Joker Phillips Quotations

We know we've got to use the run to set up the pass. If we can do that, we can keep the score down and we can help the defense stay off the field.

We've seen a different John Logan this week. He practiced like he knew he was going to play, which is good, because we need him.

For us to run the ball the way we say we're going to run the ball, we've got to be able to throw sometime, and right now we can't throw the ball worth a crap.

He's had a good off-season. He looks faster. He's got to step up and be a player for us.

He might be the best athlete we have on either side of the ball. But he just has to learn to pay attention to details, focus better and start utilizing that talent he has a lot more.

There is no clear cut number one right now. Curtis might be a little ahead in his presence, but Andre has stepped it up and hopefully he will continue to progress. I really think that both of them can be big-time quarterbacks.

He's flying around and looking like his old self.

Keenan played as big a hand in this as anybody. They are good friends. He's going to live with Keenan. They are going to run routes together. He's all in now, and that's what we want.

I think the future is bright with Curtis Pulley.

It didn't take long for me to say yes. Once we started talking, he said that we had been on the up and up with him and that he'd rather come here.

I think John Logan is practicing his tail off. John Logan is practicing as good as anybody out here right now. He knows what to do now, and looks more comfortable in the offense. I'm excited about him.

I would like (Jones), but the defensive coaches need him. Maybe in the open week; you never know.

I would love to have him. The guy's got good talent.

We have to see how comfortable he is with us, and how comfortable we are with him.

We really thought Tony was going to be our starter going into the spring. We thought he was the better back.

We won't play as many freshmen this year as people think. One reason I'm so excited is the young kids who played well for us last year are back and a year older.

We've never had both of them healthy at the same time. Rafael was hurt as a freshman, and then Tony was hurt last year. It gives us a lot of exciting possibilities. There's no question we've got to get both of these guys on the field together.

Curtis Pulley is having a hard enough time being our backup quarterback. He needs all the reps he can get as a quarterback. If we take him out wide, those are reps he's missing at quarterback. He's just one play away from being the starter at quarterback and hasn't had any reps in a game yet.

Everything is faster for them, a lot faster. The speed of the game has changed. But also the speed of everything socially has changed. The speed of everything academically has changed. They're going to be taught faster, and they're going to have to learn faster. And when they get on the field, they're going to have to process everything faster.

There would be times the ball was thrown in his direction and he wouldn't be in the right spot. He wouldn't know if it was coming to him or going to somebody else, and he would drop the ball because it would surprise him getting there so quick.

I've never seen Tony Dixon work like he has this past off-season. He led all the drills. He was in the weight room. He was even there when he wasn't scheduled to be.

It would be really hard to pinpoint one receiver right now as the guy. But I also think that will make us hard to defend because teams won't be able to shift the focus of their defense to one player.

Sometimes it's hard to see the big picture in that situation. He didn't get a chance to see some of the true freshmen and how uncomfortable they look when they first get out here. He's a prideful kid, and it wasn't coming along as quickly as he thought.

Right now, we can't throw the ball worth a crap.

Rafael and Tony are very similar. When you see little backs like them, you think that they can't run the ball inside. But both of these guys do a good job with that, and they can go outside and make plays as well with their speed.

This isn't the first time we've had momentum. There was momentum coming out of the Tennessee game two years ago. What we've got to do now is capitalize on it.

It's fun for those guys to see their families when they get off the bus. That's the thing we talk about in recruiting. Every other year we'll be back down here. We'll bring him home.

I've had some kids in the past that we've taken from the basketball court and they've had a lot of success.

That's big-time. You always see in recruiting how a guy adjusts to a deep ball.

I'm very disappointed. I've done a poor job of getting those guys to play and make plays.

I haven't done a good job with those guys. We're not doing a good job of getting off press coverage. We're going to need some freshmen to step up. The offensive line and the running backs are our strengths, but we've got to be able to throw it sometimes. Right now we're not throwing it worth a crap.

I remember him going 70, 80 yards in games when I was at UK as a recruit. I think Alfonso can be similar, a guy who can step away from everybody else on the football field.

He's probably a small body on that side of the campus, but on this side of the campus, we call it a big body.

He's in a great situation. He'll get a lot of work and individual attention.

You can see it in his body language. You always have to watch body language. This past week, his body language showed he didn't have confidence. (Wednesday) it was different.