Phillips, Wildcats preparing to 'Rise'

HOOVER, Ala. -- The Kentucky Wildcats are second to none in Southeastern Conference basketball success, and the same can be said for football slogans.

The combination of quarterback Tim Couch and coach Hal Mumme resulted in the memorable "Air Raid" theme of the late 1990s, and more recent Wildcats slogans have included "Till the Battle Is Won" and "Operation Win." Kentucky second-year head coach Joker Phillips arrived at Southeastern Conference media days Thursday morning and explained the program's latest and most succinct slogan: "Rise."

"In order for this program to continue to rise, we have got to do the things that are necessary for it to rise," Phillips said. "We have shown that we at Kentucky can compete in this league. Our challenge to our players -- our veteran players and our new players -- is to try to fill the void of some of the players we just loss."

The Wildcats have strung together five consecutive bowl trips for the first time in program history, and they were the only SEC East team last year to defeat South Carolina, the eventual division champion. Yet Kentucky has followed two 8-5 seasons with two 7-6 seasons and a 6-7 finish in 2010.

Kentucky has 10 defensive starters back, including senior linebacker Danny Trevathan, who led the league with 144 tackles last year. The Wildcats return six offensive starters, but among the missing are quarterback Mike Hartline, tailback Derrick Locke and receivers Randall Cobb and Chris Matthews.

"We lost a lot of production out of this past class," Phillips said. "We have challenged our present players and our new players to make sure they are filling that void."

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