Last 10 years: UK's recruiting vs final SEC standings

[312CAT]

I put together this table showing where UK's class ranking (per 247sports) placed out of the SEC teams and where we finished at the end of each season. Do we realistically think things can get better with the addition of Texas/Oklahoma?

Year	UK's class ranking (out of total SEC teams)	UK's Final SEC standing
2024	#13 (out of 16)	15th out of 16 in SEC
2023	#11 (out of 14)	4th in East (7th out of 14)
2022	#8 (out of 14)	4th in East (8th out of 14)
2021	#12 (out of 14)	2nd in East (4th out of 14)
2020	#9 (out of 14)	4th in East (9th out of 14)
2019	#12 (out of 14)	4th in East (8th out of 14)
2018	#11 (out of 14)	2nd in East (5th out of 14)
2017	#12 (out of 14)	3rd in East (7th out of 14)
2016	#13 (out of 14)	4th in East (8th out of 14)
2015	#10 (out of 14)	5th in East (12th out of 14)

 

[TopCatCal]

I put together this table showing where UK's class ranking (per 247sports) placed out of the SEC teams and where we finished at the end of each season. Do we realistically think things can get better with the addition of Texas/Oklahoma?

Year	UK's class ranking (out of total SEC teams)	UK's Final SEC standing
2024	#13 (out of 16)	15th out of 16 in SEC
2023	#11 (out of 14)	4th in East (7th out of 14)
2022	#8 (out of 14)	4th in East (8th out of 14)
2021	#12 (out of 14)	2nd in East (4th out of 14)
2020	#9 (out of 14)	4th in East (9th out of 14)
2019	#12 (out of 14)	4th in East (8th out of 14)
2018	#11 (out of 14)	2nd in East (5th out of 14)
2017	#12 (out of 14)	3rd in East (7th out of 14)
2016	#13 (out of 14)	4th in East (8th out of 14)
2015	#10 (out of 14)	5th in East (12th out of 14)

If I were a betting man. I would bet that our recruiting classes almost every year are rated higher than Vanderbilt's. Yet they're going to a bowl & have beaten us the last 2 times we played them in Lexington...... What have they got that we don't?

 

[3632]

Finishing 10 or 13 or 8 doesn’t matter that much. We are in a competitive range of getting talent to win. When Brooks was here we would finish 70th or something partly due to probation, partly facilities, partly lack of history. They coached them up to compete. Joker continued at that level but couldn’t coach them up. Stoops raised the level partially because of him, Vince, partially the new facilities and resources continuing from sec $ growth, and partially because the continued separation of the sec gives them the ‘come to the sec’ angle. We may not have the most talent but we are where we don’t have talent excuses unless we just acknowledge we make poor evaluation decisions and/or we aren’t coaching them well.

 

[Girthang]

You could go back 40 years and it would be the same or worse. Big name coaches, no name coaches, seasoned and NFL coaches, it doesn't freakin matter.

This staff has done more with less than any staff before it. You can't question that. The talent level is higher (by ranking) than 90% of classes and teams before them, but still low within the conference, and we've won 10 games 2x. Finished 2nd in the SEC East once.

And this staff has done that while the LOD fans have been riding their ask since day one. Didn't appreciate the 10 win seasons while they were happening. Still don't appreciate them.

So what do you do as a program?

-How do you keep recruiting momentum which we have clearly built up from virtually nothing when JP was coach if you fire this staff?
-Can you out-pay the other schools that will want Sumrall, while paying a massive buyout?
-Can the ingrates among the fanbase stfu through the rebuild in staff and recruiting at a school that's been a stepping stone for positional coaches and coordinators?

Answers-
You won't because you're starting from scratch.
You can't afford to do both.
Of course they can't because they never have. They don't have the ability to support a staff 100%.

Maybe its time to accept that UK just doesn't deserve nice things in football, and making a bowl game 8 out of 9 years isn't worth it to a fanbase that hasn't had that or much more than that in the last 60 years...

 

[rick64]

UK has never been able to compete with the Alabama, Georgia, LSU, etc type programs. Most likely never will either. So to compete you have to have stellar coaching, execution, discipline and scheme. Stoops has never shown the ability to do that.

 

[The-Hack]

Do we realistically think things can get better with the addition of Texas/Oklahoma?

The additions of Texas and Oklahoma are no excuse for losing by large margins to Vandy, South Carolina and Vandy.

Stoops got his credit and his huge K off of domination of Mizzou, USCe and Vandy and bowl wins for a five year stretch, not by beating the Blue Bloods at the very top of the SEC.