Foundation Laid at UK, Draft Hopefuls Pursue Dreams
For as many as five years, Mark Stoops has had an active role in the lives of the former Kentucky Wildcats with professional aspirations.
This week’s NFL Draft brings a change on that front. Stoops will be those players’ biggest cheerleader – and a proud one at that – but his work is mostly done.
“They have worked extremely hard and I am very proud of all these players and I am really looking forward to this weekend and the draft,” Stoops said. “It should be a lot of fun and we are excited for all these guys.”
That group comprises 10 players who helped lead Kentucky to three consecutive bowl games, culminating in the most successful season for the program in four decades. It’s of course headlined by national defensive player of the year and all-time UK sack leader Josh Allen, the player who stated his case to be the No. 1 overall pick in no uncertain terms following a VRBO Citrus Bowl victory.
“He ranks right up there as one of the great players that I have had the opportunity to coach, there is no question about that,” Stoops said. “There is no doubt that he will be a successful pro by the way that he lives his life and the way he is driven to be great. He will be on that board and probably front and center.”
“That board” in his office features all of the Stoops-coached players who have gone on to become a first-round draft pick. One new face will certainly be added to it, but it could be two if things break for Lonnie Johnson the way Stoops expects them to.
“I got a question from a general manager this morning just on the phone talking and he wanted to confirm the things that he and I had already talked about,” Stoops said. “Hopefully he will get the opportunity to go in the first round and I think he will.”
Johnson’s story of overcoming hardship hasn’t been as widely reported as Allen’s, but the Gary, Indiana, native has come a long way since his two seasons at Garden City Community College in Kansas.
“Since he has been on campus, I have not had to have one difficult conversation with him,” Stoops said. “He has handled his business every day that he has been here. He goes to class. He graduated early. He works hard. He has spent three years being a corner. He has great upside. I am not saying he is perfect, but he has done everything right since he has been here.”
Kentucky’s draft class is full of players with compelling stories. There’s Benny Snell Jr., the three-star prospect who proved doubter after doubter wrong in becoming UK’s all-time leading rusher. Or how about Darius West, the safety who overcame injuries early in his career to become one of the steadiest performers on one of the best defenses in Kentucky football history. Don’t forget about C.J. Conrad, whose football career was nearly derailed by a heart issue but now is medically cleared. The list goes on, from defensive backs Mike Edwards, Derrick Baity, and Chris Westry to offensive lineman Bunchy Stallings to linebacker Jordan Jones.
It’s an exciting time for all of them, with lifelong dreams on the verge of being fulfilled, but also a challenging one. Uncertainty is unfortunately the name of the game, right up until the draft begins at 8 p.m. on Thursday with the second and third rounds to follow Friday at 7 p.m. and the remaining rounds Saturday at noon.
“It is tough on all of them because there is so much indecision,” Stoops said. “They do not know where they are going to live, where they are going to get drafted. Obviously, it is a difficult time for them in that respect, they get antsy. It is hard in this day in age with so much information at their fingertips, to kind of worry about what everybody is saying about them with all the experts in the draft and all of those things.”
That’s where the last bit of coaching Stoops can offer comes into play.
“I just constantly lean on the things that we have helped them with and their development and that is control the things they can control and that is how they train, what they are doing and they have really done a good job with that,” Stoops said. “It is a difficult time when you are thinking about some of the guys and whether they are drafted late or free agents or wherever they end up. But just like recruiting you are going to see those guys that make late draft picks or free agents that are going to make teams in my opinion because they are very good players and trained to be successful.”
Not only have those 10 potential draftees positioned themselves for success, they have also done the same for the program they are leaving.
“When you have a team like that, that has gone through so many ups and downs and you become so close and they had great leadership and that is why we were successful and that is the foundation we have to build on,” Stoops said. “I just had a team meeting this morning and that is what I challenged the team with is that we are worried about the program, not just the team, but a program and building a program.”
