Adams: Sanders reborn at Kentucky

"No, I hung up," Sanders replied.

Kentucky football coaches rarely maintain their sense of humor this deep into a football season. But the Wildcats have beaten Georgia, won seven games, and saved coach Rich Brooks' job.

And they've done it with only five senior starters.

Never mind what misfortune might come their way Saturday at Neyland Stadium. This season is already a success. After winning nine games in three years, the Wildcats are bowl-eligible for only the second time in the millennium.

But their turnaround doesn't compare to Sanders'.

Think back to last year when Sanders announced his resignation as UT's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The quarterback shuffle between Rick Clausen and Erik Ainge had been a disaster, and the overall offense had failed spectacularly.

As if that weren't damning enough, Sanders had decided to beat the season to the finish line. After announcing his resignation with four games to play, he later agreed to finish the season, which turned out to be UT's worst in 17 years.

Try glossing over all that in a resumA(C).

You might have wondered what Sanders would choose for his next career. Or, you might have wondered what high school team he would be coaching in 2006.

He didn't just get another college coaching job. He saved his career.

He's no longer the coach who helped bring down the Vols. He's the coach who helped lift the Wildcats.

Offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe has received much-deserved praise for UT's success. Who knows where the offense or head coach Phillip Fulmer would be without him? But don't ignore Sanders' impact on the Wildcats. He has done as much for Kentucky quarterback AndrA(C) Woodson as Cutcliffe has for Ainge.

Last year, Woodson threw six touchdown passes and six interceptions while completing 57.7 percent of his passes for 1,644 yards. With Sanders as his position coach, Woodson has thrown 27 touchdown passes and only seven interceptions. He leads the SEC in passing yards per game, total offense and touchdown passes.

"I'd like to think that some of what I've done has contributed to making him a better player," Sanders said. "But it goes back to the summer, the way he approached it. I think AndrA(C) made up his mind to be a good quarterback."

Woodson's dramatic improvement has done wonders for an offense that is averaging about three points and eight yards fewer per game than UT. And the Wildcats don't have the advantage of facing their own defense, which ranks last in the country in yards allowed per game.

Kentucky's defense will be UT's advantage Saturday. Almost anything Cutcliffe calls should beam with brilliance against the nation's worst defense.

Sanders says he's also looking forward to the game.

"Not because it's Tennessee or coming back home," said the former UT quarterback. "You look forward to big games in that type of atmosphere.

"It will be strange. It will be strange going to the visitors' locker room. The good thing is I know where it's at."

He will recognize the offense, too. It's not the one he left behind last season. It's more like the one that scored 400 points under his direction in 2001.

Sanders' best season at UT was in 2004 when the Vols won the SEC East despite starting three different quarterbacks, including two freshmen and Clausen, who had played only sparingly throughout his college career. And they won despite their defense, which gave up 33 points to Vanderbilt and 31 to Kentucky in the last two regular-season games.

Kentucky's offense won't be able to overcome its defense against UT, but that won't take away from what Sanders has accomplished in his first college football season away from UT.

He helped turn Woodson into a top-notch SEC quarterback. And he saved his career in the process.