It has been unfortunate to see some fans lose their focus this week. I am at a posting milestone that pales in comparison to what some here have done. But anyway, I will offer my thoughts on moving forward and getting refocused. Will be interested to see other people's thoughts on this.
When I read a post, I never know whether the poster is young or old, a former or current UK student or not, an experienced football fan or not. It makes a difference. Building an SEC football team takes time. Fans who point to Vandy are citing an aberration that fell apart in 2014. Ole Miss may turn out to be a rare exception. But most of the time, a new coach needs several years to rebuild an SEC football program. Stoops won 2 games in 2013, then 5 games in 2014. Things are trending in the right direction. The best players on our roster are sophomores, freshmen, and graduating high school seniors. There is every reason to be optimistic, and no reason to post otherwise.
Way too many fans react to each game and each recruit like it is the end of the world. This suggests the fan is young, or else the fan does not understand about the realities of program building. Our fans should recognize season by season improvement, and appreciate the future impact of strategies like nutrition and great conditioning. Above all, we have to understand that recruiting cannot be measured in weeks or months. This takes multiple years.
Choosing a college is a personal matter. Every year, thousands of high school players commit to colleges. Every year, Kentucky's coaches sign 25 new players. We never get every player we want. No team does. Stoops' recruiting has been our best in more than a generation. The most important event in the last week was Vince Marrow signing a contract extension to stay in Lexington. If anyone thinks otherwise, it is time to wake up.
Football is a team game. Teams and recruiting classes do not depend on 1 player. The idea that teams can sign every good player in their state is a myth. No team consistently does that. Successful teams step up and handle adversity. Excuses are for losers. Bashing teenagers is for losers. Winners look for opportunities to improve and overachieve. Winners don't bash teenagers over a college decision. Winners move on and look for the next opportunity.
I think Boom is our best running back since Rafael Little, but I worry about his concussions. I hope Boom can complete his career healthy. Mikel Horton will also be a star at UK, but I am concerned about depth in this kind of an offense. I like Heard, but he hasn't been fully healthy and he is a senior now. Say what you want about Jo Jo Kemp, but he has not played much because he isn't getting the job done in practice. Clemons is a great story, but he isn't physically sound enough to play much. So we need another running back. Andrew Dowell is already committed, but might get moved to the defense. Darrin Hall is 1 of the best running backs in the midwest. Fans who talk down Hall are just pouting, and don't know what they are talking about. Would love to sign Hall if possible. If that happens, it's big for the future. If it doesn't, we move on.
However, the talk about running backs kinda misses the point for 2015. To win in the SEC, we have to speed up the game and wear down our opponents. To do that, we need to improve in 3 key areas. Right now, running back is not 1 of our primary areas of need. Another good running back would be nice, but our 2015 season does not depend on it. The primary areas of need are defensive depth, wide receiver, and offensive line. Stoops knows we cannot speed up our offense unless we have more quality defensive depth. When you speed up your offense, you leave more time on the clock and create more snaps for your defense. We need enough defensive players to handle all those extra plays. Right now, we don't have them. That's why the top goal in this class is adding more quality defenders. And that's why Javon Provitt, Anthony Rush, Josh Smith, Nate Dalton, Von Davis, and Marcus Lewis are the most important players left on the board. The next recruiting goal is receivers. Last year, there was a myth that our receivers were a position of strength. They weren't. We really missed Montgomery and Badet. Our freshman receivers are promising, but it was a learning year for them. Now, Blue and Robinson are graduating. Snodgrass and Greenwood will be good additions, but we need more receivers. That's why Tavin Richardson and AD Miller are important. It isn't a secret that our offensive line was the weak point on our 2014 team. We already have a lot of good young offensive linemen in the program, but adding Rob Dowdy will be a big help. If we improve these three areas of our team, we get a lot better. There are still plenty of scholarships left to get all of this done. We can take at least 8 more players. So it isn't a question of either-or, as some posters have been saying. We can cover all of these needs in the class.
Too many people are focused on the final 6 games of 2014. We were dogs in all 6 of those games. Don't miss the forest for the trees. 2014 was much better than 2013. The way things are going, 2015 should be better than 2014. Towles is only a sophomore. He will play better in 2015, or else he will lose his job to Barker. Whichever quarterback plays, our offense will be better because our line and our receivers will improve. Our offense will play faster because our coaches will have more confidence in our defensive depth. We also have the SEC's best placekicker and 1 of the best punters returning. And, thank goodness, Coach Marrow is coming back. Things are looking up. So it's time to stop crying over 1 player, focus on the big picture, move forward, and support our coaches.
When I read a post, I never know whether the poster is young or old, a former or current UK student or not, an experienced football fan or not. It makes a difference. Building an SEC football team takes time. Fans who point to Vandy are citing an aberration that fell apart in 2014. Ole Miss may turn out to be a rare exception. But most of the time, a new coach needs several years to rebuild an SEC football program. Stoops won 2 games in 2013, then 5 games in 2014. Things are trending in the right direction. The best players on our roster are sophomores, freshmen, and graduating high school seniors. There is every reason to be optimistic, and no reason to post otherwise.
Way too many fans react to each game and each recruit like it is the end of the world. This suggests the fan is young, or else the fan does not understand about the realities of program building. Our fans should recognize season by season improvement, and appreciate the future impact of strategies like nutrition and great conditioning. Above all, we have to understand that recruiting cannot be measured in weeks or months. This takes multiple years.
Choosing a college is a personal matter. Every year, thousands of high school players commit to colleges. Every year, Kentucky's coaches sign 25 new players. We never get every player we want. No team does. Stoops' recruiting has been our best in more than a generation. The most important event in the last week was Vince Marrow signing a contract extension to stay in Lexington. If anyone thinks otherwise, it is time to wake up.
Football is a team game. Teams and recruiting classes do not depend on 1 player. The idea that teams can sign every good player in their state is a myth. No team consistently does that. Successful teams step up and handle adversity. Excuses are for losers. Bashing teenagers is for losers. Winners look for opportunities to improve and overachieve. Winners don't bash teenagers over a college decision. Winners move on and look for the next opportunity.
I think Boom is our best running back since Rafael Little, but I worry about his concussions. I hope Boom can complete his career healthy. Mikel Horton will also be a star at UK, but I am concerned about depth in this kind of an offense. I like Heard, but he hasn't been fully healthy and he is a senior now. Say what you want about Jo Jo Kemp, but he has not played much because he isn't getting the job done in practice. Clemons is a great story, but he isn't physically sound enough to play much. So we need another running back. Andrew Dowell is already committed, but might get moved to the defense. Darrin Hall is 1 of the best running backs in the midwest. Fans who talk down Hall are just pouting, and don't know what they are talking about. Would love to sign Hall if possible. If that happens, it's big for the future. If it doesn't, we move on.
However, the talk about running backs kinda misses the point for 2015. To win in the SEC, we have to speed up the game and wear down our opponents. To do that, we need to improve in 3 key areas. Right now, running back is not 1 of our primary areas of need. Another good running back would be nice, but our 2015 season does not depend on it. The primary areas of need are defensive depth, wide receiver, and offensive line. Stoops knows we cannot speed up our offense unless we have more quality defensive depth. When you speed up your offense, you leave more time on the clock and create more snaps for your defense. We need enough defensive players to handle all those extra plays. Right now, we don't have them. That's why the top goal in this class is adding more quality defenders. And that's why Javon Provitt, Anthony Rush, Josh Smith, Nate Dalton, Von Davis, and Marcus Lewis are the most important players left on the board. The next recruiting goal is receivers. Last year, there was a myth that our receivers were a position of strength. They weren't. We really missed Montgomery and Badet. Our freshman receivers are promising, but it was a learning year for them. Now, Blue and Robinson are graduating. Snodgrass and Greenwood will be good additions, but we need more receivers. That's why Tavin Richardson and AD Miller are important. It isn't a secret that our offensive line was the weak point on our 2014 team. We already have a lot of good young offensive linemen in the program, but adding Rob Dowdy will be a big help. If we improve these three areas of our team, we get a lot better. There are still plenty of scholarships left to get all of this done. We can take at least 8 more players. So it isn't a question of either-or, as some posters have been saying. We can cover all of these needs in the class.
Too many people are focused on the final 6 games of 2014. We were dogs in all 6 of those games. Don't miss the forest for the trees. 2014 was much better than 2013. The way things are going, 2015 should be better than 2014. Towles is only a sophomore. He will play better in 2015, or else he will lose his job to Barker. Whichever quarterback plays, our offense will be better because our line and our receivers will improve. Our offense will play faster because our coaches will have more confidence in our defensive depth. We also have the SEC's best placekicker and 1 of the best punters returning. And, thank goodness, Coach Marrow is coming back. Things are looking up. So it's time to stop crying over 1 player, focus on the big picture, move forward, and support our coaches.
