The 5 Best Things We Saw in All-Access: Kentucky Spring Football

The Kentucky football team is in the middle of summer workouts at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility. This chapter of the offseason is primarily focused on recruiting, while current players get bigger, faster, and stronger. The most recent chapter got a little extra shine in the UK Sports Video’s production of All-Access: Kentucky Spring Football.

It aired on the SEC Network on Wednesday night, and will be replayed on Thursday at 2 and 7 p.m. ET, and on Friday at 8 p.m. ET. If you can’t catch it at any of those times, ESPN has it available on demand. A good chunk of the 30-minute production was shared in social media clips throughout the spring, but there were a few more enlightening behind-the-scenes moments in the feature, like Will Stein‘s chat with the team after the spring game. Here are five other moments that caught KSR’s eye.

How the Kentucky Coaches got to Kentucky

Stein’s new assistants took many different paths to Kentucky. Cornerbacks coach Allen Brown said, “It was aggressive at first. It was hectic. It was wild. Once I got the moving truck, I got engaged a few weeks ago, too.”

That’s one heck of a time to get engaged. Tony Washington Jr. did not expect to get a call from Stein. The UK EDGE coach simply reached out to general manager Pat Biondo, who he knew from their time together at Oregon.

“I hit up Pat randomly, just to congratulate him. I saw him on the jet with Stein. ‘That was big-time. Congratulations.’ Then it was like, ‘We want you to come.’ What?”

The Standard

All-Access: Kentucky Spring Football includes plenty of montages from the action at spring practice. The dialogue is primarily driven by the coaches in team meetings. Defensive coordinator Jay Bateman encouraged his players to lean on each other.

“The player-led standard is the standard that wins,” said Bateman. “When we go out there today, we got to hold each other accountable.

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Cutter Leftwich Brings the Juice

You’ve heard Stein use the phrase, “Juiceful is useful.” Joe Sloan brings plenty of juice when he asks the team for three claps and a Ric Flair WOO! That works in the meeting room. The real juice is seen on the practice field, and nobody got BBN more fired up than offensive line coach Cutter Leftwich.

“It’s not okay to be average,” he implored his group. “Somebody can take this spot from you. If you don’t have a f***ing spot, go f***ing take somebody’s spot. I’m not here to be casual. I’m here to be f***ing great!”

Tegra Tshabola was Ready for the Kentucky Spring Game

Prior to the Blue-White Game, the entire team gathered to be briefed by Will Stein. Offensive guard Tegra Tshabola was ready to roll. Most players were still in shorts and t-shirts. He was already in full-uniform.

What Didn’t Make the Cut

All-Access: Kentucky Spring Football was a polished production. The candid moments between the players and coaches shine a different light on the camaraderie the team is creating within the building. Thankfully, five minutes of outtakes were shared on social media. There are plenty of great moments. My personal favorite is the cameo made by Jacob Tamme. Joe Sloan told the players that Tamme “made Peyton Manning what he was.”