This ship has been going in one direction for 60 years. There have been about 10 different AD's in that time. Have you ever thought that perhaps the issues go above the level of AD?
Others following Towles and leave the program
- Thread starter uk_king_cat2
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I never understood that decision either. I'll skip the back-story, but my family and I attended the 2014 UK-LSU game when Baker laid out Kendall Beckwith while protecting Towles. We were in a LSU luxury suite, and one of the LSU fans I was sitting with actually complimented Baker for making a hard clean hit.
To my dismay, Stoops essentially suspended Baker for the first half of the following week's against State. He never provided a real explanation of why. If I was HC, I would back my players and if the SEC office wanted to suspend him, I would have made the SEC make it public instead of unilaterally suspending him to appease the league office.
I do remember Baker making a key crushing block on a ULL player on the winning touchdown (Horton?) late in the game, but as the season progressed his performance deteriorated badly. I would hate to see him leave. If I'm Stoops, having a man-to-man talk with Baker is of one of my top priorities.
SEC office threatened the suspension and Stoops went along with it. I have heard that Stoops praised Baker for the block in private because he believed it being clean and aggressive.
The was definitely suspended for the block. The rest is speculation but its a message board. If only proven facts were discussed, this place would cease to exist.
Nope. He lead with the shoulder. If he lead with his helmet it would've damn near killed the guy. Was a block that should've drawn praise, not suspension.
Of course the league was probably going to suspend him, but if youre the coach you need to stand by your player; or publicly say we are only suspending him because the league forced us to.
I suspect that's true. I intended to post just that before I accidentally hit send lol. But....I still think you make the league take action and stand behind the player.
You don't have the first clue what most UK fans think. And having read your dim witted posts over the years, I take your post as a compliment.
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Agreed. Like I said earlier, the LSU fan I was with at the game (an old school football guy) had no problem with Baker's hit.
Nope. That's a good hit. Should have been no penalty and no suspension.
Was a good and legal block..BS call
Spot-on post and a woefully forgotten/under-discussed incident. IMO, the suspension raised questions among players as to whether the coach 'has their back'. Also served to deter aggression and a 'play to the echo of the whistle' attitude. IMO.
No I don't... Looks cleaner the more I see it... like poster said above... "let the SEC make the calL"
Personally, I am looking forward to Williams and Baker making big contributions next year. Go Cats!!
Totally agree with this. This team, both players and coaches, is a mess. This 'could' end up worse than the Joker fiasco.
Moreover, Mitch has helped to expand and groom almost every other sport at UK....do you think he wants to neglect a sport that is one of the (if not the) #1 revenue sport?
I had no problem with Baker's hit. It was a great hit ... it was the incessant trash talking while down 40 pts that irked me ... I speculate that irk'd CMS too.
I never said I had a problem with the hit. I said I disagree with the rule. But, it was a head to head hit. He did launch. It could be interpreted, evidently was interpreted by someone as a targeting. I don't have a problem with a coach teaching a young player how to stay in a game when he is older when it matters.
Sooo has anyone actually decided to transfer besides Towles or is this whole thread just the same babble as the others?
Agree. Football is a team sport, and that doesnt mean the team is limited to what happens on the field. This coach didnt have their back, or at least Baker's back. That made a big difference imo.
Me too. Honestly in re-watching it Im surprised. I remembered a much closer call. Clearly a good block imo.
As long as it's none of our future playmakers, who cares! Some of these guys will probably need to just give up football. Not to be cruel, but let's be real here for a second. If you can't get playing time on a team like Kentucky, what in the world makes you think you're good enough to go anywhere else and play? Guys transfer after every single football season. I just hope it's none of the guys we are depending on turning this sinking ship around. If it is, we have more problems than everyone thinks and i'm not sure what it would take to fix things. Throwing big time money out there and going after the big boys is the only obvious answer.
Irishcat1965, reference back to the LSU Game of '14, note the tremendous block by Baker, LEGAL BLOCK -so stated by the LSU Player- Baker was demoted to the bench for the next game!!! I don't know if was intervention by M. Barnhart, or if it was a decision made Stoops alone, but it SURELY SENT A STRONG MESSAGE AS TO WHAT WAS EXPECTED BY OUR ATHLETES!!!!!!!
That is not a debatable assertion, go back and review that event and then view the subsequent events that have ensued!!!!! Aggressive blocks as well as tackles have been a wonton but futile endeavor for the team as a whole since that occurrence!!!!!!!
THIS, lets just hope it isn't too substantial. Towles seemed like a really likable person and a decent leader of people. That being said GO CATS!!!! Lets get this thing going into 2nd gear.
Are you kidding Timmons is the best offensive threat we've had since Cobb. Silly man.
And all of them, including the current, basketball AD's. Football is an afterthought unless microwave fans stage a protest or something, can't lose that seat revenue.
Mitch Barnhart doesn't give a rats *** about winning big for UK.
If you're too dumb to see it, after all the time you've had, walk the cliff.
Useless.
Funny that it took OOPS , I mean Stoops after the end of season 3 to come out and say we have to tougher Mentally ! 12-24 after 3 years and has 1 less win then the Joke ! Thanks Barnfart !
I don't understand why you have pulled me into this LSU block issue. I never commented on it and had frankly forgotten it even occurred. Personally I see nothing wrong with that block he made. I was referring to the many blocks he didn't make the effort on. In fact during the Vandy game, Andre Ware made mention of his lack of effort.
I would have to disagree. I want Baker to mature and become a leader on this team. He's a true sophomore, so he's still got growing up to do. It'd be foolish to just give up on him now, he still had a very good year despite some drops. I'd much rather him see improve here than somewhere else.
My only complaint about Baker is more about his attitude than anything else. Sure, I don't like dropped footballs, but it's not like most fresh/sophs have glue hands. I really don't like watching him shut down his routes. I don't like that he gives up on balls that are off the mark. When you play sports, your task is to do your job with maximal effort. It shouldn't matter who the QB is, where the ball is placed, what play is called, how many balls are thrown your way.......you should provide maximal effort at all times and do whatever it takes to help the team.
Baker, Badet, Bone don't always run their routes correctly which is why Walker is playing. Watch him...he pretty much does everything right. Unfortunate he isn't faster or bigger. I'm hoping with his continued development and the addition of the RS WRs we'll see less and less of the Bees if they continue their sandbagging.
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Its not that he doesnt care, its that he is too conservative to go all in and do what it takes to win. Hes been trying to do it on the cheap the whole time, and its just his nature to do so. Mitch does not understnd what ittke to win at the highest level in fb.
If it were up to Mitch then athletics wouldn't be spending $65 million to build academic buildings and instead he would have invested that money back into athletics. It took "agreeing" to do so (facts be known the BoT has ultimate say so over the athletics budget and it possesses the power to spend athletics monies as it pleases, it doesn't require that the AD approve) in order to get approval to the latest spending on the stadium and football training center.
So today you claim he is too conservative and trying to do it on the cheap...back a few years ago the plan to update the stadium, add a "recruiting room" and other upgrades to football were shot down by the BoT and state legislature and Mitch was blamed for trying to do too much.
Again, UK's football troubles are 60 years old and spans about 10 different ADs...I guess you think they were all "too conservative and trying to do it on the cheap"?
Again, I'd like you to consider that perhaps the issues that have worked against football at UK are beyond the control of any AD.
You like many fans believe that ADs have a lot more power and control than what they actually possess. They can only submit budgets, they cannot approve them. There is a hard limit to their spending power without the approval of the President of the university, the BoT and the state legislature.
I've been very disappointed in Stoops so far, but hope he can turn it around. And I've never been a big Barnhart fan (don't really know why, just not. Perhaps too much attention given to minor sports? BCG hire? Seemed to be fumbling the football hire before turning to Brooks who was out of coaching and who he knew from Oregon days). But I wonder if all these folks who are saying that Barnhart doesn't want to win in Football were saying the same thing in '06 and '07? Barnhart did hire Brooks. We were 8-5 both years. Beat Clemson and FSU in bowl games. Got up to No. 8 in the nation in one poll partway thru the season. Somehow, if we could go back in the archives for this board...I doubt there was a lot of complaining. So was Barnhart not interested in winning back then and it was all Brooks?
I see it as a great football play. His head is in front of the defender and he levels a huge hit.
You are correct, Boom is a HR hitter, who can go the distance on any play. Boom leaving would sabatoge the offense beyond repair. Barker at QB is a Missouri..... he has to ' Show me '