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RB Jason Patterson has flipped from Cincinnati to Kentucky

^ Gotta disagree with you. The next 2 games are huge for the fan base. Even more, coaches who put the future ahead of the present lose their older players and it creates a bad football culture. Coaches trying to build a lasting program simply don’t do it. Thus, you see seniors wanting to come back for an extra year. That’s culture!

Now, there are ways to work younger players into getting some snaps. If healthy, I’d like to see our freshman RB get a few snaps. This staff has never been shy about playing young RBs when they earn it.
 
Jamarion Wilcox is supposed to be a 4 star RB who hasn't sniffed the field this year.

I will be shocked if he isn't in the portal by December.
I doubt it. Now after next year maybe if he doesn’t get solid minutes then definitely maybe. Depending on how the guys in front of him shake out he may end up as the man next year.
 
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^ Gotta disagree with you. The next 2 games are huge for the fan base. Even more, coaches who put the future ahead of the present lose their older players and it creates a bad football culture. Coaches trying to build a lasting program simply don’t do it. Thus, you see seniors wanting to come back for an extra year. That’s culture!

Now, there are ways to work younger players into getting some snaps. If healthy, I’d like to see our freshman RB get a few snaps. This staff has never been shy about playing young RBs when they earn it.
That is all I am talking about. Finding SOME reps for younger players who you hope to return next year.

There will probably be some of the older players opt out of the bowl game again this year, also.

Since NIL and Transfer Portal there has been a seismic change in most teams football "culture".
 
I think he was a little dinged up in fall camp, but a hamstring doesn't usually take you out an entire year.

If he is going to be our primary rb next year, the staff should be getting him as many game reps as possible the last 4 games. Now we only have 3 opportunities left to get him on the field and see what he can do.

And they haven't so far.
Maybe just getting him to full strength for next season?
 
That is all I am talking about. Finding SOME reps for younger players who you hope to return next year.

There will probably be some of the older players opt out of the bowl game again this year, also.

Since NIL and Transfer Portal there has been a seismic change in most teams football "culture".
Stoops has played several young RBs over veteran players many years. A young Snell got plenty reps with Boom on the team. Consequently, my first thought is Wilcox has to earn his PT over the others. (I do believe an injury had something to do snaps earlier in the year. I have zero clue regarding the duration of the injury.)

I hope Wilcox is healthy and able to take some snaps from McClain and DSK. I'm confident they'll let whoever is earning it get the snaps behind Davis. If Davis plans on entering the NFL, then he has nothing to prove to UK by playing in a mid-tier bowl. If that happens, I'd really like to see Wilcox get the majority of the carries.

Regarding the new day of football, one thing Stoops has done is create a football culture where players want to be part of the program. Granted, the wheels may fall off before the Spring semester begins. But ... so far, Stoops has seniors lined up wanting to come back for their Covid year. Stoops has cherry-picked who he's brought back while trying to keep a balanced roster. Regarding NIL/Transfer, I think there were ALOT of teams after some of our young talent last year, and will come after them again this year. We did lose Rogers to Auburn. The NIL $ that will be offered by other schools to our top 5-7 young players will be more than they're making at UK. (That's the state of college football and not being a traditional top program!) Knock on wood, it will be interesting to see what happens before the Spring semester. Some 2nd and 3rd year players didn't have the breakout seasons they envisioned last Christmas. The whole "who will be UK's QB" situation also influences people's decisions. Stoops and Coen will probably try to move fast on their next QB.
 
Getting reps for younger players is not "giving up on the season".

If those reps take away from an ability to win the game, yes it is. If those reps are earned, then it happens organically anyway and is already part of the season process.

It IS preparing for next year.

And for those fans "win the next two games or else". Or else what???

Ask them. The vocal negs that already went the coach gone and have said so since he arrived. They will increase their whining volume and further hurt the program. They just want to be influential in the only way they know how.


Win. Lose or draw. The outcome of the next two games will not change anything about this season other than maybe finishing tied for next to last in the SEC East and MAYBE which Bowl game we play in.

It changes confidence heading into next season. It changes national perception. It changes outlook for the better.
 
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It changes confidence heading into next season. It changes national perception. It changes outlook for the better.
Yeah, there’s a pretty good difference between finishing 6-6 with a trip to Memphis or Birmingham, and 8-4 with a trip to Tampa or Jacksonville, and with a win, a national ranking. But for those who do not actually attend the events, there’s hardly any difference between watching a televised game from a cold venue to a warm venue.
 
2 visits each to Florida State and Rutgers with no offer from FSU. No offer from Bama as well. Might just be an indecisive kid that lives in the portal for 4 years. Such is recruiting these daze.
 
Right but did he return for any of his Sr season?
No he didn’t return. He is rehabbing and working on being healthy when he arrives to UK. JDHoss follows high school football in Florida and tried to go watch him a few times but he was out. Getting him and Patterson to go with Wilcox will give us a very good young backfield
 
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Yeah, there’s a pretty good difference between finishing 6-6 with a trip to Memphis or Birmingham, and 8-4 with a trip to Tampa or Jacksonville, and with a win, a national ranking. But for those who do not actually attend the events, there’s hardly any difference between watching a televised game from a cold venue to a warm venue.
Lol. I sat in the freezing cold in Jacksonville and watched us lose to a sorry Georgia Tech team. I sat in the blistering sun in Orlando and watched us beat an arrogant, uber talented Penn State team. I've sat in Nashville and froze my nuts off. Yes, I stayed until the bitter end.

You are no better than the thousands of the rest of us UK football fans.

You just think you are.
 
I know I am . . . .

Compared to a fan who cannot differentiate a winning season from a break even: a 70 year old Florida Bowl from a swim in mayonnaise.
Lol. Congratulations. Your hubris is awesome.
 
I wish I could say the same for your memory.

In 2016, it was 64 degrees for the Kentucky/Georgia Tech Gator/TS Bowl.

If you were there, you would know it rained that morning, followed by a cold, blustery wind. The weather improved going into the second half when the sun finally came out.

My memory is fine. How about yours??
 
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