i really hope Stoops is taking this personal.
- Thread starter ulismyman
- Start date
It's yr 3. Yr 2's defense was better than yr 1. I think Stoops knows that this yr will be better but still not a finished product. It has taken him 3-4 yrs everywhere else he's been to make a strong defense. I think he's right where he expects that he is.
3-4 years with teams that recruit. I keep saying this and still say to develop quality depth that is of SEC quality will take 5-7 years on the defensive side of the ball. Being competitive is one thing, but being dominant and feared like the Curci years is what we want, right?
oh I think he took the defenses performance to end last season very personal, which is why he made the changes he did. fire Navar, hire an outside linebackers coach, and taking more of a hands on role with the secondary, the coaching job where he first made his name. especially the UL game must have been galling for him, knowing we would have not only won but won convincingly if the secondary could defend the only offensive play they had that worked - chuck it up to Parker & let him push off to catch it downfield.
5-7 years? You do know that college kids can only play 4 years, right? Better not take him 5-7 years to build a defense. This year absolutely has to be better (and not just by a little bit, imo) for us to get to a bowl and perhaps 7 or 8 wins. And next year better see us with all the tools and experience needed to field an above average SEC defense. 5-7 years - not sure the reasoning behind that statement. 5-7 years to build a program that can sustain a good SEC defense, maybe. But to build the first one? Again, better not be 5-7 years.
The reasoning behind 5-7 could be because it takes 3-4 to get really solid results on the field...if we cash in on bowl games in year 3/4 etc, then our recruiting should take an even higher step up, and those guys would be seeing the field in years 5-7...then you have it really working.
We shouldn't have to wait 5-7 years to see more wins...but we will be much closer to our peak at year 5-7 than in year 3-4
This years D is going to be a major improvement over the last 5 years. The guys have been in the strength and conditioning program and are now ready to lead. We should have a major jump in D stats.
It's hard to do much more than what's he already doing and what's he done in the offseason. I expect a better D, more SEC caliber type players, but until UK is no longer relying on Fresh and Soph and has the SEC caliber talent to back it up, the growing pains will continue. Still think UK is about a year or two away from that.
I don't see why Stoops would take it personally. He is a pro. He is recruiting his butt off and doing everything he can to improve the team. But this is only his 3rd year in Lexington, and he knew it would be a multi year project.
There should be substantial improvement this season, but if not it may be time to take a look at DJ Eliot. He had never been a defensive coordinator before and stepping into the SEC is no easy task, especially at Kentucky. It's a little premature to write him off at this point, but if there's no improvement, it might be better going with a more experienced hand.
It sounds like a lot of our fans are already talking about how we're still "years away" from being able to compete in the SEC, like they're trying to prep themselves for a bad season or something ..I guess they didn't watch last year's team and how close we were to a 6 or 7 or 8 win season and how we played toe to toe with the elite of the elite with a bunch of freshman. Our coaches and players seem to think we have the talent and depth to win this year, not 5 years from now..I think I agree with them. Shannon Dawson has talked about this being the most talented depth he's had on offense, does he still need 5 more years too? This isn't the 1960's. A coach can win games in year 3. Freshman and sophomores are able to come in and contribute like never before, that's why you see so many teams that are able to make quick transitions. 3 or 4 years is plenty of time for a coach that knows what he's doing. You don't have to prep yourself for some kind of letdown and say that we "still need a couple more years", all that is is those old excuses that we've made for years under bad coaches. This is a different coach and a different caliber of player and a different caliber of depth.
Might we be a couple years away from being able to make a legit run at the SEC title? Yes, I would say we still need more time to get to that level, but we're absolutely at the level right now of being able to beat any team on our schedule. Last year showed me that, and with this year's team being significantly improved (in Stoops' and the players words) I just don't see how we couldn't win a couple more games even if we tried (especially considering that we were the worst no-call in my life away from having what would be 7 wins once we got to a bowl).
Might we be a couple years away from being able to make a legit run at the SEC title? Yes, I would say we still need more time to get to that level, but we're absolutely at the level right now of being able to beat any team on our schedule. Last year showed me that, and with this year's team being significantly improved (in Stoops' and the players words) I just don't see how we couldn't win a couple more games even if we tried (especially considering that we were the worst no-call in my life away from having what would be 7 wins once we got to a bowl).
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