Kentucky may finally have all of the pieces in place

[KingsportKat]

70 percent seems like a high number of teams that get into a bowl? I guess maybe in the power 5 conferences.

41 bowls = 82 teams. 127 teams in FBS (not just P5). 82/127 = 64.6% so you're right, but still a very high proportion. Not getting to a bowl is embarrassing.

 

[Blue Decade]

smart fans might wait to watch a few games before anointing the defense improved!

Smart posters don't slam opinions of people who played football and attend every home game.

 

[Blue Decade]

imma say it again....2017 is the breakout year...this year will set the table.

This. We will be a better football team in 2016, but our record won't reflect it because of the awful schedule. I think 2017 is the breakout year for Stoops.

 

[BigBluePhantom]

I am petty good friends with a couple of the coaches. I talked to one of them a fews days ago. We don't usually talk too much players and coaches but this time I told him I was glad he was still here and he just started talking. Everything he said was pretty encouraging. Said he had two offers, one from an SEC school and another from a traditional power and both for more money than he was making here. The thing I found most encouraging was that he stayed at UK because he felt really comfortable with this coaching staff and because they had accomplished so much together. He is a defensive position coach but went on and on about how much better the offense was going to be. He called last year a train wreck and said Gran and the other offensive coaches now had experience that they lacked with the previous staff and said they knew what they were doing. He made a statement that I read a little into and found very telling. He said Gran's offense should hold its own just like Stoops' defense. I asked him how Elam had progressed and he smiled with approval and said he was working his *** off. Now I will say that this guy is always optimistic by nature but the fact that he was eager to tell me this stuff struck my in a very good way.

 

[3kidsandme]

41 bowls = 82 teams. 127 teams in FBS (not just P5). 82/127 = 64.6% so you're right, but still a very high proportion. Not getting to a bowl is embarrassing.

I really wasn't disagreeing as much as suprised. The only rebuttal is we play 5 to 7 ranked teams yearly. Winning 6 or 7 games playing in the sec is pretty tough.

 

[jauk11]

You can hire Bill Parcells, Vince Lombardi and Knute Rockne but if you don't have talent is doesn't matter. Recruiting is the name of the game. It seems like we have coached up 2 and 3 star guys going against 4 and 5 star guys and getting their asses whipped on each play. This has been our achilles heel for a long time. We've had some great, great individual players but the supporting cast has to be better. GO CATS!!

While I like some of BD's thoughts I think we should win six games, we need one BIG unexpected upset every year. We aren't still sending a bunch of two and three stars out on the field to play top talent like Joker did in 10, MORE two stars starting against Florida than three stars with just two JC four stars------but the two four stars were offset by two walkons starting, That year Florida averaged ABOVE a 5.9 (HIGH four star) for their starters, not just their starters but for their two deep, an incredible mismatch in talent. Now we have a pretty good corp of four stars PLUS some very good overlooked and underrated talent.

Hey, next year we should have our FIRST five star since they were invented.

Still, on paper our talent should have NO chance against the teams that emphasized FOOTBALL instead of ignoring its need for decades, speaking specifically of Bama that according to one article should have NINETEEN five stars available next year, and maybe close to that number of 6.0 four stars.

 

[railroadkat_1]

In that sense, almost all college football programs are always that 1 class away. As long as strong classes are signed every year, the program's momentum should be positive. But if weak classes creep into the mix, the program's momentum stalls. Player development takes several years. Stoops' 2013 class doesn't count in his calculation because he arrived here 2 months before the 2013 signing date. His 2014 class is better than people think, but most of them haven't played significant roles yet because they just got here 19 months ago. Despite some defections from his 2015 class, Conrad, GAA, Westry, Baity became immediate starters. Several redshirts from the 2015 class look like important players too. In that way, our 2015 class may have been underrated. Stoops' 2016 class appears to be his best yet, and certainly addresses weaknesses on our offensive line. With regard to the new coaches, Coach Hinshaw's arrival is critical for 2 reasons. Hinshaw will improve development of our current quarterbacks, and he will facilitate recruitment of new quarterbacks too. Coach Gran should improve Stoops' recruiting traction in Cincinnati and southern Ohio. Coach Thomas is believed to be an influential recruiter in south Florida. Whether Coach Thomas and Coach Clinkscale can provide a recruiting boost remains to be seen. It's normal for fans to be hopeful that new coaches will bring improvement. The truth is that losing Coach Ansley and Coach Scott probably negates recruiting advantage brought by the new coaches. However, there is enough talent in our program now so that solid development of players who are already here should lead to better performances on the field. Coach Eliot has taken a lot of criticism here, but he reminds me of the story of the tortoise and the hare. Every year, Coach Eliot adds a couple more SEC quality starters and key reserves to our defense. I believe Eliot will put a solid SEC defense on the field by 2017. In my mind, the key question has always been whether Stoops can put a real SEC offense on the field. Neal Brown couldn't do it, but he gets a pass because the roster was still under construction and our receivers were awful. Shannon Dawson couldn't do it, and I did not find Dawson's management style or decision process reassuring. Dawson needed to go. I don't know yet whether or not Gran can do it, but this is the crossroad that will tell us if Stoops can be successful here.

I seemed happy when coach Elliot came on staff. He has not shown me anything. Thought things were changing during the Missouri contest, he proved me wrong! Friendship is a good thing but not to the extent of loosing the head coaching job. Coach Stoops you must have more faith than I do. I back coach Stoops and staff. Coach Elliot I'm waiting on you!

 

[SanAntonioCat_rivals376502]

You can hire Bill Parcells, Vince Lombardi and Knute Rockne but if you don't have talent is doesn't matter. Recruiting is the name of the game. It seems like we have coached up 2 and 3 star guys going against 4 and 5 star guys and getting their asses whipped on each play. This has been our achilles heel for a long time. We've had some great, great individual players but the supporting cast has to be better. GO CATS!!

Are you paying attention to recruiting? The talent base is better in every sense.....in decades. Wake up, friend it's a new day.