Stoops Turns to Portal to Add 'Right' Players

Kentucky finished the 2024 football season with a 4-8 record, ending an eight-year bowl run in the process. No one was more disappointed the UK head coach Mark Stoops, who began working on retooling his roster the day after last season ended.

On Tuesday, Stoops took responsibility for last season’s shortcomings and addressed what he has done to rebuild the Cats.

“Last year, you know, it was not what I wanted. It was not what anybody wanted,” Stoops said. “That falls squarely on me, you know, and I know people, you get tired. There are a lot of things that you have to adapt to and, you know, one way or another it ties back directly to me. And, you know, so, but it is a big organization, it is a big department. And there are a lot of areas that we have to all adapt to and, you know, do it at a high level.”

While some coaches might have gotten down after a season like Kentucky’s 2024 campaign, Stoops found himself driven to improve to get the Cats back to a different level.

“With the situation the way it was, I could not be more energized and focused and determined to get this thing back and to keep rolling the program like we once did, as good as anybody with the sustained success that we had for a long period of time,” Stoops said. “That is hard to do in our league. And we will — we’re highly motivated to get back on track and to get going and I think there is great energy and great juice in our building. I like the focus and the energy of our staff. I think we had to be very strategic in defining exactly what we want to do.”

Stoops put together a portal class of 20 players and has 11 high school players who have enrolled early. The 31 new faces have accepted what it’s going to take

“I like the way they have accepted that, the way they have accepted the coaching,” Stoops said. “They understand very clearly what is expected of them, they are working very hard and that feels very good. You know, nobody likes the year that we had, but I like where we are at right now. And we’re aiming to push forward and to aim for the future. And it is fun coming in early in the spring and attacking the day and getting around these players and getting them better.”

Stoops knows that it’s not always about picking the best players, it’s about picking the right players.

“The ability to select the right teammates, to select the players that fit your program is always important,” Stoops said. “And when you’re hitting on the portal, it is vitally important because you are hitting free agency, essentially, with one-year guys or filling a player to hit a certain position. To come and start and compete in this league and fit our culture and, you know, play at the level that you want to is difficult, I think. We have to do a great job of selecting the right teammates.”

As Kentucky looks to improve on last year’s season, an influx of new players is certain to help. Stoops and his staff are hoping that they have chosen not necessarily the best players, but more importantly, the right players.