Steady Stoops Helping UK Football Navigate Changing Landscape
Much has changed since the last time Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops was in front of the local media in person. It has been nearly 18 months since that happened and the landscape of college sports in general has changed dramatically.
Despite the changes, the UK head coach is ready to begin his ninth season in Lexington, which will tie Fran Curci for the longest tenure in Kentucky football history.
“We’re excited. I know everybody says that this time of year,” Stoops said. “I’ve probably said that for nine straight years, but that’s the truth. I think this time of year you get through the spring, you get through the summer, the players are working exceptionally hard. We have changes, and the anticipation builds up. I’m as excited this year, as excited to get going right now as I was in year one. I feel really good about this team. I love our coaching staff. I feel like we’re in a really good place.”
Among the changes specific to UK football, new offensive coordinator Liam Coen takes over the play-calling duties. That much is known. What remains to be seen is who will be playing quarterback when the Cats kick off against Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 4. Coen and Stoops are expected to pick from Beau Allen and Joey Gatewood, who return from last season, along with Penn State transfer Will Levis.
Stoops knows it’s an important decision for the team, so he’s not in a big hurry to name a starter.
“It’s more important to get it right than to be in a hurry,” Stoops said “Is there a benefit (to naming a starter earlier)? Yes, I believe there is. There’s a benefit to getting reps. That’s part of the negative to having a lot of talented players at any position, but it seems like it’s obviously much easier to rotate guys in throughout practice and preseason at other spots than quarterback. We do feel like there is quality depth maybe for the first time.”
As for the changes in college football, and all of college sports, they are many. Stoops touched on a few of the hot topics on Friday.
On transfers and how they are changing the landscape of college athletics, Stoops said it’s already changing the game.
“It really will. I think right now it’s fair to say there’s a lot of change going on,” Stoops said. “The (transfer) portal is one thing. I think we’ve been gearing up for that and kind of — we can manage that.”
Change is not always a bad thing, as the Cats were able to get some quality players via the transfer portal.
“I feel like we got them in positions that we needed some depth,” Stoops said. “We needed some depth, obviously, and some impact guys at wide receiver. We did that. You always need tackles; we did that. We got in a position with an early entrance to the NFL and then an injury at middle linebacker, we really solidified ourselves there. And obviously quarterback. So we have some really good players and really hit some needs, so it was very critical for us, and I feel very good about it.”
Another big change over the past few months has been the onset of the new Name, Image and Likeness legislation which allows college players to earn money just for being themselves. Stoops has discussed the highs and lows of NIL with his team.
“I think with the name image and likeness (rules), it’s changing,” Stoops said. “It’s going to definitely change the landscape of our game, and we all have to adapt and do the very best we can. That’s very new, and we’re trying to — we worked very hard this summer at educating our players and helping our players as best we could, and we’ll continue to do that and put them in the best position to be successful.”
Conference realignment, specifically the addition of Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC, has also been a hot topic over the last few weeks. Does adding two big-name programs to the conference add more pressure on SEC coaches?
“I don’t know if you could ever say is there more pressure,” Stoops said. “It’s always brutal. It’s hard. You know, the pressure comes from within, and when we say that as coaches, that’s not lip service, it’s truthful. Within our program, we have goals and aspirations, and that — anybody on the outside really can’t affect that.
“As I mentioned, anytime you bring a program like Oklahoma and Texas into your conference, it’s only going to help with exposure, and obviously it’s going to be more challenging, if that’s even possible, to make the (Southeastern Conference) more challenging,” Stoops said. “They picked the two right schools. It’ll be a fun challenge. It’ll be a great challenge. But it always is anyway.”
All of the changes in the world of college athletics make every day a new challenge. But Kentucky football knows that it can count on Stoops to be that steadying influence no matter what is thrown at him.
