We are getting pretty personal with the pigskin Wildcats today. No, we aren’t discussing their awful performance, especially on defense, against Louisville in Sunday’s 32-14 setback this time — that would be for a different column.

But, in this space today, you nevertheless will enjoy reading some of the interesting tidbits about the current players and staff if you are a UK football faithful.

These personal items can be found in UK’s 2012 football media guide, which recently arrived in my mailbox. The 200-page guide, which is edited by football publicist Tony Neely and his fine media relations staff, has a little bit of everything, including individual and team records, biographies, game-by-game results of every season, and so forth.

After glancing through the pages, here are some of the fascinating tidbits about the members of the Kentucky program:

— Senior center Matt Smith won two national championships in powerlifting in high school (St. Xavier in Louisville).

— Sophomore QB Maxwell Smith has some talent. He can cook. In addition, “I was in choir and could sing well,” said the signal-caller from California.

— Junior defensive tackle Donte Rumph has an uncle, Chris Rumph, who is a second-year assistant coach (defensive line) on Nick Saban’s staff at defending national champion Alabama.

— Senior QB Morgan Newton’s hidden talent is singing in the shower. The Carmel, Ind., native also has younger brothers on the UK staff —Langston (freshman defensive lineman) and J.J. (student manager), both twins.

— Senior offensive guard Larry Warford enjoys reading Japanese manga (comic books) and can play the saxophone.

— Sophomore offensive tackle Darrian Miller says, “If I could talk to anyone on Skype, it would be Albert Einstein.”

— Junior kicker/punter Joe Mansour’s favorite class is calculus.

— Junior tight end Patrick Ligon says his favorite class so far is Dinosaurs and Disasters (GLY 130).

— Senior wide receiver La’Rod King was born in Germany. His non-NFL dream is to be a professional barber.

— When sophomore defensive lineman Mike Douglas goes home to

Florida, he likes to cook for his mom and grandmother.

— Junior defensive tackle Mister Cobble’s dream job is to be a video game tester (other than NFL).

— Sophomore defensive tackle Christian Coleman’s nickname is “C-squared.” He also says the coolest thing about UK is “being close to (Kentucky-based) Turtleman (of the Animal Planet TV show).”

— Redshirted freshman tailback Derek Bishop would like to talk to Erin Andrews on Skype. Also, his hidden talent is writing.

— Junior tight end Jordan Aumiller’s father, John Aumiller, played football for Joe Paterno at Penn State.

— Running game coordinator and offensive line coach Mike Summers served as assistant head coach at Oregon State, University of the South (Sewanee) and Arkansas, among various positions, before coming to Kentucky in 2010. Summers is legendary hoops coach Joe B. Hall’s son-in-law.

— Sophomore long snapper Matthew Adolph’s uncle, Mark Dantonio, is the head coach at Michigan State. Matthew’s grandfather, Dave Adolph, coached at many places (NFL and college), including UK (1969-72).

— Junior offensive guard Steven Duff’s favorite course so far is Classical Roman Mythology.

— Wide Receivers coach Pat Washington and offensive coordinator Randy Sanders served together at Tennessee from 1995 to 2005 when the Vols posted a 105-31 mark with 10 bowl appearances.

— Veteran equipment manager Tom Kalinowski, now in his 35th year at UK, has worked under head coaches Fran Curci, Jerry Claiborne, Bill Curry, Hal Mumme, Guy Morriss, Rich Brooks and Joker Phillips.

— Sophomore center Max Godby can’t live without his Bible. He would have loved to talk to apostle Paul on Skype. He also cut grass all through middle and high school in his Louisville neighborhood.

— Former UK players Andre Woodson, Tyler Sargent, Glenn Holt, Braxton Kelley and Sam Simpson are serving as either graduate or student assistant coaches.

— Junior fullback Cody Jones of Williamsburg is a “neat freak.”

— Sophomore linebacker Tre’ Dunn’s dream job is to be an international food taste tester (other than pro football). His uncle, Jason Dunn, played 13 years in the NFL.

— Senior tight end Gabe Correll’s grandfather, Ray Correll, was a first-team All-American at Kentucky during the early 1950s.