selection the Cleveland Cavaliers will ponder during the next month after winning the draft lottery. Despite his lofty status as one of the elite players available in the upcoming draft, Noel is focused on his recovery from a torn ACL. “I don't pay attention to those (mock drafts)

His football coach is not really sure what is his best sport or even what he does best on the football field. All Caldwell County football coach Davis Barnes knows is that sophomore Elijah Sindelar is special whether it's football or baseball. “I really don't know what his best sport is,” said Barnes of the 6-4, 210-pound Sindelar. “This year he did not play basketball, but he's good there, too. He's just a gifted athlete. He excels in all three sports. In baseball, he pitches and plays either third base or first base.” On the football field, Sindelar - who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds - plays quarterback.

LEXINGTON - Kentucky coach Mark Stoops admits he's been influenced by different people, but none had a bigger impact on his coaching career and life than his father, Ron. Ron Stoops taught and coached football for 28 years at  Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, Ohio. During a game in October of 1988, he felt chest pains on the sideline and stopped coaching during the fourth quarter. Mooney won in triple overtime and Ron Stoops  watched the final moments before being placed into an ambulance.

Count Florida's Will Yeguete as one who expects big things from Willie Cauley-Stein next season. Yeguete said he was impressed by the progress the Kentucky center showed in the second of two meetings between the Wildcats and Gators and said he believes Cauley-Stein will continue to get better. “I think he did a good job defensively this year. He was a factor. He was blocking shots, tipping the balls. I think he did a really good job overall,” Yeguete said. “The first time we played them, he didn't really play that much and do anything to impact the game because (Nerlens)

If there is anything Emmanuel Mudiay can't do well, his coach has not seen it. Ray Forsett, Mudiay's coach at Dallas Prime Prep Academy, said the 6-4 point guard, who is regarded as one of the top five overall players in the 2014 recruiting class, said Mudiay could play for virtually any school in the country. “He is just a special player. He can do it all from getting to the rim to shooting the ball. He's electrifying,” Forsett said. “You've got to see him play to appreciate all the special things he can do. He could go to Kentucky, Baylor, Arizona or about anywhere else because of the type player he is. “He can do it all. He can get teammates involved.