Jarmon's Career Ends With PED Suspension

Distressing news from UK this morning that Jeremy Jarmon has tested positive for a banned substance. The NCAA has suspended him for one year, effectively ending his UK career. The presser was handled with a lot of class by Mitch Barnhart and Jarmon, who apparently asked to address the public.

Jarmon had a rather lengthy explanation regarding the use of an over the counter weight loss supplement that apparently is banned by the NCAA. When I hear these explanations from pro athletes, I never believe them. (See Ramirez, Manny). I'll give Jarmon the benefit of the doubt, both because he seems like a good kid, but also because his story was almost too detailed not to be true.

Midway through, Jarmon wept openly when discussing what UK Football meant to him. The realization that he had let his teammates down seemed to hit him at that moment. Make no mistake, he is right. We've lost one of the four best players on the team at a position that was already among the team's weakest. At the close of spring practice, the only question mark on the defensive side was who would start opposite Jarmon at end. Now we have two slots to fill with unproven talent. Jeremy was the team's only consistent pass rushing threat. Outside of Micah Johnson and perhaps Randall Cobb, I think Jarmon was the worst person we could have lost.

With all said and done, I feel far worse for Jarmon than I do for the Cats. He made a mistake, but even if his story is totally false, the mistake would be an understandable one. Jarmon was told merely months ago that he was a marginal NFL prospect, and decided to come back to school. His junior campaign was, statistically at least, not as good as his sophomore year. A lot was hanging in the balance. Can you blame a kid who tries to get an extra edge in this situation? Now not only has he lost his senior football season, but he missed the draft and his chances to play in the NFL would appear slim. I hope in the coming days he gets some good advice about his options. I assume because he did not declare, he cannot play in the NFL next year. There could be a supplemental draft (a la Brian Bosworth, circa 1987), but I have no idea how this works. However it shakes out, this is a devastating blow for a young guy.

Finally, one word about Mitch Barnhart. Many things have been said about him. These days he looks like a genius, but he isn't that far removed from all of Kentucky calling for his head. He isn't flashy, and he doesn't always do what the faithful think need to be done. But the understated and classy way he handled the conference today should make people connected with the program extremely proud. He is a truly decent guy.

Early SEC Bowl Projections

Thanks to a quick look at John Clay's Blog this afternoon I learned that CFN-Scout has come out with its early bowl projections for 2009-2010. These are the first I've seen on the Internet from a mainstream outlet. On a national scale, these were interesting. Predictably, CFN has Florida in the National Championship. It went against what I think ultimately will be the grain by picking USC as its opponent. I'd go with Texas, or perhaps Oklahoma, and don't think I'd put USC back in a championship until it proves capable of getting through the PAC-10 without a toe stub again. There are some mild surprises, like West Virginia representing the Big East and the Big-Ten getting two teams in the BCS, otherwise pretty standard stuff.

The Bowl projection thing is batted around fairly often on this blog. The reasons are sort of quirky, but understandable. One, the experience of going to bowls is pretty central to my status as UK Football Fan. Granted, I was a fan before this recent streak, and will be still if we suck too bad to go to them again. Still, a part of my rooting interest stems from hoping for that trip, then ultimately hoping it can be to someplace better, different and further south.

Secondly, predicting who will go where lets me unleash my inner geek. In the SEC, I understand the rules and reasoning behind who goes where as well as anyone in the mainstream or Internet media. I cannot say that about any other aspect of football. Crap, I cannot really say that about anything. What I have to say more relevant than saying "Randall Cobb is well suited to play the slot" or "Sam Maxwell is set for a breakout season". I am not trying to be boastful, just noting that it isn't complicated, and I've spent a ton of time thinking about it.

Enough navel gazing. Let's look at Scout's predictions and how they jibe with my own, prepared about two weeks ago by predicting the records of every SEC team (including looking at the schedules and picking a winner for every league game). Scout picked opponents for each game. I will probably not piece that together until mid-November.

My picks are in parentheses.


National Championship

Florida (Florida)



Sugar Bowl

Ole Miss (Ole Miss)



Capital One Bowl

Georgia (Georgia)



Cotton Bowl

Alabama (Alabama)



Outback Bowl

LSU (Tennessee)



Chick-Fil-A Bowl

Drumrolll................Kentucky (LSU)



Liberty Bowl

Arkansas (Kentucky)



Music City Bowl

Tennessee (South Carolina)



Independence Bowl

Vanderbilt (No SEC team eligible, though if I had to pick the next team, Arkansas)



Pizza Web Site Bowl

Auburn (Auburn would be my #10 SEC team, but I still have them at 5-7)

If you look at who is where, it is reasonable to assume Scout has us going 8-4. This would mean beating the two teams SEC teams off this chart, Mississippi State and South Carolina, winning our four nonconference games, beating UT at home, and splitting our road games with two bowl bound teams below us (Vandy and Auburn). I think it is a bit optimistic, but doable. Also, I don't buy that South Carolina will be one of the SEC's two worst teams. Spurrier has been nothing if not consistently mediocre there. Not sure why this year would be any different.