Is 2015 the year we find out....

[gamecockcat]

if Stoops and his staff are good coaches in addition to being good/great recruiters? If, as Vince Marrow has stated, UK 'finishes strong' recruiting this year, that will mean a 3rd straight strong recruiting class for UK. That means we should have a majority of players that were recruited by this staff and many who will be in their 3rd year in the program.

Should we expect a noticeable improvement in all areas in 2015? If we don't, will it still be too early to question the effectiveness of the staff at actually coaching? Personally, I think it will still be just a bit early but can see where others might not agree.

 

[willymakit63]

I think we see improvements this year much like last year but I still think next year is when we take the step.

 

[Devils58]

I have zero doubt that Stoops is the right man for the job. Look at the immediate impact he made in year 1. Yes, UK only won 2 games, but look how competitive UK was even without an offense. Last year, UK was oh so close to getting that bowl bid, so there is no reason to think UK won't make the jump to bowl eligibility next season. The bottom line is, the game of college football comes down to Jimmys and Joes. UK was so far behind EVERYONE in the SEC that I was losing hope that we could ever be a factor again. I don't think UK challenges for the East this year, but I honestly think the Cats go to a bowl and with a few lucky breaks, could shock some people. As bad as I hate to say it.....UThug is gonna start dominating the East.

 

[JPFisher]

We already know that they are good coaches. The competitiveness shown in the first two years of Stoops's tenure show that.

If UK makes it to a bowl, people will call it a jump, but they don't know. Much like New Year's is an arbitrary point in the grand scheme of things, bowl eligibility will be a gradual step in the right direction. Do not expect a real jump (5 more wins). That's not how it usually works although there is no way of saying for sure. You will not notice a change overnight like we did from Joker to Stoops's first year. From here on out, it will be the evolution of the team with a peak yet to be known.

 

[Deeeefense]

No coaching staff is perfect and one area of criticism I think could be pointed out on last years staff was quarterback coaching. For all practical purposes we simply didn't have anyone on the staff with the needed expertise to correct some of the issues at that position that we observed. I know the O-line breakdowns did not help, but there were some real issues that seemed to carry over from game to game. I'm hoping with Dawson we get an upgrade in this area.

The other questionable area last year was the special teams play. I'm not going to lay blame becasue i have heard argument both ways as to if it was more coaching or players but we will get a clean slate there to start the year which tells me Coach Stoops recognized and corrected what was an issue in his mind.

Lastly I'm with everyone else being solidly on the Mark Stoops bandwagon. I think there is a lot to be said regarding his team preparation, game planning, and game management especially for a new head coach, I think he is ahead of the game. However I do think he made a fundamental mistake in publicly calling at one particular player last year in presser. Criticizing and ass-chewing should be done behind close door IMO. I think he realizes it and won't do it again.

All things considered I think Mark Stoops and his staff are doing a top notch job, they are at times, their own worst critics which tells me they are striving for improvement and excellence in all areas.







This post was edited on 1/22 12:29 PM by Deeeefense

 

[jnewc2]

Originally posted by willymakit63:
I think we see improvements this year much like last year but I still think next year is when we take the step.

No offense, but this statement is a little illogical..if we "see improvements this year much like last year" that would mean a SIGNIFICANT improvement (2-3 more wins coming off a season where we were 2 plays away from having 7 wins) putting us in the 8-win range..so is that not considered "the step"? Winning 8 games and going to a bowl game for the first time in half a decade seems like a pretty significant "step" to me; maybe I'm wrong...

If we see the same amount of improvement that we saw between last year and this year (which has been forgotten by some, but was DRAMATIC considering how absolutely horrid we were in Stoops' first season) then we will be a solid team next year (considering that we were 2 plays away from having 7 wins this season with significant improvement (in your words) coming in the offseason)

 

[BlueRaider22]

The majority of the best teams are lead by upperclassmen.....I know, shocker right? Though, Stoops' talent that he's recruited will be a mixture of mainly freshmen/sophs....and a few juniors. However, logic would tell you that since we return most in the 2-deep and in most cases add talented depth that we should be improved in almost all positions.....save for a few. So, I expect us to be improved but I will be cautious about making big claims.

I think it's reasonable to expect the following
-We will get blown out at least once. Often times young teams are less consistent....so a little blow out is to be expected.
-We will get a few wins "that we weren's supposed to."
-We will get between 6-8 regular season wins
-A combination of Stoops' first winning season, a really good in-state senior class (including Drake who will "Barker" the 2016 class), and facility upgrades will lead to a top 20-25 recruiting class for 2016.....quite possibly top 15.

 

[JHB4UK]

Originally posted by gamecockcat:

Should we expect a noticeable improvement in all areas in 2015?

Personally I noticed significant improvements from the awful team put on the field in 2012 to the one Stoops fielded in 2013.

And 2014 was noticeably improved over 2013 in just about every area

are you saying you did not notice these things, you think 2013-2014 were just as awful play as we experienced in the previous seasons?

 

[TNTUK]

Originally posted by BlueRaider22:

The majority of the best teams are lead by upperclassmen.....I know, shocker right? Though, Stoops' talent that he's recruited will be a mixture of mainly freshmen/sophs....and a few juniors. However, logic would tell you that since we return most in the 2-deep and in most cases add talented depth that we should be improved in almost all positions.....save for a few. So, I expect us to be improved but I will be cautious about making big claims.

I think it's reasonable to expect the following
-We will get blown out at least once. Often times young teams are less consistent....so a little blow out is to be expected.
-We will get a few wins "that we weren's supposed to."
-We will get between 6-8 regular season wins
-A combination of Stoops' first winning season, a really good in-state senior class (including Drake who will "Barker" the 2016 class), and facility upgrades will lead to a top 20-25 recruiting class for 2016.....quite possibly top 15.

I agree with this - good post. Though I'm hoping we avoid the "blow-out" game. Maybe UGA at UGA....they seem to have Stoops' number so far. (every now and then we play them close....but we are 2-2 in Stoops era of blow outs against UGA).

Hoping that Thursday night game against Auburn is a "W" with CWS rocking the whole game. But who knows....Malzahn and his offense are impossible to stop.

 

[jte123]

I like stoops and hope he is the right guy but we are still getting killed by SEC teams - so let's hope players develop and hopefully towards the end of the season we improve rather than fall apart like last two seasons.

 

[gamecockcat]

JHB:

Nope, I definitely noticed that we were improved this year in most areas. I do have some anxiety about our performance against SEC opponents. I felt like we were overmatched in many of the SEC games (especially late) and didn't see a ton of development along either line or at QB throughout the season. Obviously, tougher competition will reveal a lot of holes you didn't notice against the early slate.

On the whole, we didn't have a lot of penalties. We did well in most cases with turnovers (both caused and given up). Special teams coverages weren't a strong suit all year. Our return game was abysmal, again. Placekicking and punting were fine. So, the little things I think are being coached well but there is still room for improvement.

I'm curious to see how much better our OL, DL, LB and QB play is this year, though. With better material, we should be noticeably better. A new offensive system will have some growing pains but I really want to see our QBs scan the field better, go through their progressions and find the open man vs. locking on one guy. I want to see us utilize the whole field and all of our weapons.

Definite improvement last year. With more and better players, I expect to see as much or more improvement on the field, not necessarily wins/losses as +5 wins will be monumental to achieve. But, better defense, better, more consistent offense and much better special teams should yield 7+ wins this year. If so, I think we can safely say that Stoops is not just a recruiter but can also develop and coach up the talent he does get.

 

[WildcatDJ]

Most solid football teams are chock full of 4th and 5th year players. When those players are all Stoops guys, that's when I feel the sky will be the limit.

That will not be next year, but I do think we'll take another positive step forward.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[Sawnee Cat]

I do expect a bowl bid next year and I think (pray) it is the year we end the embarrassing Florida streak.

 

[TNTUK]

Originally posted by WildcatDJ:
Most solid football teams are chock full of 4th and 5th year players. When those players are all Stoops guys, that's when I feel the sky will be the limit.

That will not be next year, but I do think we'll take another positive step forward.

Posted from Rivals Mobile

Yep - that will be 2017 when we have 4th and 5th year seniors in the program. 2016 Season will have guys like Timmons and Hatcher as seniors, but not many 5th year seniors.

2015 - Bowl Game would be good, and likely in my opinion.
2016 - This could be a really good year
2017 - could also be a good/great year

 

[southindycat]

I am not going to start asking myself if I am disappointed in this coaching staff until the end of the 2016 season, the first that will be contested with the benefit of the current staff having its own 4th year seniors and RS juniors leading the team.

Who will likely be leading the team in 2016 as 4+ year members of the program/college football?

Offense:QB RS-SR Patrick Towles (3rd year starter?); K RS-JR Austin MacGiness (3rd year starter; All-World); C RS-SR Jon Toth (4th year starter); G RS-JR Ramsey Meyers (3rd year starter); T RS-JR Kyle Meadows (?); G RS-JR Nick Haynes (?); WR SR Ryan Timmons (4th year lettering); RB Jo Jo Kemp SR (4th year lettering); TE RS-JR Greg Hart (?).

Defense: DE SR Jason Hatcher (4th year lettering; 2nd starting); DB SR Blake McClain (4th year lettering; 3rd year starting); DB SR Marcus McWilson (4th year lettering; ?) DL RS-JR Regie Meant (3rd year lettering; ?); LB RS-JR Courtney Love (?).

There will of course be a slew of talented true juniors as well, especially at the offensive skill positions. There will be fewer on defense, basically just Kendall Randolph and Matt Elam.

Anyway, the big stories will be a relatively talented and veteran OL, possibly an All-SEC senior QB, an game changing place kicker (keep us close, and watch us win) and a nice mix of talented vets at every level of the defense. We will probably have some first year JUCO transfers as well, particularly on defense.

This post was edited on 1/22 2:37 PM by southindycat

 

[BlueRaider22]

Originally posted by TNTUK:

Originally posted by BlueRaider22:

I agree with this - good post. Though I'm hoping we avoid the "blow-out" game. Maybe UGA at UGA....they seem to have Stoops' number so far. (every now and then we play them close....but we are 2-2 in Stoops era of blow outs against UGA).

To follow, a "blow-out" can be subjective. You can lose 37-17 and it be a complete cluster-flop from start to finish (hence a blow out), or you can lose 37-17 and be competitive for a good portion of the game. (which may/may not be considered a blow out by a few). This is kinda what I was thinking when I mentioned a blow-out. I don't think we'll see a team drop 50-60+ on us without our offense making it fun.

 

[crosbycatfan3745]

Offensive line. No improvement, no bowl.
Defense. No improvement, same results in SEC.
Special Teams. No improvement, still losing close games.

I think we improve all three. I think 7 wins. I think Bowl victory.
Stoops for Governor.

 

[Chuckinden]

All we can ask for is improvement from year to year. With our recruiting and younger players getting experience, I think that will happen.

 

[JasonS.]

This will be a really fascinating year for the SEC East.

Every team in the division (Missouri included, and they won the thing ...) is coming off a disappointing year to some extent and looking to make serious improvements this fall. I have little doubt we'll be better ... but will we be better enough to catch up with a moving train?


This post was edited on 1/22 3:10 PM by JasonS.

 

[WildCard]

Originally posted by gamecockcat:
if Stoops and his staff are good coaches in addition to being good/great recruiters? If, as Vince Marrow has stated, UK 'finishes strong' recruiting this year, that will mean a 3rd straight strong recruiting class for UK. That means we should have a majority of players that were recruited by this staff and many who will be in their 3rd year in the program.

Should we expect a noticeable improvement in all areas in 2015? If we don't, will it still be too early to question the effectiveness of the staff at actually coaching? Personally, I think it will still be just a bit early but can see where others might not agree.

I'm not sure you can say Yes or No with 100% conviction. But I think there has to be better evidence of progress next year than was seen this year.

Yes, 5 wins is more than 2 wins but that difference is predicated on not losing a WKU type game, a Franklin-less Vandy and a nice upset win over an SC team that finished 7-6. Statistically, the 2014 Cats were about 8 points per game better than they were in 2013 but more or less the same in most other stats (especially defense).

For 2015, I don't think there is any reason to not expect better than 5-7, especially in light of "turnaround results" from some of UK's "peers" in the SEC

MS has gone 7-6, 8-5 and 9-4 in Freeze's 3 years after going 4-8, 2-10, 9-4 the 3 years before he took over.

MSU went 5-7, 9-4 and 7-6 in Mullen's first 3 years after being 3-8, 3-9, 8-5 and 4-8 in the years before he took over

TN, while not exactly UK's "peer", has gone 5-7 and 7-6 in Jones' 2 years after going 5-7, 5-7 and 6-7 in the 3 years before he took over

and of course there is Vandy who went 6-7, 9-4 and 9-4 in Franklin's 3 years after a decade or more of terrible seasons.

JMO

Peace

 

[Poetax]

I'm thinking that a bowl game is a must, if that means only 6 wins, I am good with that. A bowl game takes away most of the negative things that happen during the season and then there is the extra practice time that we all know would be a big add on for this group.

 

[BlueRaider22]

I agree Poetax. I think a bowl game, at least, is huge. It would be hard to further sell recruiting if we aren't showing improvement on the field.

 

[jte123]

Kentucky football is a lot like Arnold Schwarzenegger making fun of Lou Ferrigno in pumping iron movie. Arnold says I'd give you another month to train and catch up to me but then I would have another month to train and I'd get better, you can't catch me ever!

 

[UKWinsAgainYep]

Originally posted by jte123:
I like stoops and hope he is the right guy but we are still getting killed by SEC teams - so let's hope players develop and hopefully towards the end of the season we improve rather than fall apart like last two seasons.

This is true. The problem is still talent level and recruiting. I don't blame Stoops. I think he's doing about as good as anyone could frankly.

We are so far behind some SEC teams it's ridiculous. I can't believe how in the toilet Joker and Mitch had this program. Just look how SEC offenses were destroying our defense last season. Look how we could not come up with a stop against UL last game when we needed it. It's really horrible to watch.

I am seriously worried about our D-Line and linebackers for next season. We are so young and behind on talent level in those positions it really doesn't give Stoops and Coach Eliot a lot to work with.....We have a long way to go at the linebacker spots. I think it's real trouble. Please don't tell me Redshirt Freshmen can be expected to be great linebackers in the SEC. It's not going to happen. You are dreaming if you say so...

I think we have good depth at the DT spots that Stoops has built, but the DE spots will be very thin and inexperienced.

My prediction is we struggle again on defense. The offense better put up better numbers with a better O-Line to win some games or we won't go to a bowl.

It's going to take a lot more recruiting to put a real SEC defense on the field. We are not there yet. I don't know where some the rosy predictions are coming from when you look at our personnel compared to other SEC teams.

Again, I actually think Coach Stoops is doing about as good as he can at this point.....

 

[catrecruit]

Until we stop opponents' ground game, mainly SEC teams, I think we need to withhold judgement

 

[BlueTick2]

Originally posted by jte123:
I like stoops and hope he is the right guy but we are still getting killed by SEC teams - so let's hope players develop and hopefully towards the end of the season we improve rather than fall apart like last two seasons.

This ^

This season will display if Stoops and company can coach as well as they recruit.

 

[USMC Cat]

Which means his first class will be sophomores.

I would like to see improvement, but talent wise we still lag behind when other teams can throw out 4* juniors and seniors as back ups.

 

[Tskware]

Originally posted by WildCard:

Originally posted by gamecockcat:
if Stoops and his staff are good coaches in addition to being good/great recruiters? If, as Vince Marrow has stated, UK 'finishes strong' recruiting this year, that will mean a 3rd straight strong recruiting class for UK. That means we should have a majority of players that were recruited by this staff and many who will be in their 3rd year in the program.

Should we expect a noticeable improvement in all areas in 2015? If we don't, will it still be too early to question the effectiveness of the staff at actually coaching? Personally, I think it will still be just a bit early but can see where others might not agree.

I'm not sure you can say Yes or No with 100% conviction. But I think there has to be better evidence of progress next year than was seen this year.

Yes, 5 wins is more than 2 wins but that difference is predicated on not losing a WKU type game, a Franklin-less Vandy and a nice upset win over an SC team that finished 7-6. Statistically, the 2014 Cats were about 8 points per game better than they were in 2013 but more or less the same in most other stats (especially defense).

For 2015, I don't think there is any reason to not expect better than 5-7, especially in light of "turnaround results" from some of UK's "peers" in the SEC

MS has gone 7-6, 8-5 and 9-4 in Freeze's 3 years after going 4-8, 2-10, 9-4 the 3 years before he took over.

MSU went 5-7, 9-4 and 7-6 in Mullen's first 3 years after being 3-8, 3-9, 8-5 and 4-8 in the years before he took over

TN, while not exactly UK's "peer", has gone 5-7 and 7-6 in Jones' 2 years after going 5-7, 5-7 and 6-7 in the 3 years before he took over

and of course there is Vandy who went 6-7, 9-4 and 9-4 in Franklin's 3 years after a decade or more of terrible seasons.

JMO

Peace

Hell, just look at Kentucky's past coaches. Claiborne, Mumme and Curci all had good to great success in the first three years, and don't tell me Stoops took over a program worse than what Bill Curry or John Ray left behind.

The team overall is better than in 2012 or 2013, no one can deny that. However, the defense in particular has shown very little improvement in two years . . . and now we have lost Z and Bud, plus most likely Tubman who was being touted as an outstanding DE prospect. I have no doubt the offense will be better in 2015, got a lot of skill position weapons coming back and the O line will improve. But to get to 7-5, I will have to see a lot of improvement on the defensive side of the ball, have not seen a lot to give me much optimism so far that 2015 will be anything other than "Same as it ever was"

 

[Cal-El]

I agree to a point. Although year 4 is really gonna determine if they can coach or not.

But next year we will have a few games we should win and lose regardless of coaching. Then the rest are games where UK CAN win but it will be more of a coaching match.

Games UK would win with a Lair poster coaching - Louisiana Rajun Cajuns, EKU, Missouri, Charlotte, Louisville

Call me crazy, but I really think Missouri's luck is about to change. They have had the luck of having a pretty good team during a weak SEC East run. UK made huge strides against Missouri last year, and we're only getting better. You can make the case that Missouri loses a lot this year.

UL is even weaker than Missouri, and this may be the worse Petrino led season for the upcoming years. A lot of the UL players that were illegally recruited will be leaving and it took everything UL had this season to keep UK from pulling off the upset.

Games UK would lose regardless of who coaches - @ South Carolina, Auburn, @ Georgia

South Carolina will return to a normalcy next year and it's on the road, and Spurrier will have revenge on his mind. Georgia and Auburn still own too much of a significant talent gap.

Games where Stoops and staff can make their money - Florida, Miss. St, Tennessee, Vandy

Florida will still have a lot more talent than UK. The question is how will they recover after having 3 "bad" seasons, putting in a new coaching staff and schemes etc. This will be UK's best shot at an upset over Florida in several years.

Miss. St. will lose a little next season and are definitely within UK's reach.

UT even though they are quickly on the rise back to the top, are not out of our range either.

And Vandy is the team I'm going with to be surprise of the year next year. Franklin's last really good class will be maturing and taking a more prominent role on Mason's team.

Just winning 2 of these games would be good. 3 games would be huge. Winning only one would be kinda disappointing. Winning none of these and then we may have to worry about this staff's coaching skills.

 

[truebluewildcat]

I think year 3 will be a good indicator of whether or not this staff will be able to make progress in the SEC and sustain it...

No doubt Stoops and staff can blow through the OOC, compete with UL and will no doubt beat them some years. We also know that this staff can beat Vandy and a down SC.

The question is whether or not Stoops will have this program consistently competing with and beating SC, UT, and Mizzou...those games will tell us where we are at...

UT, Mizzou, SC...we have to show that we can compete with and beat those teams every year...as well as the lower west squads when we play them...ole miss, miss st, Arkansas...

We can holler back and forth about talent and recruits all day...but after a certain point, you have to win with what ya got...that is essentially where we are at...can Stoops win with kids he has recruited and coached?

This post was edited on 1/23 9:14 AM by truebluewildcat

 

[fromthe25ydline]

The basis of UK football success is not unlike other programs, it's largely determined by QB play. Marginal signal callers are often the leaders of average teams and the SEC devours average teams. I don't mean to ignore the importance of quality defensive play but UK has done well including achieving bowl eligibility with good offensive teams and mediocre defensive squads. If this staff can develop both offensive and defensive teams that compete equally with their SEC peers then SEC wins will come. This balance of talent and execution has been hard to achieve at Kentucky.
When Towles sought help with his QB skills outside of the UK coaching framework, that should have signaled to many that there was a gaping hole in QB development on this team. Yes, I am mindful that numerous athletes train outside their team base, but it's hard to imagine that the Texas Tech and Troy players needed tutoring from outside gurus.
My hope is that as the team matures so does the quality of QB play. I very seen less talented UK teams thrive when a quality QB was leading the offense.

 

[UKWinsAgainYep]

Originally posted by BlueTick2:

Originally posted by jte123:
I like stoops and hope he is the right guy but we are still getting killed by SEC teams - so let's hope players develop and hopefully towards the end of the season we improve rather than fall apart like last two seasons.

This ^

This season will display if Stoops and company can coach as well as they recruit.

Why do you say that without even looking at our roster compared to other SEC teams? Makes no sense. Coach Stoops could coach great and still not get us to 7 wins because that's how far behind we are in talent when he took over. Now, we have some Redshirt Freshmen coming into shore up the linebacker spots and other spots.

According to you and some, that means we should suddently take a leap forward in the SEC? Nope, not gonna happen. Reality bites, but it must be stated.

As another poster stated, most SEC teams have 4 star players as backups. Do we have that? No.....It's gonna take at least two more seasons of recruiting.

 

[STEVE!]

Stoops and his staff will have to prove they are great coaches, starting immediately. I hate to be a Debbie Downer since I like Stoops and believe he knows what he is doing, but to believe we are going to strongly compete in the SEC with 30th-ranked recruiting classes (11th to 13th in the SEC) is extremely optimistic. Everyone that talks about how great our underclassmen are and that we will be great when they become Juniors and Seniors should look at the 2014 All-SEC and All-Freshman teams. There are 24 Freshmen and Sophomores named All-SEC. The only one from UK was our Kicker. Ramsey Meyers was our only player on the All-Freshman team. Granted, Stoops young players are the best ones on our team, but they still don't compare with the rest of the SEC.

 

[UKWinsAgainYep]

Originally posted by STEVE!:
Stoops and his staff will have to prove they are great coaches, starting immediately. I hate to be a Debbie Downer since I like Stoops and believe he knows what he is doing, but to believe we are going to strongly compete in the SEC with 30th-ranked recruiting classes (11th to 13th in the SEC) is extremely optimistic. Everyone that talks about how great our underclassmen are and that we will be great when they become Juniors and Seniors should look at the 2014 All-SEC and All-Freshman teams. There are 24 Freshmen and Sophomores named All-SEC. The only one from UK was our Kicker. Ramsey Meyers was our only player on the All-Freshman team. Granted, Stoops young players are the best ones on our team, but they still don't compare with the rest of the SEC.

Exactly. This is reality. So basically, the only other way to rise in the SEC is to literally OUTCOACH most coaches in the SEC and do more with less. Do you think Stoops is capable of outcoaching most of the SEC? If not, then UK is still way behind.

 

[bandfan1]

Questioning this staffs ability to coach is kinda crazy sounding to me. UK was a missed call and a dropped interception away from 7-5 last year, the staff had the players in the right position to make plays, lack of speed and skill level hurt them on those plays. Does UK need better OL and DL play, yes, but as far as the coaching ability, I don't question that at all.
GO CATS

 

[BlueRaider22]

Originally posted by STEVE!:
I hate to be a Debbie Downer since I like Stoops and believe he knows what he is doing, but to believe we are going to strongly compete in the SEC with 30th-ranked recruiting classes (11th to 13th in the SEC) is extremely optimistic. Everyone that talks about how great our underclassmen are and that we will be great when they become Juniors and Seniors should look at the 2014 All-SEC and All-Freshman teams.

You have to be very cautious thinking this way.....cause it's very flawed.

Recruiting is a very inaccurate science. About the most you can say about the "star system" is that a 5* player is more likely going to be a better college player than a 4* player. Doesn't mean that they will. And b/c there is such inaccurate analysis a team ranked 30th nationally is probably going to have similar talent to the team ranked 20-25th or the team ranked 35-40th. Granted there is a big difference between a class ranked 30th and a class ranked 5th.

Now onto the SEC rankings. Right now we are ranked 10th in the SEC for THE AVERAGE STAR RATING......at 3.22. Due to the inexact science of recruiting, this will yield a class that is similar to the entire bottom half of the league. So we are bringing in classes that are about on the same level of talent as half the teams in the SEC. This is a huge improvement over the way things used to be under Joker. Under Joker, the average talent was only comparable to 1 or possibly 2 teams in the SEC.

So, to break this down another way....for demonstration purposes only. Under Joker, when we entered a race 7 cars would finish 30 seconds ahead of us, 5 cars would finish 15 seconds ahead of us, and the UK car would fight for last place with 1 other car. Now, 7 cars finish 15 seconds ahead of us and the UK car is competing to finish anywhere in the last 7.

Also with recruiting you have to look at yearly consistency, other sites, and offers.
-A team that has 4 consequetive recruiting classes ranked 10, 11, 9, and 10...........is likely going to have a better team than one that landed classes ranked 5, 25, 8, and 18.
-You have to look at all sites as well. If a recruit is ranked a 5* by all sites, then he's probably a blue chip guy. If he's thought to be a 3* on one site and a 5* on another, there is cause for concern.
-If a player is rated a 5* but has offers from Idaho and Wyoming, then there's cause for concern.



So, bottomline. The way that UK is recruiting "ON PAPER". Once Stoops' recruits reach maturity, there really isn't much difference between UK's roster and half of the SEC. At that point, it comes down to coaching, development, etc......not recruiting. So, for 2015 and 2016 viewing our roster as capable of winning 6-8 games is not reaching. It's logical.

 

[Deeeefense]

Very good post BlueRaider22. It amazes me how people mistakenly think the recruiting rankings are like grading meat. Recruiting rankings are nothing more than the opinions of analysts on how a player projects at the next level based on what they have seen at camps and on film, and as you point out it's a matter of probabilities.

One other point I would make which for most part is totally ignored is attrition. For instance last year our class was ranked virtually even with South Carolina, but when all was said and done the Cocks had 8 commits that for one reason or another never made it to campus, whereas we kept all but one. If you reranked all the classes from 2014 AFTER attrition I'm willing to bet Kentucky would move up several notches from the already respectable 17.

Lastly analyst bias is a reality. Analysts want to be right more than anything else. Therefore evaluating two players that appear to be equal, but one has offers from tOSU, Georgia and Texas and the other has a top three of PSU, MSU and Wisconsin, there is a bias to rank the first player above the second. We have already seen that this staff has done a remarkable job of finding the sleepers. In fact now it seems that every time we jump on an apparent sleeper, a few days later the same guy that had nothing but sunbelt or MAC offers all of sudden gets an offer from a Michigan State or an Auburn.

Bottom line is classes ranked about 3.0 are excellent classes and if you are at 3.2 which is where we are that is a class that is potentially competitive in this league or any league. There are many other factors that will eventually determine how well a team does on the field, but to think you can predict future performance based on some numbers at a website is beyond absurd.

 

[why_not_kentucky]

O-line & D-line are bad 5 wins tops.

 

[CatsFanGG24]

Originally posted by UKWinsAgainYep:

Originally posted by STEVE!:
Stoops and his staff will have to prove they are great coaches, starting immediately. I hate to be a Debbie Downer since I like Stoops and believe he knows what he is doing, but to believe we are going to strongly compete in the SEC with 30th-ranked recruiting classes (11th to 13th in the SEC) is extremely optimistic. Everyone that talks about how great our underclassmen are and that we will be great when they become Juniors and Seniors should look at the 2014 All-SEC and All-Freshman teams. There are 24 Freshmen and Sophomores named All-SEC. The only one from UK was our Kicker. Ramsey Meyers was our only player on the All-Freshman team. Granted, Stoops young players are the best ones on our team, but they still don't compare with the rest of the SEC.

Exactly. This is reality. So basically, the only other way to rise in the SEC is to literally OUTCOACH most coaches in the SEC and do more with less. Do you think Stoops is capable of outcoaching most of the SEC? If not, then UK is still way behind.

Missouri has back to back SECE titles with recruiting classes ranked in that range.

 

[JHB4UK]

great day of updating the ole ignore list with obvious troll UL fans

ain't no reason to subject yourself to the awful posters who only come here to pour out the darkness and rotten inside themselves, folks. and if you don't chose to partake, please don't quote awful posters out of respect for those of us who do.