How many of you remember Jerry Claiborne?

[cathouse_rivals216755]

After reading hundreds of angry posts over the weekend it is obvious that many of you are too young to remember Coach Claiborne or you are mostly basketball fans who know absolutely nothing about the game of football. Especially SEC football.

Coach Claiborne took over as head coach of UK in 1982. He was one of The Bear's boys having played for and coached with Bear Bryant at UK, ALA, and Texas A&M before taking the head coaching jobs at VaTech and then Maryland. He was also a home grown KY kid from Hopkinsville who played and starred at UK for Coach Bryant.

Claiborne was an old school, hardnosed defensive minded coach who knew how to win. He won a National Championship at Maryland and won the ACC Championship several times. Just the man to return UK football to its glory days under Bear Bryant.

Claiborne's first team at UK went 0-10-1.

Did he suddenly forget how to coach? No! The talent cupboard was bare from probation brought by the previous coaching staff. Just like it was for Coach Mark Stoops when he arrived.

Now here is where the two situations are different. Coach Claiborne went 6-5 his second year and took the team to a bowl game. His third team went 9-3 and won the OutbackBowl over Wisconsin.

So Coach Claiborne is obviously a much better coach than Stoops. Right? Well, the real answer is that we do not know, yet and here is the reason why

Coach Claiborne redshirted the entire freshman class his first year at UK. He knew from playing and coaching in the SEC that it takes grow-a$$ men to win in this league.

Coach Stoops was not afforded that opportunity. We can arvgue all the reasons why, but the short answer is that Mitch had to get butts back into seats in CWS asap and playing year 1with the talent that the previous staff left would have been a real disaster, thus CMS was forced to play as many of his better players from that first class that should have been redshirted. Until we get enough talent on the field that CMS can redshirt an entire recruiting class, we will continue to struggle to win games in the SEC.

Let me put that into perspective. Miss State had 22 redhirt Juniors and Seniors in the game against us while we are playing mostly true freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophs. Those rs jrs and srs. are 22-24 years old. Those frosh and sophs are 18-19 years old. When I was 22 years old I was a grown-a$$ man that could whip the 18 year old version of myself with one hand tied behind me. The same applies in this case for football.

We are overmatched, out manned, and under talented at almost every position against the upper half teams in the SEC. We will continue to get our ears beat in until we have rs jrs. and srs. linig up on both sides of the ball, especially on both lines of scrimmage.

There is not a coach or a scheme out there that can change the dynamic of grown men whipping young boys rear ends. Here is hoping that CMS gets the opportunity to stay here long enough to see if he can get it done when we do get to that point of playing men against men instead of boys against men.

Coach Stoops reminds me of a younger version of Coach Claiborne. Strong willed, determined to do things the right way, blue collar, no-nonsense guy that if given the opportunity will be successful, but more importantly, he will be loyal to a program that needs a strong willed person that refuses to give up even when he KNOWS the odds are against him, he will continue to work and fight till he builds a winner or dies trying.

It appears that most of you would have fired Jerry Claiborne after the first year. Good things come to those who wait. Let's give CMS a fair chance to build a program There are no quick fixes.

 

[Random UK Fan]

After reading hundreds of angry posts over the weekend it is obvious that many of you are too young to remember Coach Claiborne or you are mostly basketball fans who know absolutely nothing about the game of football. Especially SEC football.
Coach Claiborne took over as head coach of UK in 1982. He was one of The Year's boys having played for and coached with Bear Bryant at UK, ALA, and Texas A&M before taking these coaching jobs at VaTech and then Maryland. He was also a home grown KY kid from Hopkinsville who played and starred at UK for Coach Bryant.
Claiborne was an old school, hardboard defensive minded coach who k ew how to win. He won a National Championship at Maryland and won the ACC Championship several times. Just the man to returnUK football to its glory days under Bear Bryant.
Claiborne's first team at UK went 0-10-1.

Did he suddenly forget how to coach? No! The talent cupboard was bare from probation brought O. By the previous coaching g staff. Just like it was for Coach Mark Stoops when he arrived.

Now here is where the two situations are different. Coach Claiborne went 6-5 his second year and took the team to a bowl game. His third team went 9-3 and won the OutbackBowl over Wisconsin.

So Coach Claiborne is obviously a much better coach than Stoops. Right? Well, the real answer is that we do not know, yet and here is the reason why

Coach Claiborne redshirted the entire freshman class his first year at UK. He k ew from playing and coaching in the SEC that it takes grow-a$$ men to winin this league. Coach Stoops was not afforded that opportunity. We can arvgue all the reasons why, but the short answer is that Mitch had to get butts back into seats in CWS asap and playing year 1with the talent that the previous staff left would have been a real disaster, thus CMS was forced to play as many of his better players from that first class that should have been redshirted. Until we get enough talent on the field that CMS can redshirted an entire recruiting class, we will continue ue to struggle to win games in the SEC.

Let me put that into perspective. Miss State had 22 redhirt Ju iors and Seniors in the game against us while we are playing mostly true freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophs. Those rs jrs and srs. are 22-24 years old. Those frosh and sophs are 18-19 years old. When I was 22 years old I was a grown-a$$ man that could whip the 18 year old version of myself with one hand tied behind me. The same applies in this case for football.

We are overmatched, out manner, and under talented at almost every position against the upper half teamsin the SEC. We will continue to get our ears beat in until we have rs jrs. and srs. li ing up on both sides of the ball, especially on both lines of scrimmage.

There is not a coach or a scheme out there that can change the dynamic of grown men whipping young boys rear ends. Here is hoping that CMS gets the opportunity to stay here long enough to see if he can get it done when we do get to that point of playing men against men instead of boys against men.

Coach Stoops reminds me of a younger version of Coach Claiborne. Strong willed, determined to do things the right way, blue collar, no-nonsense guy that if given the opportunity will be successful, but more importantly, he will be loyal to a program that needs a strong willed person that refuses to give up even when he KNOWS the odds are against him, he will continue to work and fight till he builds a winner or dies trying.

It appears that most of you would have fired Jerry Claiborne after the first year. Good things come to those who wait. Let's give CMS a fair chance to build a program There are no quick fixes.

I barely remember him due to being in middle school at the time, but my lasting impression of him was being that old-school, hard-nosed, tough-love coach. What I remember is positive.

 

[gamecockcat]

As mentioned in several other threads, I am tired of the 'young' excuse. We're ALWAYS young. And, btw, we start 7 SRs on defense - at least we did until they got beat out. LSU starts 2 FR on OL - not hurting them any. UT starts only 3 SRs on offense with 2 FR on OL - looked pretty solid on Saturday. I agree that it's way, way too early to start thinking about firing Stoops. I do think he needs to seriously look at the rest of the staff and see who is just a recruiter and who is both a recruiter and a good football coach. I'm not seeing the development I expected under this staff. Yes, MSU starts a bunch of Jrs and Srs but that's not the rule in the SEC. If you're good enough, you play regardless of how old you are. Problem is, we're not nearly good enough. Many of our current linemen on both sides of the ball could stick around for another 5 years and still not be good enough against the teams we play in the SEC. So quit with the 'we're young' BS. It doesn't fly now and never did. Nowhere is it written that the only teams who have a chance at being good are the ones who RS everyone and only start 4th and 5th year players. It's just an excuse for a complete lack of talent and development.

 

[elwood_blue]

That's actually a sensible post and I agree UK looks like boys taking on grown men. I look forward to having Stoops' 4th and 5th recruiting classes playing. I remember Coach Claiborne well. If games could have been 3 quarters instead of 4, his wins/losses would have looked much different.

 

[jpbky2]

Well said. I had a friend that played at LSU during Claiborne's time and he said without a doubt Kentucky was the hardest hitting team that they played all four years. They always dreaded playing Kentucky because they knew it was going to be a physical game.

 

[Johnfarrel]

Claiborne was a proponent of the wide tackle 6 defense alignment. He did well with it. He was a man of good character and a great coach. Kentucky should have hired him earlier in his career.

 

[Dore95]

Claiborne was a very good coach but he did not win a national championship at Maryland. Not sure where you got that.

Also, I'm not sure Claiborne is the best comparison to Stoops, because he did what Stoops has not done, i.e. rapid improvement in his first three years. As you say, Claiborne was winless his first year but then won 6 games his second (with a bowl) and 9 wins his third (another bowl). Going to bowl games back then was a big achievement - UK had only been to 5 bowl games in its history before Claiborne. Winning 9 wins at UK is also no joke. Only Bear Bryant in 1950 has won more (11-1).

So, my point is that Claiborne in the same period of his tenure as Stoops (3rd year) had basically proven himself to be a miracle worker. Stoops is a long way from that. I think the best comparison for Stoops is Brooks. Slow but steady improvement, and then (hopefully) good to really good seasons in years 4 and after.

 

[cathouse_rivals216755]

As mentioned in several other threads, I am tired of the 'young' excuse. We're ALWAYS young. And, btw, we start 7 SRs on defense - at least we did until they got beat out. LSU starts 2 FR on OL - not hurting them any. UT starts only 3 SRs on offense with 2 FR on OL - looked pretty solid on Saturday. I agree that it's way, way too early to start thinking about firing Stoops. I do think he needs to seriously look at the rest of the staff and see who is just a recruiter and who is both a recruiter and a good football coach. I'm not seeing the development I expected under this staff. Yes, MSU starts a bunch of Jrs and Srs but that's not the rule in the SEC. If you're good enough, you play regardless of how old you are. Problem is, we're not nearly good enough. Many of our current linemen on both sides of the ball could stick around for another 5 years and still not be good enough against the teams we play in the SEC. So quit with the 'we're young' BS. It doesn't fly now and never did. Nowhere is it written that the only teams who have a chance at being good are the ones who RS everyone and only start 4th and 5th year players. It's just an excuse for a complete lack of talent and development.

You need to read the post again. You obviously missed the part about us being overmatched, outmanned or undertalented at every position. It is not just a product of youth but a combination of all these factors. My point is it didn't get that way overnight and it can't be fixed quickly.

And please just stop comparing LSU, UT, ALA, and other SEC elite recruiting teams to our freshmen and sophomores. You are comparing apples to oranges in most of these cases. High 5 star freshman is always uber talented or physically mature beyond their years(grown-a$$ man) or they would not be playing for these teams that are loaded in EVERY recruiting class.

If you start out with a new Ford Pinto and I start with a new Ferrarri, I will win every time.

We have more Pintos, they have all Ferarri's.

 

[UK Cats Rock]

As mentioned in several other threads, I am tired of the 'young' excuse. We're ALWAYS young. And, btw, we start 7 SRs on defense - at least we did until they got beat out. LSU starts 2 FR on OL - not hurting them any. UT starts only 3 SRs on offense with 2 FR on OL - looked pretty solid on Saturday. I agree that it's way, way too early to start thinking about firing Stoops. I do think he needs to seriously look at the rest of the staff and see who is just a recruiter and who is both a recruiter and a good football coach. I'm not seeing the development I expected under this staff. Yes, MSU starts a bunch of Jrs and Srs but that's not the rule in the SEC. If you're good enough, you play regardless of how old you are. Problem is, we're not nearly good enough. Many of our current linemen on both sides of the ball could stick around for another 5 years and still not be good enough against the teams we play in the SEC. So quit with the 'we're young' BS. It doesn't fly now and never did. Nowhere is it written that the only teams who have a chance at being good are the ones who RS everyone and only start 4th and 5th year players. It's just an excuse for a complete lack of talent and development.

Well, considering that's an issue with us - whether we like it or not - it IS an issue right now. Plus, the young talent you mentioned at those other school.... two here, three there.... isn't quite the same as using how many we are. Unfortunately, Stoops was left with an absolute mess and it will take quite a while to stock the cabinets with the players needed to consistently compete, IMO

I do have some concerns, bout other things, but I'll keep them to myself right now.

 

[cathouse_rivals216755]

Claiborne was a very good coach but he did not win a national championship at Maryland. Not sure where you got that.

Also, I'm not sure Claiborne is the best comparison to Stoops, because he did what Stoops has not done, i.e. rapid improvement in his first three years. As you say, Claiborne was winless his first year but then won 6 games his second (with a bowl) and 9 wins his third (another bowl). Going to bowl games back then was a big achievement - UK had only been to 5 bowl games in its history before Claiborne. Winning 9 wins at UK is also no joke. Only Bear Bryant in 1950 has won more (11-1).

So, my point is that Claiborne in the same period of his tenure as Stoops (3rd year) had basically proven himself to be a miracle worker. Stoops is a long way from that. I think the best comparison for Stoops is Brooks. Slow but steady improvement, and then (hopefully) good to really good seasons in years 4 and after.

s
So, my point was, Coach Claiborne was allowed the opportunity to do what he knew had to be done to turn the program around and that was to redshirt an entire class in order to build depth and increase talent in order to compete, even at the expense of a winless season. Stoops and Mitch could not have withstood that amount of pressure. Thus we are at least 25 players behind on depth and a full year behind on player development and trying to play catch-up in an unforgiving league.

Meant to say National Coach of the Year, not National Championship. Hate spellcheck.

 

[bradyjames_rivals]

Why didn't Stoops have the chance to red shirt his whole first class? We went 2-10. Would he have done worse than 0-10-1?

 

[brianpoe]

Not sure about that National Championship with Maryland..they came close once or twice but I do not think they were crowned?

I knew a lot of players from the Hall of Fame teams. I was good friends with Dermontti Dawson's little brother.

Lots of guys came to swim and relax in between summer practices at our house.

Dermontti Dawson - All Pro

Marks Logan & Higgs

Big George Adams

Massie, Ransdell, and Ray Gover (who almost played BBall for Sutton as well) broke my basketball goal in a dunking contest.

Paul Calhoun - most exciting punter in UK history

Oliver White, Jerry Reese, Chris Chenault

Cisco and Burbage and Joker - wr's

Brian Williams - 5'10 DE that was 2nd team All SEC twice and outstanding lineman

Joe Prince (coached me later at Lafayette)

Steve Mazza, DJ Johnson, and juco stud transfer Mo Douglas - I was in the dorms when he first showed up, looked like an NFL player from day one, he was the biggest DB muscle-wise ever.

 

[Blueaz]

IMO Jerry was good because he brought something different...However, he lost control of the football program and the team began to run amuck. When I got to UK in 86...the team was made up of a lot of thugs. He had no control.
He always had stout defenses, but usually poor offenses. He only won more than 3 conference games ONCE.
Jerry was a great guy...but he should not be close to our litmus. He only had the one really good year...then, we were back to UK football

Kentucky Wildcats (Southeastern Conference) (1982–1989)

1982 Kentucky 0–10–1 0–6 T–8th
1983 Kentucky 6–5–1 2–4 4th L Hall of Fame Classic
1984 Kentucky 9–3 3–3 T–4th W Hall of Fame Classic 19 19
1985 Kentucky 5–6 1–5 7th
1986 Kentucky 5–5-1 2–4 T–4th
1987 Kentucky 5–6 1–5 T–7th
1988 Kentucky 5–6 2–5 T–8th
1989 Kentucky 6–5 2–5 T–7th

 

[Bluetick2100]

Good post OP
With Jerry UK's defense usually always kept the game close.

 

[jlkirk]

IMO Jerry was good because he brought something different...However, he lost control of the football program and the team began to run amuck. When I got to UK in 86...the team was made up of a lot of thugs. He had no control.
He always had stout defenses, but usually poor offenses. He only won more than 3 conference games ONCE.
Jerry was a great guy...but he should not be close to our litmus. He only had the one really good year...then, we were back to UK football

Kentucky Wildcats (Southeastern Conference) (1982–1989)

1982 Kentucky 0–10–1 0–6 T–8th
1983 Kentucky 6–5–1 2–4 4th L Hall of Fame Classic
1984 Kentucky 9–3 3–3 T–4th W Hall of Fame Classic 19 19
1985 Kentucky 5–6 1–5 7th
1986 Kentucky 5–5-1 2–4 T–4th
1987 Kentucky 5–6 1–5 T–7th
1988 Kentucky 5–6 2–5 T–8th
1989 Kentucky 6–5 2–5 T–7th

 

[jlkirk]

Prince came later-not under Claiborne. Also, there was never an Outback Bowl vs Wisc; it was Penn State with Mumme and Couch

 

[irishcat1965]

I was at UK when Jerry was coach. Except for his second and third years at UK he did nothing. I also remember in the 9-3 season he got smoked by LSU and Georgia. He did beat UT in knoxvegas that year and I was at the game. At that time I never would have dreamed UK would have only one victory over UT since then.

 

[UKUGA]

Claiborne was a good coach. Didn't have as heavy an SEC slate as coaches do now, but also didn't benefit from the extra game (against 1AA/FCS competition, at that), and the myriad of bowl games we have now.

People often forget that Claiborne went 6-5 (2-5) in 1989 and Kentucky did not make a bowl game.

Sadly, there are many in the message board world who fail to comprehend that and compare it to today's environment.


When Claiborne retired after that 6-5 season, many were ready to see him go. We got Bill Curry. Talk about setting a program back.

 

[Glenn's Take]

I actually never saw him coach at UK but did at Maryland.

 

[Chuckinden]

I had never met Coach Claiborne, but the summer after he retired, my family and I were on top of "Natural Bridge" and I passed a guy that looked familiar and realized it was Coach Claiborne. I had to meet him and casually put my hand on his shoulder so he would jerk and fall off the "Bridge". He turned around and I said, "Coach, I can't believe I'm seeing you here. I really appreciate your time at UK and hope you have a great retirement." He shook my hand and said thank you and that was why he was there...visiting one of the places he never got to visit. I told him I hoped he had many more to go and he said he did.

 

[UKUGA]

I had to meet him and casually put my hand on his shoulder so he would jerk and fall off the "Bridge".

?

 

[Chuckinden]

?

Have you ever walked across the top of Natural Bridge? It's a little scary up there. No railings, etc.

 

[KingsportKat]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland_Terrapins_football

Jerry Claiborne 1972-1981

"The team steadily improved until his fifth season, 1976, when they finished the regular season with an 11–0 record, their first perfect mark since Tatum's 1955 squad."

"Maryland started 1976 ranked 12th, and quarterback Mark Manges led them to eleven consecutive wins to secure their third straight ACC championship.[2] Maryland's loss to sixth-ranked Houston in the Cotton Bowl Classic, 30–21, ended any hopes for a national championship.[49]"

 

[CatOnRockyTop_rivals376981]

I am old enough to remember the Claiborne years. When we went 9-3 I remember thinking that we had arrived. Sad to say that he never could match that success again. I remember tough, hard hitting teams that were always so close but never could get over the hump.

 

[UKUGA]

Have you ever walked across the top of Natural Bridge? It's a little scary up there. No railings, etc.

Right. But you said in your post that you put your hand on his shoulder so he would fall.

I bolded it.

You still haven't recognized your typo, it appears.

 

[WildCard]

I remember Mr. Wide Tackle 6 quite well. It was actually more of a 4-4-3 but that's a minor point. His defense was always solid. However, ex-CJC "built his record" on OOC wins. During his time the Cats were 28-11-3 vs OOC opponents but 13-37 against SEC foes (about the same SEC winning percentage as most UK coaches in my time, i.e., since Charlie Bradshaw). His best SEC mark was 3-3 in 1984 when the Cats went 9-3 overall. Still, always hard hitting defensive teams.

EDIT ADDITION: In those days, wholesale red shirting was "standard football policy". Not any more. Today, good FR play everywhere including the likes of 'Bama and others.

Peace

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

After reading hundreds of angry posts over the weekend it is obvious that many of you are too young to remember Coach Claiborne or you are mostly basketball fans who know absolutely nothing about the game of football. Especially SEC football.

Coach Claiborne took over as head coach of UK in 1982. He was one of The Bear's boys having played for and coached with Bear Bryant at UK, ALA, and Texas A&M before taking the head coaching jobs at VaTech and then Maryland. He was also a home grown KY kid from Hopkinsville who played and starred at UK for Coach Bryant.

Claiborne was an old school, hardnosed defensive minded coach who knew how to win. He won a National Championship at Maryland and won the ACC Championship several times. Just the man to return UK football to its glory days under Bear Bryant.

Claiborne's first team at UK went 0-10-1.

Did he suddenly forget how to coach? No! The talent cupboard was bare from probation brought by the previous coaching staff. Just like it was for Coach Mark Stoops when he arrived.

Now here is where the two situations are different. Coach Claiborne went 6-5 his second year and took the team to a bowl game. His third team went 9-3 and won the OutbackBowl over Wisconsin.

So Coach Claiborne is obviously a much better coach than Stoops. Right? Well, the real answer is that we do not know, yet and here is the reason why

Coach Claiborne redshirted the entire freshman class his first year at UK. He knew from playing and coaching in the SEC that it takes grow-a$$ men to win in this league.

Coach Stoops was not afforded that opportunity. We can arvgue all the reasons why, but the short answer is that Mitch had to get butts back into seats in CWS asap and playing year 1with the talent that the previous staff left would have been a real disaster, thus CMS was forced to play as many of his better players from that first class that should have been redshirted. Until we get enough talent on the field that CMS can redshirt an entire recruiting class, we will continue to struggle to win games in the SEC.

Let me put that into perspective. Miss State had 22 redhirt Juniors and Seniors in the game against us while we are playing mostly true freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophs. Those rs jrs and srs. are 22-24 years old. Those frosh and sophs are 18-19 years old. When I was 22 years old I was a grown-a$$ man that could whip the 18 year old version of myself with one hand tied behind me. The same applies in this case for football.

We are overmatched, out manned, and under talented at almost every position against the upper half teams in the SEC. We will continue to get our ears beat in until we have rs jrs. and srs. linig up on both sides of the ball, especially on both lines of scrimmage.

There is not a coach or a scheme out there that can change the dynamic of grown men whipping young boys rear ends. Here is hoping that CMS gets the opportunity to stay here long enough to see if he can get it done when we do get to that point of playing men against men instead of boys against men.

Coach Stoops reminds me of a younger version of Coach Claiborne. Strong willed, determined to do things the right way, blue collar, no-nonsense guy that if given the opportunity will be successful, but more importantly, he will be loyal to a program that needs a strong willed person that refuses to give up even when he KNOWS the odds are against him, he will continue to work and fight till he builds a winner or dies trying.

It appears that most of you would have fired Jerry Claiborne after the first year. Good things come to those who wait. Let's give CMS a fair chance to build a program There are no quick fixes.

So your saying with redshirt freshmen we won 6 games? Then with redshirt sophmores was in the outback bowl?

I remember Clairborne very well. The team played with giant sets of balls this team does not. This staff is going on its 3rd season and it looks just as pitiful right now in the last few games of the 3rd year as the first year did.
It's on the head coach for bringing in unproven coaches and sticking with them even though its clear their coaching is horrible.
Also many other teams are very young like UT for example as they started some true freshmen on their line and they dominated. Our staff is trying to put round pegs into square holes and are too stubburn or stupid to realize its not working.
I love Stoops, Marrow etc they are good at what they do but they cannot coach everybody.

 

[BigBlueFanGA]

I remember Claiborne well. His first year was my freshman year at UK. Pure old school.

 

[Poetax]

Why didn't Stoops have the chance to red shirt his whole first class? We went 2-10. Would he have done worse than 0-10-1?

This is just heresay from some that were around then but the promise of playing as a true freshman was what he had to do to get kids in that first year.

 

[bradyjames_rivals]

Jerry C. would have went to a bowl EVERY year from 1983-1989 had he got his 12th game.

The difference is his teams really took off in year 2/3. I really believed Stoops would be a younger version of him. We will see.

 

[IamnotRalph]

Prince came later-not under Claiborne. Also, there was never an Outback Bowl vs Wisc; it was Penn State with Mumme and Couch

I was a freshman at UK during Claibornes 0-10-1 season. I believe the Wisconsin game was the Hall of Fame Bowl, but I could be wrong. Joe Prince did play for Claiborne. He was my age, we attended the same basketball camp at Transy.

 

[brianpoe]

Prince came later-not under Claiborne. Also, there was never an Outback Bowl vs Wisc; it was Penn State with Mumme and Couch

Prince redshirted Claiborne's very first season.

Hall of Fame Bowl renamed Outback Bowl in 1995.

 

[Chuckinden]

Right. But you said in your post that you put your hand on his shoulder so he would fall.

I bolded it.

You still haven't recognized your typo, it appears.

You're right. I didn't notice that.

 

[NavyCat88]

I lived in Athens, GA during Coach JC's last few seasons. Although the younger 'Cat-fans may not know this, under Curci and Coach JC we had a vicious reputation for hitting. We didn't always win....shoot we did not win more than we lost, but the teams played close and tough and would block and tackle like a freight train. I remember UGA's hall of fame radio announcer Larry Munson said in a pregame radio broadcast, "The Dogs better strap that chinstrap on double-tight 'cause everyone in the conference knows nobody hits like a Wildcat!" When was the last time we were considered a hard hitting team? Once the UK program became mummified (with the BB on grass business), we became a finesse team on offense and that spilled over onto the Defense, and we haven't hit worth a lick since (not counting Dicky Lyons who as a WR laid out an LSU DB in '07 and Melvin "Hitman" Johnson who had a good many crowd pleasers including a straight-up KO on UF's Chris Doering in '94).

Give me some of that old-time, white-helmet, Power-K, smack 'em in the teeth FB. Even in a loss, you can at least be proud of your team's effort on the field.

GBB--Whup them Dawgs!

 

[DSmith21]

One thing to keep in mind with Claiborne's W-L records is that we only played 6 SEC games back then. That allowed for 5 easier out of conference games. IU was usually the toughest of those. We did not play UL back then.

 

[jauk11]

I remember Mr. Wide Tackle 6 quite well. It was actually more of a 4-4-3 but that's a minor point. His defense was always solid. However, ex-CJC "built his record" on OOC wins. During his time the Cats were 28-11-3 vs OOC opponents but 13-37 against SEC foes (about the same SEC winning percentage as most UK coaches in my time, i.e., since Charlie Bradshaw). His best SEC mark was 3-3 in 1984 when the Cats went 9-3 overall. Still, always hard hitting defensive teams.

EDIT ADDITION: In those days, wholesale red shirting was "standard football policy". Not any more. Today, good FR play everywhere including the likes of 'Bama and others.

Peace

Good info, the OOC schedule was quite different then, and weaker in most cases.

The thing about talented freshmen is that not only are several of TU;s freshmen ultra talented, they are great talents, six FIVE stars in the past two classes, along with three 6.0s and three 5.9s in the sophomore class, didn't check the number in their freshmen class------for comparison only Boom and Barker were 5.9s among our four stars, and although Barker hasn't started yet everybody expects great things from both of them. I think ALL of those players are already making a big impact at TU.

Also of note, TU had 31 commits and 29 commits in those classes.

 

[jnewc2_rivals30628]

Tell me, if you're "young" in year 3, whose fault is it? I could understand being "young" in year 1 or 2, but year 3?

 

[NoviG8r]

......
It appears that most of you would have fired Jerry Claiborne after the first year. Good things come to those who wait. Let's give CMS a fair chance to build a program There are no quick fixes.

I remember him. And you are correct about it taking time.

 

[bthaunert]

Claiborne went 13-37 in the SEC. Bill Curry went 14-40 in the SEC. Rich Brooks went 16-39 in the SEC. Blanton Collier went 21-34-3 in the SEC. Charlie Bradshaw went 12-30-2 in the SEC. Joker Phillips went 4-20 in the SEC. Mark Stoops has gone 4-18 in the SEC. Those are the coaches since Bear who did not cheat and their SEC records. Unfortunately, Claibornes winning percentage was no different than another other coach since the 50's. Man that is depressing to look at.

 

[Katwatcher]

After reading hundreds of angry posts over the weekend it is obvious that many of you are too young to remember Coach Claiborne or you are mostly basketball fans who know absolutely nothing about the game of football. Especially SEC football.

Coach Claiborne took over as head coach of UK in 1982. He was one of The Bear's boys having played for and coached with Bear Bryant at UK, ALA, and Texas A&M before taking the head coaching jobs at VaTech and then Maryland. He was also a home grown KY kid from Hopkinsville who played and starred at UK for Coach Bryant.

Claiborne was an old school, hardnosed defensive minded coach who knew how to win. He won a National Championship at Maryland and won the ACC Championship several times. Just the man to return UK football to its glory days under Bear Bryant.

Claiborne's first team at UK went 0-10-1.

Did he suddenly forget how to coach? No! The talent cupboard was bare from probation brought by the previous coaching staff. Just like it was for Coach Mark Stoops when he arrived.

Now here is where the two situations are different. Coach Claiborne went 6-5 his second year and took the team to a bowl game. His third team went 9-3 and won the OutbackBowl over Wisconsin.

So Coach Claiborne is obviously a much better coach than Stoops. Right? Well, the real answer is that we do not know, yet and here is the reason why

Coach Claiborne redshirted the entire freshman class his first year at UK. He knew from playing and coaching in the SEC that it takes grow-a$$ men to win in this league.

Coach Stoops was not afforded that opportunity. We can arvgue all the reasons why, but the short answer is that Mitch had to get butts back into seats in CWS asap and playing year 1with the talent that the previous staff left would have been a real disaster, thus CMS was forced to play as many of his better players from that first class that should have been redshirted. Until we get enough talent on the field that CMS can redshirt an entire recruiting class, we will continue to struggle to win games in the SEC.

Let me put that into perspective. Miss State had 22 redhirt Juniors and Seniors in the game against us while we are playing mostly true freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophs. Those rs jrs and srs. are 22-24 years old. Those frosh and sophs are 18-19 years old. When I was 22 years old I was a grown-a$$ man that could whip the 18 year old version of myself with one hand tied behind me. The same applies in this case for football.

We are overmatched, out manned, and under talented at almost every position against the upper half teams in the SEC. We will continue to get our ears beat in until we have rs jrs. and srs. linig up on both sides of the ball, especially on both lines of scrimmage.

There is not a coach or a scheme out there that can change the dynamic of grown men whipping young boys rear ends. Here is hoping that CMS gets the opportunity to stay here long enough to see if he can get it done when we do get to that point of playing men against men instead of boys against men.

Coach Stoops reminds me of a younger version of Coach Claiborne. Strong willed, determined to do things the right way, blue collar, no-nonsense guy that if given the opportunity will be successful, but more importantly, he will be loyal to a program that needs a strong willed person that refuses to give up even when he KNOWS the odds are against him, he will continue to work and fight till he builds a winner or dies trying.

It appears that most of you would have fired Jerry Claiborne after the first year. Good things come to those who wait. Let's give CMS a fair chance to build a program There are no quick fixes.

I hope everyone gets to read your post cathouse. You had to love Jerry Claiborne as a player and coach. You explained how the system works and hit the nail on the head. Excellent post.