It's time to get excited

[frost1]

I am really in high gear with our football recruiting for 2016. A new Year, A New Beginning. No cool aide here, Just my own personal feelings. Have to give Stoops , Old staff & the new hires , a good report. Some are not excited about Pringle, but I am. He like all our recruits, appear to have some major upsides to their Potential.
One never knows how a player will pan out in college, which we all know.
The Star system has some merit, but like some have stated, Many 2,& 3* players land up in the pros.
Excited with all the EE that have made it, including ,I hope Johnson, which seems like it will happen.
Not a bigger die hard fan than me. So, lets forget the past, Look forward to the class coming in, & rejoice that UK is on the rise. Time is a valuable asset to have.

 

[redbudman]

Luke Kuechly was barely a 3 star so was Russell Westbook! Look where they are now! You can't teach size! But there is something that just doesn't add up about him! But I am excited again!

 

[sluggercatfan]

I am really in high gear with our football recruiting for 2016. A new Year, A New Beginning. No cool aide here, Just my own personal feelings. Have to give Stoops , Old staff & the new hires , a good report. Some are not excited about Pringle, but I am. He like all our recruits, appear to have some major upsides to their Potential.
One never knows how a player will pan out in college, which we all know.
The Star system has some merit, but like some have stated, Many 2,& 3* players land up in the pros.
Excited with all the EE that have made it, including ,I hope Johnson, which seems like it will happen.
Not a bigger die hard fan than me. So, lets forget the past, Look forward to the class coming in, & rejoice that UK is on the rise. Time is a valuable asset to have.

Happy for you...in Missouri mode... looking forward to spring game, but no where near being excited till I see all this talk turn into walk

 

[BigBlueTuckian]

Not this nonsense again.

Only at Kentucky do fans get excited about 2-star players that no one else wanted.

 

[Blue Decade]

Not this nonsense again.

Only at Kentucky do fans get excited about 2-star players that no one else wanted.

On the subject of overhyping individual commitments, I agree with you. It gets old. Steve Johnson is being signed so a true freshman who was a fringe top 50 player in his state won't be Barker's only back-up. Johnson is choosing between Kentucky and Arkansas State. Pringle picked between Kentucky, Southern Miss, Troy, Appalachian State. That's reality. These are practical necessity plan B signings, not building blocks. But on the broader subject of recruiting, Stoops is knocking it out of the park. 2014 was Kentucky's best class in a generation. 2015 brought a couple of 4 year cornerback starters, a 4 year starter at tight end, other important building blocks for our offense, and 3 very important transfers. 2016 looks like a better class than 2014, and 2017 is off to a great start. On recruiting, the case is closed. Stoops is getting it done. Can he assemble a successful SEC team? That's the question. Sure hasn't done it yet.

 

[willievic]

Stoops has only been here three years. Some fans expected miracles overnight. I've always thought a new coach needed at least 5 years to prove himself. Sure, I know some do it quicker, but you have to look at what they had when they took the job. I don't think Stoops had a lot to work with, just as Brooks didn't when he got here.
Let's give Stoops two more years before we want him run out of town. Were all familiar with some of the screw-ups from last year, but this was his first job as a HC, and I know there are a lot of differences in being the Captain and being the Co-Pilot, like night and day.

OLD STOLL FIELD GUY!

 

[Blue Decade]

Stoops has only been here three years. Some fans expected miracles overnight. I've always thought a new coach needed at least 5 years to prove himself. Sure, I know some do it quicker, but you have to look at what they had when they took the job. I don't think Stoops had a lot to work with, just as Brooks didn't when he got here.
Let's give Stoops two more years before we want him run out of town. Were all familiar with some of the screw-ups from last year, but this was his first job as a HC, and I know there are a lot of differences in being the Captain and being the Co-Pilot, like night and day.

OLD STOLL FIELD GUY!

Some fans do expect miracles overnight, but I am not 1 of those. At the level of trust and financial investment Kentucky has placed in Stoops, I expect the following. Strong recruiting. Skillful public relations. Great program management. Stoops is checking those 1st 2 boxes just fine. He is a pleasant improvement as the face of our football program, and he is knocking it out of the park as a recruiter. Under the circumstances, his 2016 recruiting class is amazing. Some significant mistakes in judgment were made in 2015 that stalled the improvement momentum in the program, and blew their bowl opportunity. That isn't the end of the world, and it doesn't block Stoops from being successful at Kentucky in years ahead. I still don't understand why we don't have a special teams coach. I'm glad Dawson is gone, but still don't understand what he was doing here in the 1st place. Gran should be an improvement, but all their eggs have been placed in Drew Barker's basket now. Some people try to rationalize by saying we only need a quarterback who can be a system manager. But that is fantasy. Alabama can get by with a system manager quarterback. In order to succeed in the SEC, Kentucky needs a dominant quarterback like Couch, Woodson. I don't see that quarterback inside the program or in the pipeline currently. If Gran can make Barker into that kind of a player, then Stoops will be successful and Gran is a miracle worker. I hope so. But that's the problem. I see the rest of the team coming together now, if quarterback and special teams get cleaned up. I agree Stoops needs 5 years, and he will get at least that.

 

[law1127]

UK will go as the quarterback goes!

 

[akaukswoosh]

Can he assemble a successful SEC team? That's the question. Sure hasn't done it yet.

May not be able to, but I sure feel about 300 percent better about UK's offense than I did at the end of the season.

 

[UKWinsAgainYep]

On the subject of overhyping individual commitments, I agree with you. It gets old. Steve Johnson is being signed so a true freshman who was a fringe top 50 player in his state won't be Barker's only back-up. Johnson is choosing between Kentucky and Arkansas State. Pringle picked between Kentucky, Southern Miss, Troy, Appalachian State. That's reality. These are practical necessity plan B signings, not building blocks. But on the broader subject of recruiting, Stoops is knocking it out of the park. 2014 was Kentucky's best class in a generation. 2015 brought a couple of 4 year cornerback starters, a 4 year starter at tight end, other important building blocks for our offense, and 3 very important transfers. 2016 looks like a better class than 2014, and 2017 is off to a great start. On recruiting, the case is closed. Stoops is getting it done. Can he assemble a successful SEC team? That's the question. Sure hasn't done it yet.

Agreed. Stoops is recruiting better than I've seen in my lifetime at UK. The problem is he can't coach up to SEC standards yet. I hope that changes because last year coaching was ugly. Very ugly. 5 wins is a joke.

Coach Gran will either save Stoops' career or cost him a job. That's how important Gran is to the future of UK football and Coach Stoops' job. Can Gran get us one more win to get us to a bowl with 6 wins? If not, Stoops will lose his job at UK. That's my prediction.

UK fans won't put up with another 5 win season.

 

[TNCatfanforever]

I am really in high gear with our football recruiting for 2016. A new Year, A New Beginning. No cool aide here, Just my own personal feelings. Have to give Stoops , Old staff & the new hires , a good report. Some are not excited about Pringle, but I am. He like all our recruits, appear to have some major upsides to their Potential.
One never knows how a player will pan out in college, which we all know.
The Star system has some merit, but like some have stated, Many 2,& 3* players land up in the pros.
Excited with all the EE that have made it, including ,I hope Johnson, which seems like it will happen.
Not a bigger die hard fan than me. So, lets forget the past, Look forward to the class coming in, & rejoice that UK is on the rise. Time is a valuable asset to have.

Son I am 61. If there is one thing I have learned.....never get excited about UK football.

 

[rye48]

Uk isn't Bama we can't line up and run the ball down anyone's throats ! We can't out talent anyone so we have to be above average at all three phases yes including Special Teams !! I do feel a lot better about the Improvement of our O-line

 

[Fresh Start]

Some fans do expect miracles overnight, but I am not 1 of those. At the level of trust and financial investment Kentucky has placed in Stoops, I expect the following. Strong recruiting. Skillful public relations. Great program management. Stoops is checking those 1st 2 boxes just fine. He is a pleasant improvement as the face of our football program, and he is knocking it out of the park as a recruiter. Under the circumstances, his 2016 recruiting class is amazing. Some significant mistakes in judgment were made in 2015 that stalled the improvement momentum in the program, and blew their bowl opportunity. That isn't the end of the world, and it doesn't block Stoops from being successful at Kentucky in years ahead. I still don't understand why we don't have a special teams coach. I'm glad Dawson is gone, but still don't understand what he was doing here in the 1st place. Gran should be an improvement, but all their eggs have been placed in Drew Barker's basket now. Some people try to rationalize by saying we only need a quarterback who can be a system manager. But that is fantasy. Alabama can get by with a system manager quarterback. In order to succeed in the SEC, Kentucky needs a dominant quarterback like Couch, Woodson. I don't see that quarterback inside the program or in the pipeline currently. If Gran can make Barker into that kind of a player, then Stoops will be successful and Gran is a miracle worker. I hope so. But that's the problem. I see the rest of the team coming together now, if quarterback and special teams get cleaned up. I agree Stoops needs 5 years, and he will get at least that.

So you are basing your QB assessment on the 2 games Barker played?

 

[jauk11]

UK will go as the quarterback goes!

And, we have our highest rated QB since Couch returning, with a redshirt and a little experience------and, supposedly, a much better QB coach AND OC. Woodson AND Hartline did very little early on, and Barker must have some tools to have been rated so high with offers from the likes of TOBC.

AND little doubt in my mind that the offensive players returning have as high a ceiling and any of our offensive teams this century, the OL should have a big upgrade and EVERYONE else returns, some very talented players there IMO.

Sorry to repeat myself, but our OL was supposed to be our weak point this year and next year we have everyone in the two deep returning except for one starter, a 5.5 replaced by a 5.9 JC player, West replaced at guard by 5.7 AA with a year behind him, with 5.8 Jackson maybe even able to redshirt. Potentially an OL starting a Remington candidate, 5.7 AA, 5.8 Jackson, 5.9 Leavitt, and a five star in Young------with three starters and five backups from this year for reserves, if they aren't beaten out by a redshirt.

Contrast that raw talent with the 07 teams OL that averaged about a 5.2 on Rivals------with very little depth.

Yeah, I'm an optimist, why not throw off the self defeating gloom and doom. Time for a turnaround in attitude also.

 

[ZenCatFan73]

We're picked 58 pre-season, but our recruiting classes are hovering in the 30's. Where's the disconnect? Having said that, I'm excited that we have some positive momentum right now.

 

[RealCat41]

UK will go as the quarterback goes!

The QB will go as the offensive line goes.

 

[catfanlou]

The QB will go as the offensive line goes.

Amen

 

[andreIGUODOLLAsigns4UK]

Stoops has only been here three years. Some fans expected miracles overnight. I've always thought a new coach needed at least 5 years to prove himself. Sure, I know some do it quicker, but you have to look at what they had when they took the job. I don't think Stoops had a lot to work with, just as Brooks didn't when he got here.
Let's give Stoops two more years before we want him run out of town. Were all familiar with some of the screw-ups from last year, but this was his first job as a HC, and I know there are a lot of differences in being the Captain and being the Co-Pilot, like night and day.

OLD STOLL FIELD GUY!

One more year. 2 is unnecessary and would just be putting the inevitable on hold. This will be his 4th year, with a roster made up of almost entirely his players, meaning the joker days no longer have an impact on our current team. We can fully judge him based on this coming season. To say this is another gimme year for stoops is just silly to me.

 

[Krisys]

One more year. 2 is unnecessary and would just be putting the inevitable on hold. This will be his 4th year, with a roster made up of almost entirely his players, meaning the joker days no longer have an impact on our current team. We can fully judge him based on this coming season. To say this is another gimme year for stoops is just silly to me.

He gets 2 more years minimum whether you like it or not.

 

[andreIGUODOLLAsigns4UK]

He gets 2 more years minimum whether you like it or not.

Yes he will get 2 more years and if he doesn't succeed he ain't getting a 6th and that's a promise. But to say we can't judge him based on this season would be just plain dumb.

 

[Krisys]

Yes he will get 2 more years and if he doesn't succeed he ain't getting a 6th and that's a promise. But to say we can't judge him based on this season would be just plain dumb.

Our schedule is much more difficult this year. We're losing a quite a bit on defense. And we're going to be very young. Our offensive line should be much much better, replacing the worst left tackle i've ever seen with an ELITE 5 star, moving a highly regarded juco in at right tackle, and moving big george inside where he belongs. We still have uncertainty at qb. I think we will be VERY good the next season.

 

[andreIGUODOLLAsigns4UK]

Our schedule is much more difficult this year. We're losing a quite a bit on defense. And we're going to be very young. Our offensive line should be much much better, replacing the worst left tackle i've ever seen with an ELITE 5 star, moving a highly regarded juco in at right tackle, and moving big george inside where he belongs. We still have uncertainty at qb. I think we will be VERY good the next season.

VERY good? Lol I bet we don't even make a bowl game. And our schedule is always going to be very difficult no point in using that as an excuse. Anyways my point remains. The roster is almost entirely his players so we can judge him based on this years success. And no one will be able to blame it on the joker years.

 

[Krisys]

VERY good? Lol I bet we don't even make a bowl game. And our schedule is always going to be very difficult no point in using that as an excuse. Anyways my point remains. The roster is almost entirely his players so we can judge him based on this years success. And no one will be able to blame it on the joker years.

In 2017, we will have a redshirt junior quarterback, juice and baker will be seniors, boom will be a senior. Our offensive line will feature a sophomore landon young, sophomore drake jackson, tate leavitt, and possibly another 5 star in jedrick wills. Our defense will have kash as a sophomore, baity and westry as juniors. We will be talented, and experienced. We will absolutely make a bowl game, I could coach that roster to 6 wins.

 

[andreIGUODOLLAsigns4UK]

In 2017, we will have a redshirt junior quarterback, juice and baker will be seniors, boom will be a senior. Our offensive line will feature a sophomore landon young, sophomore drake jackson, tate leavitt, and possibly another 5 star in jedrick wills. Our defense will have kash as a sophomore, baity and westry as juniors. We will be talented, and experienced. We will absolutely make a bowl game, I could coach that roster to 6 wins.

Say what you will, but stoops has proven nothing on the field to suggest he a good head coach. Muschamp had a million times more talent than we will have in 2017, yet he still sucked. Just because he has talent, doesn't guarantee wins. Your words "talent doesn't mean a good performance, good coaching equates to a good performance" or something along those line. Well the COACHING we have at this point is very poor at best.

 

[Krisys]

Say what you will, but stoops has proven nothing on the field to suggest he a good head coach. Muschamp had a million times more talent than we will have in 2017, yet he still sucked. Just because he has talent, doesn't guarantee wins. Your words "talent doesn't mean a good performance, good coaching equates to a good performance" or something along those line. Well the COACHING we have at this point is very poor at best.

Our offense was our problem all year, nothing more. Having a trash offensive line and a trash coordinator will do that to you. Our line will be much better this year, as will our offensive coaching. Your posting however, never improves.

 

[Orange_N_White]

How can Kentucky not win at least 6 in Stoops's 4th year?

usc jr, mizzou, vandy + 3 OOC games.

 

[jte123]

This happens every year with the same result am I hopeful UK will be better yes do I love the Cats yes. I am sure next month we will get a uk is gonna win 10 games next year. I think a issue to be fixed is how bad we have faded the second half of the season each yeaypr under Stoops! Got to get that fixed. GO BIG BLUE!!!

 

[TBCat]

How can Kentucky not win at least 6 in Stoops's 4th year?

usc jr, mizzou, vandy + 3 OOC games.

You'd think but we thought that this year. Stoops should not survive if he can't win at least 6 games this year. I know he will because of the contract but he shouldn't.

 

[Orange_N_White]

You'd think but we thought that this year. Stoops should not survive if he can't win at least 6 games this year. I know he will because of the contract but he shouldn't.

I'm not sure how you keep him.

Those 3 east teams are in shambles.

 

[K_TIME]

USC isn't as bad as people make them out to be. I am not a big fan of Muschamp but if he can get an OC to overachieve, he can coach defense and USC has out recruited UK 3 of the past 4 years. USC is no way close to a W for UK going into 2016.

I do agree Vandy and Mizzou should be teams we're better than

 

[WildcatofNati]

USC isn't as bad as people make them out to be. I am not a big fan of Muschamp but if he can get an OC to overachieve, he can coach defense and USC has out recruited UK 3 of the past 4 years. USC is no way close to a W for UK going into 2016.

I do agree Vandy and Mizzou should be teams we're better than

South Carolina is by no means an automatic win, but this is absolutely a game that we should expect to win. They were awful last year, lost their best player in Cooper, lost most of their best players in fact, and we beat them on the road last year so why exactly should we expect to lose in Lexington? Especially when we return most of our starters?

 

[K_TIME]

South Carolina is by no means an automatic win, but this is absolutely a game that we should expect to win. They were awful last year, lost their best player in Cooper, lost most of their best players in fact, and we beat them on the road last year so why exactly should we expect to lose in Lexington? Especially when we return most of our starters?

Why did UK lose to Vandy last year when we brought back so much and beat them handily the year before? I have not seen UK heads and shoulder better than USC the past 2 years even if we won them both.

 

[WildcatofNati]

Why did UK lose to Vandy last year when we brought back so much and beat them handily the year before? I have not seen UK heads and shoulder better than USC the past 2 years even if we won them both.

Vandy was actually improved from 14 to 15, and we actually were hurt a lot worse than we thought by the losses of Miller, Blue and Robinson in particular. That said, we should have beaten Vandy last year and we should beat South Carolina this year. "Should" does not equal "will" and I realize that we could lose this game, but it's a game that should be above 50 percent, to win.

 

[Trublupopeye]

Your right Tuckian and I

Not this nonsense again.

Only at Kentucky do fans get excited about 2-star players that no one else wanted.

Your right and I'll continue to get excited about some players potential no matter their stars. Can you say Randall Cobb ?

 

[SanAntonioCat_rivals376502]

Say what you will, but stoops has proven nothing on the field to suggest he a good head coach. Muschamp had a million times more talent than we will have in 2017, yet he still sucked. Just because he has talent, doesn't guarantee wins. Your words "talent doesn't mean a good performance, good coaching equates to a good performance" or something along those line. Well the COACHING we have at this point is very poor at best.

And, this board appreciates all opinions.

 

[Goingfor9]

Sense of urgency no optimism

 

[Robcatt24]

 

[SanAntonioCat_rivals376502]

Leave it to the Pointer Sisters to say it best. Wish their rendition would be on the scoreboard at CWS this fall.

 

[Allan Brewer]

I am really in high gear with our football recruiting for 2016. A new Year, A New Beginning. No cool aide here, Just my own personal feelings. Have to give Stoops , Old staff & the new hires , a good report. Some are not excited about Pringle, but I am. He like all our recruits, appear to have some major upsides to their Potential.
One never knows how a player will pan out in college, which we all know.
The Star system has some merit, but like some have stated, Many 2,& 3* players land up in the pros.
Excited with all the EE that have made it, including ,I hope Johnson, which seems like it will happen.
Not a bigger die hard fan than me. So, lets forget the past, Look forward to the class coming in, & rejoice that UK is on the rise. Time is a valuable asset to have.

Yessiree

I just laid down 10K for premium K-Fund seats on the 50 this week and I'm looking forward to cheering our Wildcats on to an SEC championship next year

Look out Alabama, get ready to get yer *** kicked in Commonwealth
Florida? LOLOL You are shrimp bait
UT? Come n take your medicine you stinking lousy Vols

 

[SanAntonioCat_rivals376502]

Yessiree

I just laid down 10K for premium K-Fund seats on the 50 this week and I'm looking forward to cheering our Wildcats on to an SEC championship next year

Look out Alabama, get ready to get yer *** kicked in Commonwealth
Florida? LOLOL You are shrimp bait
UT? Come n take your medicine you stinking lousy Vols

Wanna share the cost of those tickets?