By GARY MOYERS
First of all, we at vaughtsviews.com have been overwhelmed by the response to Larry’s CatAlist app, focusing on UK basketball. We have more than 22,000 subscribers to the app, completely exceeding our expectations. To that end, we decided to make it better.
Currently CatAlist is down. That’s because we’re updating it, moving it to a bigger, faster server, and installing Twitter’s new API in the process. It will return in a couple of days, and very shortly a version for Android will be available as well. You’ll also see see a football version available in the next few days.
Thank you for your patience while this upgrade is performed.
By LARRY VAUGHT
All he wanted for his son was to have him with the “right people for him” and Keith Pullium feels that’s exactly what happened when he decided to verbally commit to play for Mark Stoops at Kentucky.
“I was in favor of this 100 percent,” said Keith Pullium about his son, Blinn College defensive back Shyquawn, committing to UK last week. “I was familiar with Stoops from the past. That was a big part of it, the connection with Stoops. That was the main thing. I wanted my son with the right people for him and that was Stoops.”
The 6-1, 190-pound Pullium was a 2010 commitment to Penn State after his career at Cathedral Prep School in Erie, Pa. He was a three-star prospect and ranked among the top 30 players in the state by Rivals.com. He didn’t get to enroll at Penn State when he failed to make the necessary test score and went to prep school before again signing with Penn State. However, he again had to look for another option.
His father called his brother, who was living in Virginia, about two months before it was finalized that his son would not be going to Penn State. “Penn State is a great school and program, but they kind of left me out of the recruiting process,” Keith Pullium said. “I was not a big fan of Penn State. I didn’t feel right about the situation. My brother found four schools and told me to contact Blinn. When they saw his highlight video, they offered him. I didn’t know about it, but my brother was about to move to Dallas. I told Shyquawn if he went, I would move. It was about three hours away, but I was with him. I went to culinary school while I was down there.”
Shyquawn Pullium was a three-sport standout in high school and played quarterback.
“I was the one who got him into playing and didn’t know how it would turn out,” his father said. “I see a lot of weaknesses in his play. I tried to encourage him to play quarterback but he went to prep school and his team was not that good. He got hit a lot and got tired of that. Even Blinn wanted him to play quarterback, but he was just tired of getting hit. I wanted him to play quarterback, or give it a try, but he wanted to play defense and play cornerback>
Blinn defensive coordinator Mike Mutz said Pullium’s transition to cornerback was “kind of unique” after he came to Blinn, redshirted and played receiver until just before his freshman season started.
“Our starting cornerback got a Division I offer and took it about a week before practice started,” Mutz said. “That left a gaping hole. We looked at him as one of the most talented athletes on offense, but we needed help on defense. He started every game at corner as a freshman. He seemed to get better and better. He didn’t have any spring ball to work on technique even though we had to throw him in the fire, and that’s not an easy position to do that.
“He got better as the year went on and really got better this spring. We ask our corners to play more man and one-on-one than being involved in the run support game. Really, his strength is his ability to cover because of his athleticism. He’s such a natural athlete. And once the ball is in the air, he has really good ball skills. He can attack the ball and take it away from people. He has great ability to play the ball.”
His father says his son can play a “lot of positions on both sides of the ball” because he is tall, lanky and athletic.
“It all depends on how much bulk he can put on. The more he puts on, the more he can move around,” Keith Pullium said. “He could turn out to be a safety.”
Shyquawn Pullium is taking classes and will go to both summer school sessions so he can graduate in December and enroll at UK in January.
“He’s a good kid, a coachable kid,” his father said. “His best is yet to come. He has a lot more to show. He has become very hungry. I tell him all the time about getting another chance to prove himself. We’ve been down this road already. Don’t repeat it. Learn from the past. He is ver humble. He’s not a kid to talk back. He is well mannered. That has helped bring him a long way. I really believe the whole junior college experience has been a blessing. I’ll just leave it at that.”
Keith Pullium says he may move to Lexington because his son “needs somebody close” and the move would not be that difficult.
“I think Kentucky to trying to build something really good,” Keith Pullium said. “He is very excited to be coming. He liked the early interest they showed and that they kept showing interest. He wants to help Kentucky get to a bowl game and get the name out there.”
Kentucky football players Avery Williamson, Jonathan George and Kevin Mitchell spent a week serving in Ethiopia in late May as part of an athletic department-sponsored service trip.
The players shared thoughts on the trip and more.
Jonathan George, Sr., RB
On the overall experience…
“Overall, it was a great experience. I was chosen to go and it was a humbling experience because I got a chance to see some things that you really don’t see in America. It’s amazing some of the things that you see with the kids and the parents.”
On what in particular stood out…
“It was really amazing that every time we stopped there were people begging for food and money. It was amazing because it seemed like our bus was a celebrity zone. It was crazy how they came up and asked for food. You don’t really see that too much.”
On the difference of being a celebrity football player in America compared to over there…
“The people that we were under explained to us every time they see foreign people they clam to them and ask for food.”
What it was like for him being an African-American and experience the situation…
“It was great. My parents were jealous. They were like, ‘you get a chance to go to the mother land,’ that’s what they called it. I was glad to go just seeing the things that you see on television and some of the things that they don’t.”
On if this experience will help change his perspective on how he looks at things…
“Absolutely, one of the things I took from this trip was being thankful and being appreciative for the things I do have. I have always felt that way about things, being appreciative of what you have, because there is always somebody that has it worse. I feel like this opened up my eyes even more to that topic because some of the things I saw and experienced… it was real tough to see people going through those types of things.”
On how tough it was to look at the kids in Africa…
“Some of the kids didn’t have shoes or had clothes that didn’t match. They walked around with shoes that were way too big for their feet. They weren’t complaining about how their feet hurt because of their shoes but they were definitely happy to have on a pair of shoes that were two different sizes or two different colors. It was just a great experience for me to take away from.”
On if one person or experience stood out to him from the trip…
“We visited a leprosy community and there was an older man who didn’t have any legs. He walked around with flip flops on his hands and he used his hands to get around with. We were bagging food and charcoal for the people and he came in and started helping with his hands. He helped us bag the food that wasn’t just for him but for other people as well. He had a bike that he rode on and pedaled with his hands and that’s how he got around.”
On if this was an experience that he gained more than gave…
“I feel like it is. I was really glad to go over there and be able to help. In the future, I would really like to go back and do some more stuff for the people in Ethiopia.”
On if this alters his perspective of being a leader…
“Absolutely, I’m not really that vocal and I try to lead by my actions. I would like to go back and do things for the kids of Ethiopia whether it’s just me sponsoring somebody or whatever but I feel like it can carry over to the field as well just doing things. When people see you doing special things it makes people happy and I feel like they follow that lead.”
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Kentucky football players Avery Williamson, Jonathan George and Kevin Mitchell spent a week serving in Ethiopia in late May as part of an athletic department-sponsored service trip.
The players shared thoughts on the trip and more.
Kevin Mitchell, Sr., OT
On the overall experience…
“Oh, man. I’m sure you’ve heard a lot from Avery (Williamson). When we got there, I had heard from a lot of the players that had been in the past what it was going to be like but until you actually get there and actually see it and smell it, it’s a totally different world over there. Seeing kids coming up to you and begging and even their moms holding babies, you just want to help them so much. But you can only do so much, because if you do give something they tell everyone. There’s only so much you can do.”
On what stuck out the most…
“Like I said earlier, just seeing kids with no parents around, trying to find anything they can eat. They’re just so grateful when you give them just a little piece of candy, just seeing a kid smile from giving a Jolly Rancher. That doesn’t happen here in the states. Just seeing stuff like that.”
On the poverty…
“I feel like the second day we were there, we are able to provide some families with some meals for a couple weeks. A lot of them didn’t know what they were going to do the next day; how they were going to feed their families and stuff like that. Just gaining that experience and being able to see how grateful people are just for food is really amazing.”
On a particular person he will remember…
“The driver (Agenyo). I feel like everybody who has been has given him something. He was really friendly and a big UK fan now. I feel like in the first three days he wore all he had gotten in the past. Danny (Trevathan) gave him some stuff, too.”
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Avery Williamson with Girma, the translator. (photo by UK Athletics)
Kentucky football players Avery Williamson, Jonathan George and Kevin Mitchell spent a week serving in Ethiopia in late May as part of an athletic department-sponsored service trip.
The players shared thoughts on the trip and more.
Avery Williamson, Sr., LB
On how his summer is going so far …
“It has been good. I had a really good month of May getting a lot of work in. We are trying to get ahead of a lot of other teams.”
On the service trip to Ethiopia …
“When I first found out in February that I got selected for it I was really grateful. I wasn’t expecting that. When I first got over there I was really shocked to actually be in Africa, honestly. I didn’t expect to ever be out there. The impression I got from it was how tough it really is out there. You see it on TV, but it is a big difference from seeing it in person and seeing it on TV.”
On seeing his teammates do it the last few years and his interest in doing it …
“It was an interest to me but I wasn’t as fully into it as I am now. I really didn’t think too much about it, but when they finally asked me to do it I was really excited about doing it. The first day I got there I was really homesick, honestly. I was ready to come back. But after being over there for a week, I wasn’t ready to come back home.”
On the being selected for the trip and how that works …
“It is more of a people that are working hard and being leaders on the team that get selected. I thought it was a big honor for me to get chosen because there have been some great guys that have gone on this trip in the past and I was very humbled by it.”
On wearing an African necklace and the meaning of it now …
“When I look at it I remember the people that I bought it from. The guy was begging me to buy it from him. When you step out a lot of people come and beg you for things like money or try to sell you stuff. The guy that was trying to sell it to me was really begging me and saying, ‘Buy it. Buy it.’ So I bought it from him.”
On if it was a humbling experience …
“Yes, very humbling. It makes you appreciate what you got. Most people over there don’t have much at all. When I look back, I always have food in my refrigerator and freezer too that I don’t feel like cooking sometimes. But when I got I didn’t have any food and was felt broke but looked in my freezer and got some food out and cooked it and had a good meal that night. It just makes you appreciate what you got. I really want to help those people out some more.”
On what they did …
“The main thing that we were doing was handing out food. The first day we gave out food to this whole community and we helped tarp up these two houses for rainy season. The next day we handed out food at this church for 20 or so people. I didn’t even know we were going to a prison but then they told us it was a prison and I was like, ‘Really? A prison. Why are we going to a prison?’ The living conditions are bad. There are concrete floors and some of the people are innocent and they are holding them until they can get a court date set. We were just trying to help those people out and spread the good word.”
On if he was surprised about what he saw …
“I was really surprised about the living conditions and stuff. You see it on TV but until you really see it in person it starts to hit you. You start thinking about it and like, ‘I could not live like this.’ That is how those people live out their lives and they are accustomed to it. It just really hit me that people don’t even have a house to live in and they sleep on mud floors the size of my kitchen.”
On the significance of going to Africa as an African-American …
“It was just to know that if history didn’t play its role I could be over there, too. I could be doing the same things that they are doing. It is a blessing that I had an opportunity to live in America and I hope that a lot more Africans can get the chance to come live here. I also hope to go back. It is not a big significance, but hopefully I can make a small significance to them.”
On if he remembers any people …
“There are a few names I remember, my driver Ageyno I gave him a lot of my UK gear when I left. I heard he and his brother were sharing clothes so I wanted to help him out and gave him some clothes. I also gave this one kid Girma, he was with us a couple of days throughout the trip and I gave him a bunch of clothes and stuff, too. I talked to some of them on Facebook, too. It is cool to keep in contact with them.”
On seeing the kids struggling …
“Yeah, that was the toughest part. I think the second day we were there these two kids came up they were probably five years old and were begging me for money and stuff. I didn’t have anything to give to them. It hurt me to see a kid that was five years old begging for money. I was still relying on my parents then. It just makes you really sad to see kids begging on the streets by themselves.”
3 CommentsBy LARRY VAUGHT
Kentucky football season tickets , parking passes and game day information will be distributed in new “All-In Books,” according to information at ukathletics.com.
“Our goal was to condense everything season ticket holders need to know about coming to Commonwealth into one packet,” said Joe Sharpe, UK’s Associate Athletics Director for Tickets. “From tickets to parking passes to information about traffic and game day activities, it’s all here.”
The book’s cover says “2013 University of Kentucky Season Tickets” ( and will come in spiral-bound books. That’s a great touch for fans.
Tickets and parking passes (if purchased) are lin the back of the book. All tickets are individually marked with barcodes and security foils that protect the holder’s investment.
“The All-In Books are the result of a collaborative effort between the ticket office, K Fund, event management and marketing,” Sharpe said. “I’d like to thank everyone involved for their work.”
In addition, season tickets have been designed so that they can be kept as a commemorative piece at the conclusion of the season. Each ticket book can be arranged horizontally to form the artwork below.
The All-In Books are expected to be shipped in mid-August. All season ticket holders who place their orders by July 14 will receive them, so that is a great incentive to order tickets now.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kickoff for the 2013 Kentucky football season opener vs. Western Kentucky University has been set for 7 p.m. EDT (6 p.m. CDT) on Saturday, August 31.
For the second time in the last three years, the game will be played in Nashville, Tenn., at LP Field. The teams also met at LP Field in the 2011 opener, with UK winning 14-3. This year’s contest will be the first game for both head coaches at their new schools, Mark Stoops of Kentucky and Bobby Petrino of WKU.
Tickets are available and may be purchased by calling 800-928-2287. Fans are encouraged to obtain tickets through UK in order to ensure seating in the Wildcat fan sections. UK has lower level sideline seats for $43 each and club level seating for $63 each.
Vince Marrow
By LARRY VAUGHT
Vince Marrow did not take the traditional route to coaching in the Southeastern Conference.
The Kentucky tight ends coach was a graduate assistant at Nebraska for two years prior to joining Mark Stoops’ staff at UK. But he also spent six years coaching professional football in NFL Europe and the United Football League. Marrow began his coaching career in NFL Europe, coaching tackles and tight ends with the Rhein Fire in Düsseldorf, Germany, from 2006-07 before coaching tight ends with the Berlin Thunder from 2005-06.
“I think what people don’t understand about NFL Europe is that it was just like coaching in the NFL,” said Marrow. “I coached with a lot of guys that were coordinators and head coaches in the NFL and college. I went right into pro ball after playing instead of college coaching.”
Marrow played for five NFL teams — Buffalo, Carolina, New York Jets, Chicago and San Francisco — before joining the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe in 1998, earning all-league honors with 32 receptions for 345 yards. He also played for the Orlando Rage in the XFL in 2000.
“There ain’t an offense or defense I have not seen,” Marrow said. “Dealing with players from different backgrouns and nationalities in Europe helped prepare me for how to go in and get insight on what a player is. I also think coaching in NFL Europe made me a good recruiter. It taught me how to deal with players, including some who did not even speak English. You had others who were allocated by NFL clubs who are trying to revive their careers.
“I loved NFL Europe. I had college offers from good colleges, but I liked it there. You only worked four months and then I could watch my son, Michael, and his career. I really loved NFL Europe. It had some of the best coaching minds in the world. You had to learn how to adapt to the talent and get into the minds of different type players.”
He still remembers when receiver Lance Moore played for him in Europe. Now he’s a premier receiver and favorite target of New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees.
“On the flip side, you get older guys trying to go back to the NFL. Maybe they are four- or five-year veterans and got injured or waived,” Marrow said. “They have to show they can still do it.
“NFL Europe was a step over Alabama. It was just a step under the NFL. It was run like the NFL. You had a lot of smart coaches there. I just think the dynamics and diversity of the people and job made me the guy and coach I am today.”
3 CommentsBy LARRY VAUGHT
Considering the impact Kentucky had made in Ohio since Mark Stoops became head coach, it looked like UK might not continue to stockpile players from Georgia as it had done under previous coaches Rich Brooks and Joker Phillips.
But when I asked Stoops is UK was abandoning Georgia, he assured me that was not the case. To verify that, UK now has its first Georgia commit in its 2014 recruiting class — cornerback Jared Tucker of Stephenson High in Stone Mountain, Ga.
His commitment had been expected and even though he’s “only” a three-star prospect, the 5-11, 160-pound Tucker is ranked as the nation’s 44th best safety by Rivals.com and the 62nd best cornerback by Scout.com. That’s why — believe it or not — Kentucky’s recruiting class is now ranked 10th nationally. Maybe UK won’t be there when signing day gets here in February, but this is still rare, rare territory for Kentucky football.
Tucker, who committed while he was on an unofficial visit in Lexington, had an impressive list of offers for a three-star player. They included seven other SEC schools — Florida, Mississippi State, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. But he also had offers from Louisville, Miami, Cincinnati, Michigan State, North Carolina State, South Florida and West Virginia.
Don’t expect those schools to go away, either. Tucker had seven interceptions last year, runs the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds and is an aggressive defender. Kentucky assistant Bradley Dale Peveto, who coaches safeties, and UK defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot will have to fend off those schools the next eight months.
But one plus could be that Tucker has been familiar with Kentucky for a long time. He was in the stands two years ago when receiver turned quarterback Matt Roark led UK to a historic win over Tennessee in the 2011 season’s final game. He also comes from the high school as current UK players Raymond Sanders, Ronnie Shields, DeMarcus Sweat and Shawn Blaylock.
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