September 24, 2009
Tommy Johnson, named Thursday as coach of the Kentucky Horsemen, says the “stamp” he intends to put on the arena football team starts with defense.
Tommy Johnson
“Defense is what’s going to lead us to a championship,” he said. “I played on an Alabama team that had probably one of the best defenses in college football, and that’s one of the things that’s been my staple for a long time, is defense.
“I think that you will see a team that, first of all, has a lot of character. We want to make sure that our young men understand that this is just a sport, this is just a game. Children wake up every Saturday and play this for free, and you have the privilege ofplaying it for money. So you’ll see a team that’s full of character and you’ll see a team that’s going to play just-nasty defense, and we’re going to score a lot of points.”
Johnson replaces Mike Harmon, the Tates Creek head coach, who recently resigned from the Horsemen. Johnson says he plans to consult Harmon: “Absolutely, I will. I’d be crazy not to. Coach Harmon, he’s had some success on the football field here. I’d be crazy not to seek a little information on the guys and what they can do.”
Matt DiLorenzo, general manager of the Horsemen, said that he consulted with football contacts, Arena Football League officials and the commissioner of arenafootball2.
“The same name kept coming up,” DiLorenzo said, indicating Johnson.
So an interview was arranged.
“I knew within the first three minutes that this man was our man,” DiLorenzo said.
Johnson is the former head coach of the Louisville Fire. He was hired to be defensive coordinator of the Colorado Crush last season, but the AFL suspended operations before the season began.
A defensive back, Johnson was a team captain at Alabama, which won the 1992 No. 1 ranking by beating Miami in the Sugar Bowl. He also played professionally with the Jacksonville Jaguars, with several AFL teams and in NFL Europe. His coaching career began in 2001 as defensive coordinator of the Fire.
He and his wife Monica live in Louisville, where he is a volunteer assistant on Tim Green’s staff at Kentucky Country Day High School.
Also on the KCD staff is Justin Rascati, who split Horsemen quarterback chores last season with Jared Lorenzen.
Johnson says that continuing a quarterback rotation is not in his plans, though.
“When you have a quarterback of those two guys’ caliber, you have to go with one guy and you have to stick with him,” Johnson said. “You have to get a guy in there that can lead your team. I think every good team has a starting quarterback and a quarterback they feel comfortable with coming in if something happens with that starter. But the rotation thing, it gets those guys our of their rhythm. We want to get those guys in a situation where they’ve got their rhythm and they’re moving our team down the field and scoring points.”
Brett Kincaid, chairman of the board for the team, said the Horsemen will be changing leagues next season, moving from arenafootball2 to a league that will include AFL teams and teams from some smaller leagues. The Horsemen begin training in March.
About 10 players attended Thursday’s press conference, held on the Rupp Arena concourse.
Johnson stressed to them that he expects them to put the community first, show respect, play hard and do what they can to make the fans feel at home. If they do, they will be rewarded with a faithful following that will “cheer us to championships. We will win football games. We are going to take this thing to the next level.”
DiLorenzo said the team is “looking into” adding a “kid zone” for home games; freezing and lowering ticket-package prices; offering payment plans, and merging sponsorships and family ticket packages with the new basketball team in town, the Bluegrass Stallions.
Johnson accepted an on-the-spot offer by Stallions owner Tony Chase to suit up for a game as the basketball team’s 13th man – a celebrity roster spot that each team has for home games.
Most of all, though, Johnson wants to win football games.
“We want to get back to that championship trophy. We want to get back to that point where we’re the cream of the crop,” he said. “The Horsemen have a storied history of being the best and we’re going to get back to that. … I am overly excited about getting started because I know the potential of this team and where we can go.”
Johnson says he has interviewed some “pretty exciting candidates” to be on his staff, but will continue the search: “We are going to interview every coach that wants to interview.”
Asked what his salary will be, Johnson said, “Haven’t negotiated that yet. I can tell you this: it is a league-mandatory salary cap. … I just don’t know how much I will be compensated.”
And he has a message for the public: “To all the fans out there that have not been to an arena football league game, give us one game. I promise you, at the end of the game, you will come up to me and say, ‘Coach, you were right. This is a phenomenal, family-fun game.”
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Arena Football League, Bluegrass Stallions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kentucky Country Day High School, Kentucky Horsemen, Louisville Fire, NFL Europe, Rupp Arena, Sugar Bowl, Tates Creek High School, University of Alabama, University of Miami, arena football, arenafootball2, football | Tagged: Brett Kincaid, Jared Lorenzen, Justin Rascati, Kentucky Horsemen, Matt DiLorenzo, Mike Harmon, Tim Green, Tommy Johnson, Tony Chase | 
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Posted by Mark Maloney
June 9, 2009
The University of Kentucky men’s team jumped from 20th to No. 11 in the final U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll of the season. The NCAA Outdoor Championships open Wednesday at the University of Arkansas and continue through Saturday.
Texas A&M moved from No. 2 to No. 1 in the final poll. Oregon also moved up a spot to No. 2, followed by four Southeastern Conference squads — previously top-ranked Florida, Arkansas (up from 6), LSU (up from 8th) and South Carolina. In all, the SEC has eight of the top 20 teams.
Texas A&M also moved from No. 2 to No. 1 in the women’s poll, switching places with Oregon. Third is LSU, which leads five SEC teams in the top 20.
UK has the top-ranked women’s team from the state, improving from No. 34 to 32.
The UK men are led by Rashaud Scott, the Field Athlete of the Year in the Southeast Region (see below). He is coming off a sweep of regional shot put and discus titles and is defending NCAA champion in the latter event. He is ranked No. 1 in the discus and No. 8 in the shot. Teammate Chase Madison is No. 7 in the discus.
In addition, the Wildcats qualified in both the 4-by-100 and 4-by-400 relays, ranking sixth and 12th, respectively.
Rondel Sorrillo, who anchors the 4-by-100 unit, also made it in the 100 (ranked No. 22) and 200 (No. 5).
Louisville’s men improved from 37th to 29th in the team rankings. The Cardinals are led by a pair of top 10-ranked athletes — Corey Thorne, No. 2 in the steeplecase, and Tone Belt, No. 6 in the high jump.
Western Kentucky jumped 14 spots to No. 37. The Hilltoppers are led by Gavin Smellie, ranked No. 2 in the 200, and Mandhla Mgijima, No. 7 in the long jump.
Eastern Kentucky moved from No. 163 to 137. The Colonels’ lone NCAA qualifier is 5,000-meter runner Joseph Maina (No. 27).
UK’s women have four NCAA qualifiers, all ranked 17th or better: Ashley Muffet (No. 4, discus), Kristin Smith (No. 7, hammer throw), Ashley Trimble (No. 11, heptathlon) and Emilee Strot (No. 17, discus).
Louisville is ranked No. 35, an improvement of 14 spots. The Cards are led by Jere’ Summers, who ranks sixth in the discus and 10th in the shot.
Western Kentucky jumped 19 spots to No. 53. Janet Jesang, No. 5 at 5,000 meters, leads the Hilltoppers.
The final team rankings:
WOMEN
1. Texas A&M
2. Oregon
3. LSU
4. Arizona State
5. Tennessee
6. Florida State; 7. Southern Cal; 8. Penn State; 9. Baylor; 10. Texas.
11. Michigan; 12. UCLA; 13. Miami (Fla.); 14. Florida; 15. Washington.
16. UTEP; 17. Oklahoma; 18. Arkansas; 19. Nebraska; 20. Auburn.
21. Illinois; 22. Virginia Tech; 23. Indiana; 24. BYU; 25. Stanford.
MEN
1. Texas A&M
2. Oregon
3. Florida
4. Arkansas
5. LSU
6. South Carolina; 7. So. Cal; 8. Stanford; 9. Nebraska; 10. Ariz. State.
11. KENTUCKY; 12. Fla. State; 13. Miss. State; 14. Texas; 15. Auburn.
16. Minnesota; 17. Kansas State; 18. Texas; 19. Baylor; 20. Georgia.
21. Wash.; 22. Arizona; 23. Cal; 24. Boise State; 25. Wash. State.
Division I regional athletes and coaches of the year
Rashaud Scott
Erik Jenkins
Kentucky shot put/discus ace Rashaud Scott has been named by the USTFCCCA as men’s Field Athlete of the Year in the Southeast Region.
Western Kentucky’s Erik Jenkins was named Women’s Head Coach of the Year in the Southeast Region.
The full list of award winners follows.
Name (school) region
Tiffany Ofili
Women’s track — Tiffany Ofili (Michigan) Great Lakes; Clara Grandt (West Virginia) Mid-Atlantic; Angela Bizzari (Illinois) Midwest; Jenny Barringer (Colorado) Mountain; Danette Doetzel (Providence) Northeast; Murielle Ahoure (Miami, Fla.) South; Porscha Lucas (Texas A&M) South Central; Francena McCorory (Hampton) Southeast; Charonda Williams (Arizona State) West.
Destinee Hooker
Women’s field — Kara Patterson (Purdue) Great Lakes; Gayle Hunter (Penn State) Mid-Atlantic; Liz Roehrig (Minnesota) Midwest; Blessing Okagbare (UTEP) Mountain; Tahari James (Boston U.) Northeast; Kim Williams (Florida State) South; Destinee Hooker (Texas) South Central; Dorotea Habazin (Virginia Tech); Southeast; Sarah Stevens (Arizona State) West.
Trindon Holliday
Men’s track — Adam Harris (Michigan) Great Lakes; Sean Tully (Villanova) Mid-Atlantic; German Fernandez (Oklahoma State) Midwest; Gil Roberts (Texas Tech) Mountain; Kyle Heath (Syracuse) Northeast; Calvin Smith (Florida) South; Trindon Holliday (LSU) South Central; Sam Chelanga (Liberty) Southeast; Galen Rupp (Oregon) West.
Aston Eaton
Men’s field — Derek Drouin (Indiana) Great Lakes; Clarence Smith (Penn State) Mid-Atlantic; Will Claye (Oklahoma) Midwest; Dimitrios Fylladitakis (UTEP) Mountain; Nico Weiler (Harvard) Northeast; Chris Hill (Georgia) South; Jason Colwick (Rice) South Central; RASHAUD SCOTT (KENTUCKY) Southeast; Ashton Eaton (Oregon) West.
T. Buford-Bailey
Women’s head coach — James Henry (Michigan) Great Lakes; Beth Alford-Sullivan (Penn State) Mid-Atlantic; Tonja Buford-Bailey (Illinois) Midwest; Wes Kittley (Texas Tech) Mountain; Bill Morgan (Connecticut) Northeast; Caryl Smith Gilbert (Central Florida) South; Jim Bevan (Rice) South Central; ERIC JENKINS (WESTERN KENTUCKY) Southeast; Dan Steele (Oregon) West.
Brian Forrester
Women’s assistant — Brian Forrester (Akron) Great Lakes; Chris Miltenberg (Georgetown U.) Mid-Atlantic; Marc Burns (Wichita State) Midwest; Scott Irving (U.S. Air Force Academy) Mountain; Clive Terrelong (Connecticut) Northeast; Karen Harvey (Florida State) South; Vince Anderson (Texas A&M) South Central; Carrie Lane (Virginia) Southeast; Robert Johnson (Oregon) West.
Chris Bucknam
Men’s head coach – Dennis Mitchell (Akron) Great Lakes; Joe Compagni (Monmouth) Mid-Atlantic; Gary Pepin (Nebraska) Midwest; Mark Robison (Brigham Young) Mountain; Nathan Taylor (Cornell) Northeast; Michael Holloway (Florida) South; Tie: Chris Bucknam (Arkansas) and Sean Brady (Southeastern Louisiana) South Central; Jason Vigilante (Virginia) Southeast; Ron Allice (Southern California) West.
Don Babbitt
Men’s assistant – Rodney Zuyderwyk (Purdue) Great Lakes; Sheila Burrell (Georgetown U.) Mid-Atlantic; Billy Maxwell (Nebraska) Midwest; Dion Miller (Texas Tech) Mountain; Michelle Eisenreich (Brown) Northeast; Don Babbit (Georgia) South; Dick Booth (Arkansas) South Central; Tim Hall (Clemson) Southeast; Mark MacDonald (Washington State) West.
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Posted by Mark Maloney
Ask me when I fell in love with sports and you may as well ask when I first registered a pulse. I can't recall ever being without either. 
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