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bratboy

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Although Stoops has had a somewhat slow learning curve as a head coach, I believe he will take UK to the next level because of the staff he has assembled around him.
This group of guys he has around him are very good recruiters and coaches. The dominos are falling into place and the potential for huge recruiting success is in place.
Would like to know what others think?
 
I think the OC, Quarterback, TE and receivers coaches are solid.
It seems UK has made strong moves to help out in coaching the secondary, as well as front seven.
Hoping that it clicks for the defensive coordinator this season. That spot has seemed questionable ever since Stoops has arrived.
 
I think the OC, Quarterback, TE and receivers coaches are solid.
It seems UK has made strong moves to help out in coaching the secondary, as well as front seven.
Hoping that it clicks for the defensive coordinator this season. That spot has seemed questionable ever since Stoops has arrived.
I agree that MH hasn't proven anything as DC, but he has proven to be a good recruiter. Hopefully with the addition of White and Hood to coach DB's along with better depth on DL the defense will be much improved.
 
Although Stoops has had a somewhat slow learning curve as a head coach, I believe he will take UK to the next level because of the staff he has assembled around him.
This group of guys he has around him are very good recruiters and coaches. The dominos are falling into place and the potential for huge recruiting success is in place.
Would like to know what others think?

I agree on all counts. This is the strongest group of assistants that Stoops has been able to assemble yet IMO, and the recruiting doors have opened wide in Florida thanks to Coach Gran, Coach Clink has taken a couple of elite players out of Michigan and is in on more and Coach Smith figures to maybe open some doors in Louisiana for us. On top of that we have the best Recruiting coordinator in the country. I love adding Coach White to the line-backing corp and Josh Allen was very outspoken on twitter about new techniques he is learning from White and how much it's helping his game.

Things are starting to come together IMO.
 
I agree that MH hasn't proven anything as DC, but he has proven to be a good recruiter. Hopefully with the addition of White and Hood to coach DB's along with better depth on DL the defense will be much improved.

Coach Stoops came to UK with the reputation of being a very good DC, so it has been both puzzling and disappointing that we have not been better on defense. We have a lot of experience returning on that side of the ball, albeit from a statistically porous defense, and some individually talented players who will likely be drafted next year. Let's hope this staff, with White's addition and Hood's reassignment, can use those apparent advantages to create a much improved defensive unit. It's time.
 
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1. I like the current staff for the most part.
2. Hard to believe this will truly be an elite recruiting class, per UK standards, given how little interest we're getting from Ky kids that are legit D1 guys in 19 class.
 
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Although Stoops has had a somewhat slow learning curve as a head coach, I believe he will take UK to the next level because of the staff he has assembled around him.
This group of guys he has around him are very good recruiters and coaches. The dominos are falling into place and the potential for huge recruiting success is in place.
Would like to know what others think?
Everyone has their own opinions. I have been critical of certain program management decisions at times, such as the slow decisions to hire a dedicated special teams coordinator and a dedicated quarterbacks coach. But, overall, I have been supportive of Stoops because he is shepherding our football program in a productive direction. Looking back, 4 developments won my support. Stoops is the strongest recruiter we have had in the HC position in decades. Stoops has been squeaky clean. Stoops has steadily improved the quality of his coaching staff, including the retention of Vince Marrow when Michigan tried to hire him away. Additions of Coaches Smith and White are the latest productive hires. Stoops has worked with our administration to steadily renovate and improve all of our football facilities. So with regard to your question, Stoops has created a positive momentum inside our football program, and there is every reason to believe that will continue. When we talk about recruiting here, these threads inevitably get hijacked, either by someone obsessed with certain prospects they personally want, or someone who is obsessed with spinning the thread into his personal agenda to criticize our athletics department. Those people are ruining this board for the rest of us. I only want to talk about recruiting as a process. So I will not discuss prospects I personally want. Instead, I will name the following prospects that, I believe, are likely to actually sign in UK's next class. Moses Douglass, Marvin Grant, Jeremiah Ross, Shawnkel Knight-Goff, KD McDaniel, Luke Fulton, Dontay Hunter, Isaiah Gibson, Taures Payne, Connor Bazelak, Hayden Wolff, John Bivins, Wandale Robinson, Demontae Crumes, Jordan Kirkbride, Kyle Jornigan, Tanner Bowles, Jamari Williams.
 
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I believe that Stoops is good enough right now to get 6 wins a yr as an avg floor. And I think if we had a QB (or DL) the last few yrs we would’ve already seen an 8-9 win season. So, it’s very possible that we see an 8-9 win season before too long. But what lays beyond is anyone’s guess?
 
1. I like the current staff for the most part.
2. Hard to believe this will truly be an elite recruiting class, per UK standards, given how little interest we're getting from Ky kids that are legit D1 guys in 19 class.

Weird second point. UK has three commitments to date and each is a highly regarded recruit. The idea that an “elite” recruiting class must include “legit D1 guys” from Kentucky is an odd conclusion, IMO. We could land every “legit D1” recruit from Kentucky and not have an “elite” class (not sure what your definition would be - but some would argue there exists only one, maybe two elite players in the 2019 Kentucky class). Rather than look at the start of the class for encouragement projecting forward, you chose to accept the narrative that the best Kentucky kids will go elsewhere AND that means the class will not reach “elite” status. This is the sort of conversations we have in the off season. SMH
 
Weird second point. UK has three commitments to date and each is a highly regarded recruit. The idea that an “elite” recruiting class must include “legit D1 guys” from Kentucky is an odd conclusion, IMO. We could land every “legit D1” recruit from Kentucky and not have an “elite” class (not sure what your definition would be - but some would argue there exists only one, maybe two elite players in the 2019 Kentucky class). Rather than look at the start of the class for encouragement projecting forward, you chose to accept the narrative that the best Kentucky kids will go elsewhere AND that means the class will not reach “elite” status. This is the sort of conversations we have in the off season. SMH
Weird indeed. But I think that's where we are as a fan base. It's funny. Not too long ago, many of our fans were beside themselves because UK wasn't recruiting enough Ohio players. Now, some people get excited about Moses Douglass, while others evidently don't have enough information to get excited about any commitment from outside our state. Some people see bowl games, facility improvements, and positive recruiting trends, and surmise that our program is on the upswing. Others just stay unhappy all the time and use this board as their own personal bidet.
 
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I will name the following prospects that, I believe, are likely to actually sign in UK's next class. Moses Douglass, Marvin Grant, Jeremiah Ross, Shawnkel Knight-Goff, KD McDaniel, Luke Fulton, Dontay Hunter, Isaiah Gibson, Taures Payne, Connor Bazelak, Hayden Wolff, John Bivins, Wandale Robinson, Demontae Crumes, Jordan Kirkbride, Kyle Jornigan, Tanner Bowles, Jamari Williams.
Thanks much for your list. I had no clue.
 
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Coach Stoops came to UK with the reputation of being a very good DC, so it has been both puzzling and disappointing that we have not been better on defense.

IMO the primary reason for the failure of the defense to not have performed better is that, defensive line is the one position that Stoops has not recruited any better than Joker and probably not has good as Brooks. The D-line is the foundation of the defense and a weak foundation cannot be overcome by a great structure on top of it.

I do think that the failure of Elam to develop into the type of player they had hoped was an enormous blow to the progress of the defense. The nose tackle is the king pin of the 3/4. But he is just one player and the failure to bring in other SEC caliber nose tackles and DTs has been the root of the problem. I do think that is changing with players like Bohanna, Paschal and Hawkins and I'm encouraged that this year's D-line will show marked improvement.
 
IMO the primary reason for the failure of the defense to not have performed better is that, defensive line is the one position that Stoops has not recruited any better than Joker and probably not has good as Brooks. The D-line is the foundation of the defense and a weak foundation cannot be overcome by a great structure on top of it.

I do think that the failure of Elam to develop into the type of player they had hoped was an enormous blow to the progress of the defense. The nose tackle is the king pin of the 3/4. But he is just one player and the failure to bring in other SEC caliber nose tackles and DTs has been the root of the problem. I do think that is changing with players like Bohanna, Paschal and Hawkins and I'm encouraged that this year's D-line will show marked improvement.
Agree. All college football programs have players that overachieve and underachieve. It would be wonderful if every UK football player became an all SEC player. That doesn’t happen anywhere. If our fans criticize Stoops over Elam, are they also willing to give Stoops credit for overachieving performances of 2 star recruits Bohanna, Carter, Allen, Watson? Will Stoops receive fair credit for signing Paschal, Wright, Griffin, Corker, Ajian? From my perspective, the next forward step for our defense needs to be development of a real SEC pass rush. Josh Allen isn’t enough, because any opponent can double up on 1 edge rusher. Paschal’s move to defensive end is an important part of this. Calvin Taylor’s emergence is important. Jordan Wright is another important piece. Until now, opposing SEC quarterbacks have basically stood in the pocket as long as necessary and taken their pick of the routes. If you give an SEC quarterback all day to throw, he will make any secondary look bad. But if we can develop a real pass rush, our secondary would suddenly look much better. And, also, if we limit what opposing offenses can gain through the air, then it becomes somewhat easier to predict how and when they will try to run the football against us.
 
Agree. All college football programs have players that overachieve and underachieve. It would be wonderful if every UK football player became an all SEC player. That doesn’t happen anywhere. If our fans criticize Stoops over Elam, are they also willing to give Stoops credit for overachieving performances of 2 star recruits Bohanna, Carter, Allen, Watson? Will Stoops receive fair credit for signing Paschal, Wright, Griffin, Corker, Ajian? From my perspective, the next forward step for our defense needs to be development of a real SEC pass rush. Josh Allen isn’t enough, because any opponent can double up on 1 edge rusher. Paschal’s move to defensive end is an important part of this. Calvin Taylor’s emergence is important. Jordan Wright is another important piece. Until now, opposing SEC quarterbacks have basically stood in the pocket as long as necessary and taken their pick of the routes. If you give an SEC quarterback all day to throw, he will make any secondary look bad. But if we can develop a real pass rush, our secondary would suddenly look much better. And, also, if we limit what opposing offenses can gain through the air, then it becomes somewhat easier to predict how and when they will try to run the football against us.

When Elam was recruited, much like Harris and Young, some fans talked about “must get” Kentucky kids. Had Elam landed at Bama and failed, it would have had no impact on those fans, or on Bama. Stoops may not have rated Elam as high as the fans, but probably knew that landing him was important to a faction of the base. Elam also could have turned out very good. It was the understandable move and may have played a role in the recruitment of Young, IDK. Regardless, we see Bohanna and Snell, less regarded prospects by fans than Elam and Harris, but undoubtedly a better duo than the Kentucky kids. Conclusion? Those fans who live by strict rules regarding recruiting either have an ulterior motive or are ignorantly stuck in a legalistic lane and should be ignored.
 
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When Elam was recruited, much like Harris and Young, some fans talked about “must get” Kentucky kids. Had Elam landed at Bama and failed, it would have had no impact on those fans, or on Bama. Stoops may not have rated Elam as high as the fans, but probably knew that landing him was important to a faction of the base. Elam also could have turned out very good. It was the understandable move and may have played a role in the recruitment of Young, IDK. Regardless, we see Bohanna and Snell, less regarded prospects by fans than Elam and Harris, but undoubtedly a better duo than the Kentucky kids. Conclusion? Those fans who live by strict rules regarding recruiting either have an ulterior motive or are ignorantly stuck in a legalistic lane and should be ignored.

Elam was an important get for Stoops, not so much for his ability, watching his tape it was clear he wasn't very flexible or agile and I thought he would struggle as a DL. Bama was willing to give him a tryout, he would have been gone after his 2nd spring practice at Bama either to medical hardship or transfer. He was important for Stoops and UK to go up against the best program in the country for a Kentucky kid and win. As it turned out Elam wasn't the player many hoped, I don't think it was a surprise to Stoops, he could see his limitations, but he wasa kid UK beat Bama to sign. Even today, not talking about his career, he is still one of the biggest recruiting wins by Stoops and Staff.
 
Every recruit is different, even at the same position. Player's can live up to or fall short of their perceived strength's. No two are the same, just as in life. I think Stoops is doing everything he can to improve the team. There is a considerable amount of reason's to believe that.
Too me he has done more than any coach in the last 20 or 30 year's. The kid's he brings out of Ohio has never been done before. The overall talent is at it's greatest since the Bear or Curci years. There have been a few good years scattered around during this time, but Stoops has the brought in the most talent on paper than anyone.
His next step in coaching should be his overall strength in knowing when and how to make the game slow down or speed up. That is when he will be seen as a very good SEC coach. I think some fan's forget how low the talent was and that Stoops had no head coaching experience. He is getting there and I do believe it will show up this year.

GBB
 
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IMO the primary reason for the failure of the defense to not have performed better is that, defensive line is the one position that Stoops has not recruited any better than Joker and probably not has good as Brooks. The D-line is the foundation of the defense and a weak foundation cannot be overcome by a great structure on top of it.

I do think that the failure of Elam to develop into the type of player they had hoped was an enormous blow to the progress of the defense. The nose tackle is the king pin of the 3/4. But he is just one player and the failure to bring in other SEC caliber nose tackles and DTs has been the root of the problem. I do think that is changing with players like Bohanna, Paschal and Hawkins and I'm encouraged that this year's D-line will show marked improvement.
I had the same question as the poster you quoted and I think your answer is as correct as any that can be given but I still don't think it completely explains why we haven't been better at times on defense.The defense should have been better at times, maybe in a few key games that were winnable and might have changed seasons
 
I had the same question as the poster you quoted and I think your answer is as correct as any that can be given but I still don't think it completely explains why we haven't been better at times on defense.The defense should have been better at times, maybe in a few key games that were winnable and might have changed seasons

I agree there is never one simple answer to something that major, but I think it all starts up front.
 
1. I like the current staff for the most part.
2. Hard to believe this will truly be an elite recruiting class, per UK standards, given how little interest we're getting from Ky kids that are legit D1 guys in 19 class.
I really would rather get good players from Ohio, that the "elite" players from Ky.
 
Every recruit is different, even at the same position. Player's can live up to or fall short of their perceived strength's. No two are the same, just as in life. I think Stoops is doing everything he can to improve the team. There is a considerable amount of reason's to believe that.
Too me he has done more than any coach in the last 20 or 30 year's. The kid's he brings out of Ohio has never been done before. The overall talent is at it's greatest since the Bear or Curci years. There have been a few good years scattered around during this time, but Stoops has the brought in the most talent on paper than anyone.
His next step in coaching should be his overall strength in knowing when and how to make the game slow down or speed up. That is when he will be seen as a very good SEC coach. I think some fan's forget how low the talent was and that Stoops had no head coaching experience. He is getting there and I do believe it will show up this year.

GBB
This is a fair assessment. I am good with him never signing another Ky kid if he keeps recruiting Ohio, Fla, and Ga. He is growing as a coach and I hope he is here for a long time to come
 
When Elam was recruited, much like Harris and Young, some fans talked about “must get” Kentucky kids. Had Elam landed at Bama and failed, it would have had no impact on those fans, or on Bama. Stoops may not have rated Elam as high as the fans, but probably knew that landing him was important to a faction of the base. Elam also could have turned out very good. It was the understandable move and may have played a role in the recruitment of Young, IDK. Regardless, we see Bohanna and Snell, less regarded prospects by fans than Elam and Harris, but undoubtedly a better duo than the Kentucky kids. Conclusion? Those fans who live by strict rules regarding recruiting either have an ulterior motive or are ignorantly stuck in a legalistic lane and should be ignored.
I don't have a clue how many people post on this website. There must be 1,000s. Out of all those, maybe 25-30 really and truly keep themselves carefully informed and up to date about football recruiting. Many more than that post here to blow off steam, prosecute some preconceived agenda, or experience the thrill of fabricating online conflicts and talking big talk. Some aren't even UK fans. Anyone who has played football or been around organized football understands that becoming a successful football player involves talent, development, work ethic, heart, intelligence. But it's a please me right away kind of society now, and shortcuts appeal to people. So if they can read a player's star ratings and see him in the local news every Saturday, then they can be fooled into believing they know something about recruiting. They haven't actually seen the players play football in most cases, and they don't understand the difference in competitive level between playing football for Scott County HS versus playing for Cardinal Mooney. In some cases, they don't even come to Lexington to watch our team play football. But they have their posting account so they can complain all they want. All football coaches make mistakes. Fans don't have to be right, but coaches have nowhere to hide when they screw up. Matt Elam was an important recruiting chip for Stoops at the time he signed. Many here don't know this, but Stoops has actually beaten out Nick Saban for a lot of players. However, Elam was the 1st high profile player go pick UK over Alabama on Stoops' watch. For his own good, Elam should have been redshirted and developed as a right offensive tackle. That doesn't mean he would have been an All American, or even a full time starter, but it would have been his best path. We will never know, but there is a good chance Elam did not want to hear this. Elam isn't the only Wildcat who has come to UK because our coaches were willing to give him a chance to do it his way. In Elam's case, it didn't work out. And that's too bad. But Elam was beaten out by Naquez Pringle and Quinton Bohanna, in other words by a couple of lightly recruited overachieving players. If people criticize Stoops for Elam's underachievements, then they must also give Stoops credit for developing Pringle and Bohanna. There is no shortage of recruiting successes at UK. Bohanna, Josh Allen, Benny Snell, Bunchy Stallings, Logan Stenberg have been amazing overachievers. Calvin Taylor and Isaiah Epps are about to join them in that category. We also have our share of high profile signings. It's time for more of our fans to educate themselves and learn to appreciate the success story.
 
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I really would rather get good players from Ohio, that the "elite" players from Ky.
You're on your own with that. Good players are good players even if they come out of Siberia. The myth that a good player from Ohio is better than a good player from Kentucky is just that, a myth. Just look at what Damien Harris is doing at Bama. Now imagine him and Benny in the same backfield. That would be worth an extra win or two.
 
I don't have a clue how many people post on this website. There must be 1,000s. Out of all those, maybe 25-30 really and truly keep themselves carefully informed and up to date about football recruiting. Many more than that post here to blow off steam, prosecute some preconceived agenda, or experience the thrill of fabricating online conflicts and talking big talk. Some aren't even UK fans. Anyone who has played football or been around organized football understands that becoming a successful football player involves talent, development, work ethic, heart, intelligence. But it's a please me right away kind of society now, and shortcuts appeal to people. So if they can read a player's star ratings and see him in the local news every Saturday, then they can be fooled into believing they know something about recruiting. They haven't actually seen the players play football in most cases, and they don't understand the difference in competitive level between playing football for Scott County HS versus playing for Cardinal Mooney. In some cases, they don't even come to Lexington to watch our team play football. But they have their posting account so they can complain all they want. All football coaches make mistakes. Fans don't have to be right, but coaches have nowhere to hide when they screw up. Matt Elam was an important recruiting chip for Stoops at the time he signed. Many here don't know this, but Stoops has actually beaten out Nick Saban for a lot of players. However, Elam was the 1st high profile player go pick UK over Alabama on Stoops' watch. For his own good, Elam should have been redshirted and developed as a right offensive tackle. That doesn't mean he would have been an All American, or even a full time starter, but it would have been his best path. We will never know, but there is a good chance Elam did not want to hear this. Elam isn't the only Wildcat who has come to UK because our coaches were willing to give him a chance to do it his way. In Elam's case, it didn't work out. And that's too bad. But Elam was beaten out by Naquez Pringle and Quinton Bohanna, in other words by a couple of lightly recruited overachieving players. If people criticize Stoops for Elam's underachievements, then they must also give Stoops credit for developing Pringle and Bohanna. There is no shortage of recruiting successes at UK. Bohanna, Josh Allen, Benny Snell, Bunchy Stallings, Logan Stenberg have been amazing overachievers. Calvin Taylor and Isaiah Epps are about to join them in that category. We also have our share of high profile signings. It's time for more of our fans to educate themselves and learn to appreciate the success story.

I agree with you on Elam BD, on accounts. Elam is a huge guy, but the truth is he wasn't athletic enough to be a good DL. His best position, imo, would have been OG, but only there if he could have learned to keep his pad level down, he just doesn't have the feet or quickness for an OT. Very good kid who never had his name in headlines for anything but good reasons and a good representative of UK. He should have redshirted, but would that have really mattered? As a sr he wasn't in much better condition than as a true frosh and his basic fundamentals were still not good. Sometimes I wondered if he even enjoyed playing and played because he was expected to play because of his size. But promising no redshirt may have been part of Stoops recruiting pitch to him, while going to Bama he would have 100% redshirted. But he was a head to head win against Bama for a top instate kid and those are tough to come by.
 
I don't have a clue how many people post on this website. There must be 1,000s. Out of all those, maybe 25-30 really and truly keep themselves carefully informed and up to date about football recruiting. Many more than that post here to blow off steam, prosecute some preconceived agenda, or experience the thrill of fabricating online conflicts and talking big talk. Some aren't even UK fans. Anyone who has played football or been around organized football understands that becoming a successful football player involves talent, development, work ethic, heart, intelligence. But it's a please me right away kind of society now, and shortcuts appeal to people. So if they can read a player's star ratings and see him in the local news every Saturday, then they can be fooled into believing they know something about recruiting. They haven't actually seen the players play football in most cases, and they don't understand the difference in competitive level between playing football for Scott County HS versus playing for Cardinal Mooney. In some cases, they don't even come to Lexington to watch our team play football. But they have their posting account so they can complain all they want. All football coaches make mistakes. Fans don't have to be right, but coaches have nowhere to hide when they screw up. Matt Elam was an important recruiting chip for Stoops at the time he signed. Many here don't know this, but Stoops has actually beaten out Nick Saban for a lot of players. However, Elam was the 1st high profile player go pick UK over Alabama on Stoops' watch. For his own good, Elam should have been redshirted and developed as a right offensive tackle. That doesn't mean he would have been an All American, or even a full time starter, but it would have been his best path. We will never know, but there is a good chance Elam did not want to hear this. Elam isn't the only Wildcat who has come to UK because our coaches were willing to give him a chance to do it his way. In Elam's case, it didn't work out. And that's too bad. But Elam was beaten out by Naquez Pringle and Quinton Bohanna, in other words by a couple of lightly recruited overachieving players. If people criticize Stoops for Elam's underachievements, then they must also give Stoops credit for developing Pringle and Bohanna. There is no shortage of recruiting successes at UK. Bohanna, Josh Allen, Benny Snell, Bunchy Stallings, Logan Stenberg have been amazing overachievers. Calvin Taylor and Isaiah Epps are about to join them in that category. We also have our share of high profile signings. It's time for more of our fans to educate themselves and learn to appreciate the success story.
Paragraphs are your friend.
 
You're on your own with that. Good players are good players even if they come out of Siberia. The myth that a good player from Ohio is better than a good player from Kentucky is just that, a myth. Just look at what Damien Harris is doing at Bama. Now imagine him and Benny in the same backfield. That would be worth an extra win or two.
Look what Marr Elam, Micah Johnson, Dennis Johnson 5 stars although good careers for 2 of the 3
 
IN a 25 man class...we need both.

Answer yourself this...do you think kids like Herron, Hudson, Lacey, Bowles, Wright would help UK? And do you really believe we'll get better kids out of Ohio...or anywhere else?
Of course they would help Uk, but will they be that much better than Snell, Bowden, Edwards, Jones? Of course I would like both, just not willing to say we can't be sucessful in other states mainly
 
IMO the primary reason for the failure of the defense to not have performed better is that, defensive line is the one position that Stoops has not recruited any better than Joker and probably not has good as Brooks. The D-line is the foundation of the defense and a weak foundation cannot be overcome by a great structure on top of it.

I do think that the failure of Elam to develop into the type of player they had hoped was an enormous blow to the progress of the defense. The nose tackle is the king pin of the 3/4. But he is just one player and the failure to bring in other SEC caliber nose tackles and DTs has been the root of the problem. I do think that is changing with players like Bohanna, Paschal and Hawkins and I'm encouraged that this year's D-line will show marked improvement.

Stoops transition from the 4-3 to the 3-4 is also part of that equation given his lack of experience in 3 down fronts.

You're on your own with that. Good players are good players even if they come out of Siberia. The myth that a good player from Ohio is better than a good player from Kentucky is just that, a myth...

No it's not. Go to some UK away games and watch some Friday nigh high school games while you're there. Would certainly be an eye opener for you.
 
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Of course they would help Uk, but will they be that much better than Snell, Bowden, Edwards, Jones? Of course I would like both, just not willing to say we can't be sucessful in other states mainly
1. You are picking the Ohio kids that where the better ones...but leaving out Daniel Horton, Koback, Gilliam, Hotzclaw, Bannerman, Rolando Walder, etc... I'm not arguing the fertile ground of Ohio that Stoops/Marrow have done an amazing job of getting us in on those kids which has bumped up our talent.
2. But let's not overlook Drake Jackson, Landon Young, Middleton, Kash...will be starters on both sides of ball as well. So the Ky kids aren't total scrubs but I agree there is more talent in Ohio v.s Ky.
3. But to me the biggie is UK literally is struggling to compete in trenches. Most of the kids we're losing in this class are kids that will play in trenches and all are highly rated to boot. There is a high likelihood these kids would have easily started at UK or at least be in 2 deep depth chart and are misses for the program.

Trying to minimize this year with a handful of Ky kids that will be 4* or better and we miss on them all makes no sense. We need all the talent we can get...and especially so in the trenches.
 
Stoops transition from the 4-3 to the 3-4 is also part of that equation given his lack of experience in 3 down fronts.



No it's not. Go to some UK away games and watch some Friday nigh high school games while you're there. Would certainly be an eye opener for you.
I don't need to. I live in Georgia and I have in the past lived in Florida. I've seen many high school games in both states. I'd stack a 5 star recruit from Kentucky up against a 5 star recruit from Florida anyday. Again look at Harris.
 
But he was a head to head win against Bama for a top instate kid and those are tough to come by.
Instate products Elam, Drake Jackson, Landon Young turned down Nick Saban's scholarship offers to sign with UK. But Tanner Bowles, Damien Harris, Jedrick Wills picked Alabama. So while Bowles' verbal is the most recent reminder of Saban's recruiting reach in Kentucky, Stoops has not done badly in the direct competition given what Saban has to offer. Other current Kentucky Wildcats known to have turned down Alabama scholarship offers include Kengera Daniel, Josh Paschal, Jordan Wright, Yusuf Corker. It is worth mentioning that Corker, Stanley Garner, Jordan Griffin turned down Clemson. So Stoops has been an effective recruiter against elite competition. Still, I thought we had a good shot to sign Bowles. So while the Bowles verbal is bad news, UK has more than 30 current scholarship offers out to offensive linemen. Contrary to what is sometimes said, most SEC football programs do not depend primarily on instate recruiting (although UGA does). Where a football player was born is far less important than where he is going.
 
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Instate products Elam, Drake Jackson, Landon Young turned down Nick Saban's scholarship offers to sign with UK. But Tanner Bowles, Damien Harris, Jedrick Wills picked Alabama. So while Bowles' verbal is the most recent reminder of Saban's recruiting reach in Kentucky, Stoops has not done badly in the direct competition given what Saban has to offer. Other current Kentucky Wildcats known to have turned down Alabama scholarship offers include Kengera Daniel, Josh Paschal, Jordan Wright, Yusuf Corker. It is worth mentioning that Corker, Stanley Garner, Jordan Griffin turned down Clemson. So Stoops has been an effective recruiter against elite competition. Still, I thought we had a good shot to sign Bowles. So while the Bowles verbal is bad news, UK has more than 30 current scholarship offers out to offensive linemen. Contrary to what is sometimes said, most SEC football programs do not depend primarily on instate recruiting (although UGA does). Where a football player was born is far less important than where he is going.

Young and Jackson were big wins, highly ranked kids with options to big programs the OOS kids on the other hand maybe not so much. UK has upgraded talent under Stoops, he has beaten teams on the field who have recruited better than UK, so he is doing a good job of developing that talent, probably as good as anyone in the conference. But the real issue is UK signs 1 kid on Bowden's level and the big schools sign 15. For UK to consistently be mentioned as a contender for the East, it is going to have to start targeting top 10 kids in the big recruiting states and winning their share of those recruiting battles. UT and UF aren't going to stay down forever, UF just fired a coach who won had 10 win seasons and won the East his first 2 years but had a down 3rd year and almost everyone thinks they made a good hire in Mullen. Pruitt at UT was a great DC, how he works out as a head coach remains to be seen, but if he doesn't improve them he won't last long. UK has a nice streak going against Carolina and I am not sold on Muschamp, but he is upgrading their talent level. The window for moving up is starting to close, this year is Stoops best opportunity to make it to Atlanta. Nice steak agaisnt Carolina, UT and UF with new coaches, UGA replacing a large part of their defense, Vandy is Vandy and Missouri while being capable of lighting up the scoreboard, are also capable of giving up lots of points. Meanwhile UK returns 10 of 11 starters on D,most of their OL, an elite running game. All of that says UK wins alot of games this year and winning the East isn't a huge longshot.
 
Young and Jackson were big wins, highly ranked kids with options to big programs the OOS kids on the other hand maybe not so much. UK has upgraded talent under Stoops, he has beaten teams on the field who have recruited better than UK, so he is doing a good job of developing that talent, probably as good as anyone in the conference. But the real issue is UK signs 1 kid on Bowden's level and the big schools sign 15. For UK to consistently be mentioned as a contender for the East, it is going to have to start targeting top 10 kids in the big recruiting states and winning their share of those recruiting battles. UT and UF aren't going to stay down forever, UF just fired a coach who won had 10 win seasons and won the East his first 2 years but had a down 3rd year and almost everyone thinks they made a good hire in Mullen. Pruitt at UT was a great DC, how he works out as a head coach remains to be seen, but if he doesn't improve them he won't last long. UK has a nice streak going against Carolina and I am not sold on Muschamp, but he is upgrading their talent level. The window for moving up is starting to close, this year is Stoops best opportunity to make it to Atlanta. Nice steak agaisnt Carolina, UT and UF with new coaches, UGA replacing a large part of their defense, Vandy is Vandy and Missouri while being capable of lighting up the scoreboard, are also capable of giving up lots of points. Meanwhile UK returns 10 of 11 starters on D,most of their OL, an elite running game. All of that says UK wins alot of games this year and winning the East isn't a huge longshot.
Grumpyolddawg, thanks for the kind words and optimistic report on our Cats. But we do need for one of our quarterbacks to step up and play SEC football and we need our pass receivers to catch the routine pass and make a spectacular play on occasions. I too think our record will improve and I am anxious for the season to kick off.
 
Grumpyolddawg, thanks for the kind words and optimistic report on our Cats. But we do need for one of our quarterbacks to step up and play SEC football and we need our pass receivers to catch the routine pass and make a spectacular play on occasions. I too think our record will improve and I am anxious for the season to kick off.

Everyone has some questions, always do after spring practice. In ours we barely made an effort to run the ball, Swift, likely our number 1 back, White, likely number 2 back didn't play because of injuries, Holyfield on carried 2-3 times, leading rusher was a walkon who has about as much chance of getting a meaningful snap as I do. 1st defense looked good, OL looked good at both run and pass blocking, Fromm struggled bigtime, had some passes dropped, 2-3 batted down against the number 1 defense, while Fields lit up the number 2 defense with his arm and broke a few nice runs to have the quick whistle on the QBs. It was enough to get the fans, including me, excited about the 18 season. Smith's replacement at LB had 14 tackles which was encouraging. He's more physical, but not the range Smith had. One of the EE will get alot of playing time, and 3 who aren't EE are expected to see alot of time this fall on D. On O outside of the 2 RB and maybe an OL not sure who will see much playing time. A WR who can catch the ball would be nice.
 
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Everyone has some questions, always do after spring practice. In ours we barely made an effort to run the ball, Swift, likely our number 1 back, White, likely number 2 back didn't play because of injuries, Holyfield on carried 2-3 times, leading rusher was a walkon who has about as much chance of getting a meaningful snap as I do. 1st defense looked good, OL looked good at both run and pass blocking, Fromm struggled bigtime, had some passes dropped, 2-3 batted down against the number 1 defense, while Fields lit up the number 2 defense with his arm and broke a few nice runs to have the quick whistle on the QBs. It was enough to get the fans, including me, excited about the 18 season. Smith's replacement at LB had 14 tackles which was encouraging. He's more physical, but not the range Smith had. One of the EE will get alot of playing time, and 3 who aren't EE are expected to see alot of time this fall on D. On O outside of the 2 RB and maybe an OL not sure who will see much playing time. A WR who can catch the ball would be nice.
Georgia is going to be hard to handle from here on out. You should be the defending National Champions going into the season but it got away.
 
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