VAUGHT: Mossakowski firmly behind Hartline

It is often said that a team's quarterback gets more praise when the team is winning, and more blame when they are not, than they deserve. Kentucky senior quarterback Mike Hartline has been on the receiving end of the blame portion. KSR's Larry Vaught spoke with backup quarterback Ryan Mossakowski about those criticisms.

Question: How do you react when you see or hear criticism of MikeHartline?

Mossakowski: “The SEC is a tough conference because you are playing top of the line teams every week. It is hard going from one week to being sore and tired and then mentally preparing for the next game and doing the same thing over again. Mike is a great quarterback."

"I don’t think the criticism is fair. That’s just how it is. If he does well, people say good things. If he doesn’t, that’s just how sports is if you are a quarterback. Mike is a heck of a quarterback and guy.”

Question: Has it been eye-opening for you to see how a SEC quarterback can be criticized even at Kentucky?

Mossakowski: “I had a little taste in high school. If you played a bad game, you would always hear about it the next day. That’s just kind of how it is. I knew this would be on a higher level, so it really didn’t surprise me. I had an idea what I was getting into and how it would be.”