Lorenzen big addition for Wildcats
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ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Jared Lorenzen didn't make the kind of impression he hoped for the first time he met Hal Mumme.
It took a second meeting for Mumme to see Lorenzen for what he is -- a quarterback with big-time skills.
Lorenzen was a high school sophomore from Fort Thomas, Ky., and Mumme was in his first year as Kentucky's coach when all 6-3, 250 pounds of Lorenzen interrupted Mumme in the film room and introduced himself.
"He said, 'I want to be the quarterback at Kentucky some day,' " Mumme recalled. "I looked at him and said, 'You might be an offensive tackle at Kentucky some day.' "
All it took to change Mumme's mind was Lorenzen's performance at the coach's summer camp. Lorenzen won the camp's "Top Gun" award for the quarterback who shows the most precision, velocity and touch in making a variety of passes. He threw one ball 72 yards, the pass straying only inches from a marked line used to chart accuracy.
Now at 6-4, 270 pounds, Lorenzen is Kentucky's quarterback, inheriting the job unexpectedly in June in one of the SEC's strangest developments this summer.
Mumme had given the job to returning starter Dusty Bonner after spring practice, in which Bonner made better decisions but Lorenzen showed more ability.
But in the weeks that followed, Mumme reviewed practice tapes and said he eventually decided he'd made a mistake. So in early June, as regional issues of Athlon and Lindy's magazines were about to come out with Bonner on the cover, Mumme told Bonner that he was moving Lorenzen into the No. 1 job.
For the second consecutive season, Mumme will have to break in a new quarterback. But he said Lorenzen, a redshirt freshman, should be more productive in the long run.
The passing game that Mumme cherishes was diminished with Bonner, who had an accurate but weak arm. Mumme couldn't call many intermediate or deep routes because Bonner couldn't throw those passes with zip.
Most opponents figured out that Kentucky couldn't go downfield, so they crowded the line and took away the running game and short passes.
Bonner's limitation was never more evident than at the end of the Music City Bowl when his Hail Mary pass from midfield fell lamely at the 10-yard line, never giving the receivers in the end zone a chance to make a play. Syracuse won 20-13.
Bonner has transferred to NCAA Division I-AA Valdosta State, which is in his home town of Valdosta, Ga., and is where former Kentucky quarterbacks coach Chris Hatcher is now the head coach.
Mumme said he believes he has made the right choice, even if it took him a while to do it.
"If you're going to have a quarterback controversy, I'd rather have one in May than September," Mumme said.
The players have accepted Lorenzen's new status willingly, linebacker Marlon McCree said. After seeing him work on the offensive scout team against the first-team defense last fall, McCree said he's convinced that Lorenzen can "take us to a bigger bowl."
"He was going against the best guys we have on defense and making us look bad," McCree said. "We were getting fussed at because of Jared."
Experienced hands on both sides of the ball should make Lorenzen's transition easier. The defense has improved in each of Mumme's three seasons and returns seven starters. The offense has seven returners, including the entire offensive line.
Lorenzen should allow Mumme to open up his offense.
To help gauge the quarterbacks' arm strength, Mumme times their throws. One route that Bonner threw in 2.3 seconds from release to catch, Lorenzen did in 1.45 seconds. Compare that to former Kentucky star Tim Couch, the NFL's No. 1 overall draft pick last year, who used to make the same throw in 1.7 seconds.
But about that weight.
Lorenzen said he will whittle down to 260 pounds by the season opener, but that still will make him the heaviest starting quarterback in the league by 35 pounds. He'll be bigger than the linebackers pursuing him.
When he reported last year as a freshman, Lorenzen weighed 280 pounds. He said he doesn't think he's ever touched 300.
"Not that I know of," Lorenzen said, "but I try to stay away from the scales."
Being big never has been a disadvantage, Lorenzen said. And he can move around much better than his size would indicate. He ran a 4.85 40-yard dash this spring and during the spring game he hurdled a cornerback.
"We don't worry about his weight much," Mumme said. "He's a big-boned guy. What I worry about is his body fat and conditioning. He's in good condition."
If Lorenzen makes a good impression in his first season, then Kentucky could be in good shape, too.
This article was published on Friday, August 4, 2000
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