Brown confident in ‘Air Raid’ at Kentucky

Neal Brown plans to bring the “Air Raid” offense to Kentucky. He said it won’t take long to install the up-tempo, passing attack, that it can be done quickly.

The Wildcats’ new offensive coordinator said Tuesday he will employ the offense that helped Texas Tech’s offense rank in the top 15 nationally in his three seasons there.

Brown, hired Dec. 10, learned the nutsand-bolts of the offense playing wide receiver at Kentucky under coach Hal Mumme from 19982000. He adopted the philosophy as a coach and helped Troy’s offense thrive with it for two years before going to the Red Raiders.

The Louisville native faces a big challenge with the Wildcats, whose offense ranked next to last in the Southeastern Conference this past season at 315 yards per game.

Still, Brown is confident Kentucky will turn it around. “It’s been done,” said the 32-year-old, who will also coach quarterbacks. “This program’s had a couple of down years, but it also went through some of its strongest periods with five or six bowls games in a row.”

Michigan: Quarterback Denard Robinson pleaded guilty to driving with a suspended license and remains eligible to play in the Outback Bowl against South Carolina. A spokesman said Robinson paid a fine and faces no additional punishment from the school.

Utah State: Junior lineman Sini Tauauvea was arrested after the Aggies’ bowl victory Saturday on charges of misdemeanor battery and trespassing. He is sched- uled to appear in court Jan. 7.

Old Dominion: Quarterback Taylor Heinicke won the Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player in FCS.

North Dakota State: Craig Bohl, who has led the Bison to a repeat appearance in the national title game, was named FCS national coach of the year.

Kent State: Paul Haynes, formerly defen- sive coordinator at Arkansas, was named the school’s new head coach, replacing Darrell Hazell.

San Jose State: Bay Area native Ron Caragher, who spent the past six years at San Diego, was introduced as the school’s new head coach, replacing Mike MacIntyre.

Jacksonville State: The school hired South Alabama defensive coordinator Bill Clark as its new head coach.