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And while Kentucky Coach Rich Brooks said Saturday's scrimmage will be a factor in the quarterback race between Curtis Pulley and Mike Hartline, it figures to be some time before a starter is named.

"It'll give us an idea of at least where to start going into fall," said Brooks, who labeled the competition 'close.' "Somebody will be first-string after (the spring game), but whether that sticks, I don't know."

There are several factors that will keep the quarterback battle going. First and foremost, neither Pulley nor Hartline has separated himself from the other.

But Brooks hasn't been too hard on the quarterbacks this spring, noting that bad weather and an inexperienced group of receivers have played a big part in the ugliness of the passing game this spring. Offensive coordinator Joker Phillips said Pulley and Hartline have basically been equal this spring.

A weekend after being swept at Georgia, the baseball Wildcats blew a 6-0 lead over Florida and were staring at a 7-6 deficit in the eighth inning.

The Cats responded big-time Friday night, scoring five runs in the eighth to pull out an 11-7 victory. A raucous crowd of 3,036 -- believed to be the first time Cliff Hagan Stadium has topped 3,000 for a Southeastern Conference game -- got credit for the save.

"I personally want to thank everybody for creating an SEC-caliber atmosphere here tonight," UK Coach John Cohen said. "Our kids just play so much better when we have that environment here."

Sawyer Carroll's career-high five RBI sparked the Cats. Carroll and Ryan Wilkes each had three of UK's 12 hits. Keenan Wiley and Collin Cowgill had two-hit nights, with Cowgill reaching base on all five of his plate appearances, including two walks and a hit-by-pitch.

Five freshmen were brought in on the line last fall, with four of them (Stuart Hines, Brad Durham, Phillip Hibbard and Billy Joe Murphy) hailing from the Bluegrass state.

So while the Cats might be on to something with their quintet of young O-linemen, spring practice has shown it will probably be another year or two before that comes to fruition.

Three of the five 2007 offensive line signees are working with the second team. Jake Lanefski, the lone out-of-stater among the group, is backing up Jorge Gonzalez at center. Durham is behind junior Justin Jeffries at right tackle. Hines is trying to beat out Jess Beets at right guard. Murphy and Hibbard are third-teamers at tackle.

The group, like most young linemen, has been inconsistent so far. They drew praise from Coach Rich Brooks for their play in the first spring scrimmage before being criticized for a lack of focus in the second.

Has any prospect eyed by Kentucky ever traveled such a path?

No doubt, Ater Majok blazes an unusual trail. Yet here he was on Thursday holding his own in a practice with other top prospects and comfortably fielding questions from a semicircle of reporters.

"It's good to get all this attention," said Majok, whose name is pronounced Ah-TEAR (as in tear the paper) Mah-JOKE. "But with attention comes responsibility. When I get on the court, I have to handle my business. When in the classroom, I have to handle my business."

Majok, a 6-foot-10 forward, is thin, athletic and skilled. During the workout, he flashed the skills he said he possessed: a smooth jump shot, ballhandling to get around taller defenders and the size to post up smaller opponents.

UK Coach Billy Gillispie acknowledged Thursday that Jasper is considering a transfer to be closer to his home in Paso Robles, Calif.

"He's a little homesick," said Gillispie, who added a moment later, "He's battled that ever since I've been here. When I first took the job, they said, 'Derrick's a little homesick. You better talk to him.' "

Gillispie noted how he's tried to talk Jasper into staying. The UK coach declined to say specifically what he's told Jasper. "That's personal," he said.

But Gillispie volunteered a public plea to Jasper to stay.

Derrick Locke has spent his spring going back and forth between football and track and field. The University of Kentucky sophomore has to work in that whole going to class thing, too.

You wonder how the surprise running back standout who has become a record-shattering long-jumper avoids whiplash.

"It's hard," Locke says.

Football: Rich Brooks says the two fastest players he's ever coached, college or pro, are longtime NFL wide receiver Eddie Kennison and a current UK tailback, Locke.

Where: Cliff Hagan Stadium

When: 6:30 p.m. Friday; 7 p.m. Saturday; 1 p.m. Sunday

Radio: All games on WLAP-AM 630

TV: Friday and Saturday on CWKYT-5 and FSN South

"There's always a ton of rumors," he said at a news conference on Thursday.

Gillispie tied the speculation to what he deemed over-achievement by UK's team this past season.

"When you do over-achieve, there are going to be people who 'rumor' things about you," he said. "You can't ever defend speculation, so I haven't ever tried."

Gillispie said he would publicly talk about another job only if the other school asked for permission to speak to him. Otherwise, he said he saw no benefit in clearing the air if he should be linked to another job.

There is no game, no opponent for which to plan, no standings to study, no enticing smell of something grilled wafting from the concrete paradise occupied by those addicted to tailgating.

Spring football is football out of place, to all but one important faction.

"Spring practice is usually the most fun time to coach," Kentucky's Rich Brooks said Wednesday. "Just getting down to getting better."

The average fan might pay it scant attention, participants might ho-hum through it, but coaches eat it up.

Her thrill is recruiting.

She loves the people, the competition, the rush.

"It's like a game to her," said her former high school coach, Mark Evans. "It's amazing. She's really good at it, and she loves to do it."

Elzy is coming up on a big recruiting weekend while juggling a move from her old job at Kansas to her new one as top assistant and recruiter at Kentucky. But she sounded giddy as she discussed getting out Friday to recruit again.

The Wildcats were lethargic on the field and on the bench, and Albers wanted to see energy from his teammates.

"I tried to light a little fire, get us excited," said Albers, the winning pitcher after Kentucky rallied for a 6-5 victory. "Things weren't going our way. It was pretty dead."

But the Wildcats rallied. A four-run seventh inning tied the score. Then the power pair of Collin Cowgill and Sawyer Carroll hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth.

The Eagles closed within a run in the ninth against Scott Green and had the tying run on second before he got the final two outs.

For the first time since Rich Brooks took over as Kentucky head coach, the Wildcats will conduct a draft for Saturday's Blue-White Game.

UK had used an offense vs. defense format with a scoring system in its previous spring games, but Brooks now believes that the program has enough depth to have an actual scrimmage.

"This way gives you a more competitive game and gives the coaches a better evaluation of your players in a more competitive situation than we've had in years past," Brooks said.

Offensive coordinator Joker Phillips will coach the Blue team while defensive coordinator Steve Brown coaches the White. Phillips won a coin toss and will get the first pick. Brown will get the next two picks before turning it back over to Phillips. The draft will continue until the entire roster is divided.

Galloway, a 6-foot-6 player for the College of Southern Idaho, became UK's third signee this recruiting year. He followed Darius Miller of Mason County and DeAndre Liggins of Findlay Prep, Nev.

When asked how it felt to become a Wildcat, Galloway said, "Man, it feels awesome. I can't explain how it feels."

Galloway, a native of Sacramento, Calif., originally signed with Southern California. He transferred to Southern Idaho.

"Coming from a football school, I wanted to make sure I saw what it's like on the other side," he said of Kentucky's basketball tradition.

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Allen lf 4 2 2 0 Wiley lf 4 1 1 0

Lee ss 5 0 3 2 Cowgill cf 4 2 2 1

Midden 1b 5 0 0 1 Carroll rf 4 2 3 1

Nothing flashy. Nothing awe-inspiring. But for a player who has waited three long years to finally become the starting quarterback at Louisville, it was enough to signify that his time has come.

Cantwell threw for 103 yards and a score during Louisville's annual Spring Game on Friday night, leading the offense to a 38-17 win over the defense. The game was played under a modified scoring system that awarded the defense for stops and turnovers. Cantwell's steady play seemed to solidify his hold on the starting job heading into training camp.

Not bad for a former walk-on who spent most of his first three seasons subbing _ superbly at times _ for Brian Brohm. Though coach Steve Kragthorpe said during spring practice that the starting job was up for grabs, Cantwell knew his coach was simply challenging him to step up.

"I kind of always felt like (the starting job) was mine to lose," Cantwell said. "I know nothing is guaranteed, it's still not. (Backups) Matt (Simms) and Tyler (Wolfe) are amazing quarterbacks. They have amazing talent, but I want to play."