Brooks knows Monte's scheming

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Tennessee defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin congratulates linebacker LaMarcus Thompson, left, and defensive end Ben Martin after a play in the Georgia game on Oct. 10.

Being an old NFL defensive coordinator himself, Kentucky coach Rich Brooks has a hunch what Monte Kiffin has been up to this week:

Cooking up trouble for the Wildcats' freshman quarterback Morgan Newton tonight.

Brooks said he expects Kiffin, UT's first-year defensive coordinator to call on his NFL roots this week,

"You see more (defensive) looks in the NFL than you do in college,'' Brooks said, "because they get to spend all day and all week coming up with schemes.

"You don't see the same blitzes and same fronts and they give you different coverages to confuse the offense. I would expect we'll get a combination of that from Monte Kiffin.

"With a rookie quarterback, you would expect we'd see some different combinations than what we've seen in the past.''

Sure enough, when asked about his defensive personnel this week, head coach Lane Kiffin declined to be specific, saying the Vols were "moving some people around.''

The Kiffins will have more bodies at their disposal this week than last.

Janzen Jackson's return at safety bolsters the secondary. LaMarcus Thompson will be back at outside linebacker after a one-week absence due to a concussion.

Marsalous Johnson (thumb surgery) might be available in the secondary for the first time this month.

Newton is making his seventh start. He took over after Mike Hartline was lost to a knee injury.

The 6-foot-4, 217-pound Newton is a true freshman from Carmel, Ind. He is completing 57.8 percent of his passes, with five touchdowns and three interceptions.

Night Football: Tennessee and Kentucky ended up under the lights before but have never kicked off at night in their long rivalry.

Under the new SEC television contracts with CBS and ESPN, night games will become common - even in late November.

"That probably makes it a little more difficult,'' said Brooks, "but it doesn't come without some pretty good financial reward for the conference, though.''

Kiffin isn't complaining, at least not much.

"Obviously, the contract is great,'' he said. "We love everything about it.

"I'm not especially excited about a 7 o'clock kickoff in 35 degrees, but other than that I think it's great.''

Stock Rising: UT tight end Luke Stocker is from Berea, Ky., and could have easily ended up playing 35 miles up I-75 at Kentucky.

Kiffin is glad he isn't. The junior has 22 catches, including four for touchdowns.

"He's a very smart kid and we ask him to do a lot,'' Kiffin said. "I think he's a potential All-America player next year.

"He's been one of the better players on the whole team.''

Tennessee Ties: Randall Cobb of Alcoa gets most of the attention - deservedly - but he isn't Kentucky's only Knox-area connection.

Kentucky has 12 Wildcats from Tennessee, including three from Knoxville.

Kicker Lones Seiber (Central) is Kentucky's all-time scoring leader with 292 points.

Senior fullback A.J. Nance (Central) is a three-time letterman.

Junior Trey Bowland (CAK) is giving up his final year of eligibility.

Kyrus Lanxter (Alcoa) has seven catches for 58 yards.

Other Streaks: UT's 24-game winning streak is the nation's longest in a major-college rivalry. Kentucky's longest winning streak in the rivalry is four games (1909-12).

The Wildcats' longest streak in the SEC era is three (1953-55 and 1957-59).

Kentucky last had back-to-back wins in 1976-77.

Tennessee had a 12-game win streak 1936-47 and an 11-game run 1965-75.

The Vols are 34-13-3 in Lexington and 16-2 in Commonwealth Stadium, which opened in 1973.

Crompton Watch: Senior quarterback Jonathan Crompton's 25 TD passes this year tie him with Heath Shuler (1993) for fourth-best in a season. Next in line is Casey Clausen's 27 in 2003.

Crompton has 18 TD passes and only three interceptions in his past seven games.

Kentucky ranks 14th nationally in pass defense, allowing 176 yards per game.

Stats: Kentucky has supplanted Tennessee as the least-penalized team in the SEC.

The Wildcats have been flagged 49 times for an average of 38.5 yards per game. After a nine-penalty (95 yards) game against Vanderbilt, UT fell to third in the conference at 57 penalties for 42.2 yards per game. Ole Miss is second.

The Cats also are tops in the league on fourth-down conversions, making 14 of 19 attempts.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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