UK will never out recruit half the SEC
- Thread starter MrHotDice
- Start date
IF they coulda pulled off uf and ole miss it would have been a huge boost to recruiting. Players want to see coaches who can win.
with your attitude, we certainly won't sign better recruiting classes....
It's your losing mentality that needs to be adjusted.
There is no reason UK cannot start recruiting with the best teams in the SEC if we keep improving. We have the facilities, we have a fan base that will continue to support the program especially if we keep going to bowls, etc.
There are only so many spots on a football team. UK can find enough top notch recruits in the states of Ohio, Kentucky, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, etc. to field a top notch SEC program.
It can happen. We just have to keep racking up 8+ win seasons and top recruits will consider us.
With smart scheduling and some 4 stars on the offensive line.....we can win 10. I seen it this year with my eyes ....its possible
We got this someday
We got this someday
Not sure his attitude affects UK's recruiting.
I'm sorry but their is talk and the reality of the situation. UK choose years ago which direction it wanted to take. It choose basketball not football. In the 50's UK was both a football and basketball power. It choose Rupp over The Bear. Literally it chose basketball over football. UK had many chances after Bear to get great football coaches but because the fans have such low expectations on the football field the attitude was we can hire anyone because we have the greatest basketball program in the SEC.
Recruiting is the best that it has been. The gap is closer than it has ever been with the big schools. Need to stop making excuses and expect to compete with the better schools or just give up I guess. I think we are close to our ceiling in recruiting and will just have to motivate and scheme our way to competitiveness against the better teams.
"Never" is a long time. Although it hasn't happened in my 50 yrs of following UK football, it still could happen some day.
Let’s expand on this smart scheduling concept for a bit. Given that 9 games on our schedule are set and the other three we usually play couldn’t beat Trinity High School, I’d be interested to know what you’re proposing here that could help us get to 10 wins.
It’s that reason why UK has to stay solid at the skills position. You can see the difference in the trenches and that’s where the difference in talent really stands out and where UK really struggles to compete in. When UGA lost their LT, UGA stuck another guy in there, ran a play to his side and popped 9 yards. UK could not do that bc the depth of talent drops that much when a starter for out.
It’s why he Williams loss hurts. UK has to have the skill guys to stretch the field. They have to try gimmicks and risks to compete with a UGA. Part of the problem tonight is UGA’s depth and talent wore UK out in the 2nd half.
It’s why he Williams loss hurts. UK has to have the skill guys to stretch the field. They have to try gimmicks and risks to compete with a UGA. Part of the problem tonight is UGA’s depth and talent wore UK out in the 2nd half.
We will always have better or close to equal talent to 8 of our opponents every year (3 OOC, UL, Vandy, USC, Mizzou and MSU). We will never have better or close to equal talent to 3 of our opponents every year (UGA, UF, UT). The last game depends on who are rotating team is from the west.
Let's compare Wisconsin recruiting to Kentucky:
2013:
W: 57
K: 29
2014:
W: 33
K: 17
2015:
W: 37
K: 35
2016:
W: 35
K: 28
2017:
W: 35
K: 26
In case you missed it, Kentucky is 7-4 with losses against two teams that are 4-6 and 5-5 while Wisconsin is undefeated and 11-0. Wisconsin has the 50th hardest schedule and Kentucky has the 66th.
So... How is it that Wisconsin can be undefeated while we lose inexcusable games like Ole Miss and Florida and then get blown out by the two teams with respectable resumes?
2013:
W: 57
K: 29
2014:
W: 33
K: 17
2015:
W: 37
K: 35
2016:
W: 35
K: 28
2017:
W: 35
K: 26
In case you missed it, Kentucky is 7-4 with losses against two teams that are 4-6 and 5-5 while Wisconsin is undefeated and 11-0. Wisconsin has the 50th hardest schedule and Kentucky has the 66th.
So... How is it that Wisconsin can be undefeated while we lose inexcusable games like Ole Miss and Florida and then get blown out by the two teams with respectable resumes?
Well, that's some telling stats. I would guess Wisconsin has a great coaching staff.
Then you have to beat them with desire, execution and coaching. I'd say UK is lacking in 2 out of 3.
You’re supposed to say they’re not in the SEC. That’s the standard answer to everything. I can’t believe you didn’t know that.
Let's do another one:
2017
Miss State: 27
Kentucky: 26
2016:
Miss State: 34
Kentucky: 28
2015:
Miss State: 16
Kentucky: 35
2014:
Miss State: 37
Kentucky: 17
2013:
Miss State: 26
Kentucky:29
Very similar recruiting over the last 5 years and yet they demolished us. Why? While they only have one more win, they've faced a top 15 schedule while UK certainly has not.
2017
Miss State: 27
Kentucky: 26
2016:
Miss State: 34
Kentucky: 28
2015:
Miss State: 16
Kentucky: 35
2014:
Miss State: 37
Kentucky: 17
2013:
Miss State: 26
Kentucky:29
Very similar recruiting over the last 5 years and yet they demolished us. Why? While they only have one more win, they've faced a top 15 schedule while UK certainly has not.
To be fair, I could be wrong about strength of schedule. I found three sites that gave me three different numbers. Still, the strength of schedule isn't that much different between the two teams.
We play a style of football similar to the top talent in the league. When we go against the top talent it comes down to the trenches and we can't compete. We are #99 in run/pass ratio and only Georgia, Bama, LSU, and Miss St. like to run it more than we do. Look at the common opponents that took us to the woodshed and understand why we don't compete. You can't play smashmouth against superior talent.
Haha. Well, I'm really not all that upset with our loss in this one. It's the poor play against Florida, Ole Miss, Eastern Kentucky, and Eastern Michigan that is frustrating. Then getting blown out by Miss State adds to that frustration.
How or why does Miss State have superior talent? Our recruiting has been strikingly similar over the past 5 years. So, how did they get so much more talent than us?
If you expect to go from lifelong football obscurity to sec east champs then you miss the meaning of reasonable expectations. I don’t care how the schedule is perceived, you don’t go from a one bowl game experience to champs. For programs like UK it’s always been to go to a string of bowls, become a regular on that scene and elevate your conference status. We’ve become better than Vandy, usc etc... teams that were beating us routinely before this regime took over.
If you can’t see that then you choose not to, if you think that’s not enough progress then your expectations need to be adjusted. We probably won’t recruit on the elite sec teams level, to expect that is to invite disappointment. UK will never be an elite program but I know that and don’t unrealistically expect that.
The Bear thing gets floated often but nobody knew what he would become to begin with and he was always going to leave anyhow. There were more appealing jobs than UK and as usual coaches upgrade. UK didn’t choose one sport over another, the Bear chose A&M over UK and if it hadn’t been them then it would have been another program.
If you can’t see that then you choose not to, if you think that’s not enough progress then your expectations need to be adjusted. We probably won’t recruit on the elite sec teams level, to expect that is to invite disappointment. UK will never be an elite program but I know that and don’t unrealistically expect that.
The Bear thing gets floated often but nobody knew what he would become to begin with and he was always going to leave anyhow. There were more appealing jobs than UK and as usual coaches upgrade. UK didn’t choose one sport over another, the Bear chose A&M over UK and if it hadn’t been them then it would have been another program.
And we did beat them last year, while they have some of the best juco programs right in their back yard.
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They haven't played a schedule that much different than us and even if it isn't quite as good, they still have gone out every week and taken care of business. Doing so with recruiting classes ranked lower than ours.
To be fair about Mississippi State, I think they probably work the hardest of any conference team on JUCO players.
Those kids seem to be feast or famine.
Also not sure how those guys 'rating' can be compared accurately to a high school kid.
Those kids seem to be feast or famine.
Also not sure how those guys 'rating' can be compared accurately to a high school kid.
UK didn't choose Rupp over The Bear, Bryant chose to leave. Bryant even said he regretted leaving... but go ahead and keep thinking UK ran him off.
Blanton Collier was fired for not winning enough yet he was a good enough coach to win 70% of his games in the NFL.
UK was a football power in the 50's? UK won 1 conference championship, tied for 2nd once, tied for 3rd once, 5th once, 6th twice, 7th once,9th once, 10th once and 12th once between 1950-1959. They were 30-34-1 in SEC play. Do "football powers" finish below 500 in their conferences?
UK had a good 3 year run from 49-51... even in '51 they "only" went 3-3 in conference play.
It is absolutely stupid to think that UK ever hired any less than the best coaches they thought they could get.
I don't believe that all. Some schools sucked for years and they turned it around and started recruiting nationally.
Many players want to play for a program and not necessarily the home stage school.
Ohio St goes National as does Bama. Most every program that is good does that.
We had a bit of a pick up in recruiting by hiring the Stoops name even though most of his assistants you never heard of.
Big name coach, big name assistants, great facilities are all a recipe for success. Mostly the coach.
We are currently playing "smashmouth" because that is what is working. That wasn't the plan. The plan was Drew Barker... remember? Had he not been injured last year we would have been much more pass heavy. It was when we started running the ball that we started winning games.
This staff isn't married to any particular style. They recruit the best players they can get and then tries to use them the way in which they are most effective.
You can talk all you want about negativity from the fanbase affecting recruiting. Our play this season speaks volumes about the direction of the program. I.e. it isn't on an upward trajectory.
Stoops had the easiest schedule of any UK coach in memory, and this sorry shit is what we put on the field in year 5.
You all do understand that we will have a losing record next season, right?
Stoops had the easiest schedule of any UK coach in memory, and this sorry shit is what we put on the field in year 5.
You all do understand that we will have a losing record next season, right?
Yes! I come back to this argument every time I see a post like the OP's. We don't have to out-recruit the entire SEC. Bama, Auburn and LSU aren't on the schedule every year, duh! To get to the next level we only need to stay even or ahead of our annual opponents - the SEC-E , Miss St and UofL. We can stay with 5 of those 8 (not FL, UT, UGA) consistently.
If the coaches can keep improving their in-game coaching we should be able to clip FL, UT and UGA on occasion as well. Nothing should be in this programs way of winning 7-9 games a year almost every year. We might have a rebuild year on occasion and miss a bowl, but we shouldn't fall completely out of contention for extended periods. One the end of the spectrum, we should contend for the SEC-E once in a while too.
If the coaches can keep improving their in-game coaching we should be able to clip FL, UT and UGA on occasion as well. Nothing should be in this programs way of winning 7-9 games a year almost every year. We might have a rebuild year on occasion and miss a bowl, but we shouldn't fall completely out of contention for extended periods. One the end of the spectrum, we should contend for the SEC-E once in a while too.
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This is pretty amazing I must admit. I equate it to Stoops still gaining experience and in at least a small part - freaking bad luck. We shot ourselves in the foot vs UF and Ole Miss, but let's be honest, the ref's sure did us no favors either in those games. Take away that holding vs UF and we likely beat them on a FG. Take away that over-turned fumble and we beat Ole Miss. Although our final record will be better, there's been as much heart-break this season as any since 2002 and 2003 - the Bluegrass Nightmare vs LSU, 4th quarter collapse vs FL in Lorenzen's last year, 7 OT loss vs Arky.
We might need to prepare ourselves for next year to be a rebuild of sorts if QB play does measure up. I'm not conceding a losing record though. We'd have to loss almost all the 50/50 games. Old U.K. might do just that, but I simply think we're better than that now and won't let it happen.
Even if we do I still wouldn't say U.K.'s general upward trajectory would be broken. Instead, only on pause. Building a solid program in many cases is 2 steps forward, one step back, 2 steps forward. I concede we might take a slight step back next year. Then again, maybe we won't! Either way, I won't be overly concerned unless we regress again further in 2019. If so, 2020 would be do or die time for the Stoops era.
Part of the recruiting problem is that KY high school football is really not very good and it has few really good coaches. Ky need more home grown talent. Being south of Ohio and north of southern football oriented states makes recruiting difficult. Even with Marrow’s great recruiting, we are still are one of the lowest ranked SEC schools. Can’t beat them if you can’t out-recruit them. It’s not the Xs and Os, it’s the Jimmies and Joes. We need more horses to compete at the upper levels.
Until than happens, UK will not compete for a league championship.
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