Kentucky guard Moss might lace 'em up with football team

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Even though his basketball playing days are over, Ravi Moss is being hotly recruited by the University of Kentucky for the first time.

The four-year point guard, perhaps one of the most accomplished walk-ons in the program's history, was sporting shoulder pads and a helmet Friday during the school's spring football drills.

If Moss makes the team as a wide receiver -- or, more appropriately, if coaches are able to talk him into joining -- he would be Kentucky's first dual basketball and football player in about three decades. The school's media relations staff can't recall any player who began one sport after playing four seasons of the other.

"It's a major college sport where major athletes have been playing this most of their lives," said Moss, who hasn't played organized football since sixth grade. "I knew it was going to be difficult, so I'm just kind of taking it in stride and having fun."

Kentucky football coach Rich Brooks seems far more convinced of Moss' gridiron talents than Moss is. He has all but assured him a spot on the receiver-thin team, should he want it, and that elusive scholarship could follow.

"He's probably a small body on that side of the campus, but on this side of the campus, we call it a big body," Kentucky's offensive coordinator Joker Phillips said of the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Moss. "He's got great athletic ability, can adjust to the ball, which comes from going through a lot of rebounding drills."

The day after Connecticut ousted Kentucky from the second round of this year's NCAA Tournament, Phillips called Moss with his sales pitch.

Moss was never coveted in this way four years ago for Tubby Smith's basketball program. He was baited by no scholarship offer and relegated to bench duties for most of his career, despite high school stardom in Hopkinsville.

With the Wildcats in a tailspin late this season, Smith revamped his lineup and handed the starting point guard spot to Moss, whom he now considers the best walk-on he's coached. Moss' energy helped spark Kentucky to some key victories down the stretch, cementing an NCAA tournament appearance that had threatened to slip away.

But doing that for the winningest basketball program in NCAA history is one thing. Could he really ignite a young and struggling Kentucky football program, coming off a 3-8 season?

At least one player is convinced he can, although it's a biased source. Moss' brother, Austin, is freshman defensive end on the team.

"He's always said, `Yeah, I can play football,' and I've said, `Yeah right, you're a prima donna. You're a basketball player,"' he said. "It was a big surprise, but I'm glad he's giving it a shot."

Moss would only have one year of football eligibility because it immediately follows his fourth year of basketball eligibility. He says he plans to announce in the coming days whether he'll pursue a football career, depending on whether he thinks he can be successful.

Moss' early evaluation is he's "not very good." But a compulsive worker, it wasn't uncommon for him to criticize himself similarly during basketball practice.

The humility apparently didn't extend to the football practice field, though, where teammates said Moss was spewing trash talk, even on his first day.

On Saturday, when the team wears full pads for the first time, Moss acknowledges that could deflate his ego somewhat. The reason: He doesn't know how to put them on.

"I may have to get some help," he said.