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Chat Reel: Hal Mumme

Lorenzen "could be the best we've ever had"

Kentucky coach Hal Mumme thinks the Wildcats' secondary is going to be very good in 2000. Andy Lyons/Allsport

Kentucky coach Hal Mumme chatted with CNNSI.com users on August 17, 2000. A transcript of his chat follows:

CNNSI Host: Welcome to our chat with Kentucky coach Hal Mumme. Welcome, coach!
Hal Mumme: Thank you, good to be here.

From Brian Helton in Louisville Ky.: There are stories circulating about Jared Lorenzen throwing 50 yard bullet passes from one knee. Is this true? Also would you agree that he is the corner-stone of our SEC. championship to come?
Hal Mumme: Yeah, it's certainly true, he does that routinely. In the off-season he can kneel on the 50-yard line and throw it to somebody on the goal line. He does that routinely. He's probably one of the cornerstones, not the only one, but our quarterback's obviously important to us.

From Steve Edwards in Louisville, Ky.: Coach, considering the arm strength of Lorenzen and the development of Derek Smith at TE, do you plan to throw more downfield to 6'7", 260 lb. WR Bobby Blizzard to take advantage of his size once he catches the ball against smaller defenders?
Hal Mumme: We're working a lot with Blizzard getting vertical and he's having a good camp doing it.

From Steve Shaughnessy in Nashville, Tenn.: There was talks in the past of putting the Indiana game on hiatus and adding someone else. Any truth to those rumors? What type of team will we be adding for the 12th team on our schedule in a few years.
Hal Mumme: There's not any truth to putting Indiana on hold. We looked at that, but it didn't work out. We've got them for six or eight years. I don't know what the 12th game will be, we're negotiating with several schools.

From KYHOGFAN: Coach... I was at practice today and noticed Jared through a few interceptions... How do you think he is at reading the defense and does the practice defense have an upper hand right now?
Hal Mumme: Jared threw three in practice today, but two were the receivers' fault. Jared threw where he was supposed to, but the receiver went the opposite direction. He's only thrown one interception he's responsible for in 1,200 passes.

From Steve England in Edmonton, Ky.: Hello Hal. I was wondering how you thought the defense would play this year, especially the secondary? I've read reports that the secondary could be one of the best in the league.
Hal Mumme: We think our secondary's going to be very good. We expect better play than last year, and we had some outstanding plays last season.

From Pig in the Rock in Little Rock, Arkansas: What is the toughest road venue in the SEC?
Hal Mumme: I think it's in his home state, playing Arkansas at Little Rock. It's a tight stadium with metal bleachers and they know how to use them. It's the loudest place we've played so far.

From KYHOGFAN: How do you feel about LaVell Edwards retiring at the end of the season?
Hal Mumme: I love LaVell, he's done a lot for my career, he's a great mentor to a lot of coaches. He's going to be missed, he's won a lot of games, we'll miss him, but if he's ready to retire, it's certainly well-deserved.

From BOSSCAT in Bowling Green, Ky.: CNNSI Host: Hello Coach. How is Artose Pinner progressing and how many touches (run/catch) do you hope to get him each game?
Hal Mumme: Artose is having a great camp, and we like to see to get 15-20 touches.

From MJ in Cary, N.C.: Everyone knows that UK can put points on the board. How do you plan to more effectively stop SEC teams on the other side of the ball? What players, defensively, are you counting on to take UK to the next level in the SEC?
Hal Mumme: We think our defense needs to mature. Our players are good, but young. We're counting on Anthony Wajda, Eric Kelly, Patrick Wiggins, Ryan Murphy, Dennis Johnson, Matt Layow, among others.

From Les in Downingtown, Pa.: What quarterback can you compare the potential of Jared Lorenzen to?
Hal Mumme: I think he could be the best we've ever had. I think he's got as much potential as Couch, but he's got to go do it. Couch did it.

From Melissa in Cloverport, Ky.: It looks like Tim Couch is going through his "sophomore slump" with the Browns. What advice would you give him right now if you were still his coach? Best of luck this year!
Hal Mumme: I don't Tim needs a lot of advice. He knows what to do. I don't think you can call it sophomore slump, since it's only training camp. He hasn't played a game yet.

From KYHOGFAN: Coach... there have been a few football players this year that have died following heat exhaustion... have you guys changed any practice habits with that in mind?
Hal Mumme: No, because we've always done a good job keeping our guys hydrated, our workouts are short, a lot of things that cause that, we don't do.

From Antonio M. Bacon in Germantown, Md.: Coach Mumme, Will you feature Marlon McCree more in your blitz schemes or elect to put him in pass coverage the majority of the time. Also, in your opinion which scheme will make his stock rise in the 2001 draft?
Hal Mumme: I think Marlon's capable of doing both equally well, and because of that, his draft stock is going to be up considerably.

From csherm: Coach, if Antonio Hall misses games, will the o-line be shuffled back to last year's line-up, or do we have a backup, other than Omar Smith, who can fill in for Hall?
Hal Mumme: It'll probably be the five we started last year.

From Bryan in Palm Harbor, Fla.: What does your caused you to switch quarterbacks when Dusty Bonner played so well for you last year?
Hal Mumme: Dusty played well, but it was not up to our standards. We felt we needed more arm strength and ability to stretch the field. I could give experience to Jared, but I couldn't make Dusty's arm stronger.

From Leon Poole in Owensboro, Ky.: After the Music City Bowl last season, you promised a more physical brand of Cat this year. How much more "Physical" can we expect from the Blue Bombers this year?
Hal Mumme: We've done some things in practice for that. Plus, our time in the weight room offseason is important. We're quicker than we've been. We can just play harder longer this year.

From Fast Forward KY in Lexington, KY: If you could pick one player on each side of the ball, who do you expect to have the biggest surprise players to be and why?
Hal Mumme: I think Jared Lorenzen and defensive end Chris Demaree. They're both having great camps, they're both people that haven't been heard of as much. But we expect both to have great seasons.

From Jeff Jones in Richmond, Va.: Congratulations on your great success at Kentucky. It looks like you all are in line for another great season. Now that the lack of talent on the defensive side of the ball is no longer an excuse for poor execution, what are your expectations of the defensive unit?
Hal Mumme: We expect our defense to be one of the top ones in the conference and get us the ball back, that's their main job.

CNNSI Host: That's all the time we have today with Coach Mumme. Thank you for joining us and good luck this season.
Hal Mumme: Thank you. You're welcome.

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