Mark Stoops aware of Kentucky's skeptics, eager to win them over
If there was one thing clear about an otherwise non-revelatory appearance by Kentucky’s Mark Stoops on Thursday at SEC Media Days, it was how keenly aware the UK boss is regarding the outside world’s expectations for the Wildcats this season.
Kentucky has been picked to finish 15th in the 16-team league, and only one player — punter Aiden Laros — was picked among 87 players selected to the preseason All-SEC teams.
“After last season — obviously not a very good year for us — we had to take a good look at that,” said Stoops, whose team slipped to 4-8 in 2024, won only one SEC game, and saw its streak of eight consecutive bowl game appearances snapped.
“When you do that and have a bad year like that, I had to take a good step back, analyze each and every thing in our program, in our staff, and our players. There’s a lot of work to be done.”
Roster Makeover
Stoops has been discussing corrective action since the end of the 2024 season, citing a breakdown in the culture that had been established over years at the Joe Craft Football Training Center.
That meant overhauling the roster, which features 50 new players and a massive transfer portal makeover going into the 2025 season.
“We didn’t want to just move past it,” Stoops said. “We wanted to make sure we made the adjustments necessary.”
Based on off-season workouts and the Cats’ workmanlike showing in spring practice, the new dean of SEC head coaches is encouraged by what he sees entering his 13th season on the sideline in Lexington.
“For us, we have to take the mindset into this year the same way we attack the off-season,” Stoops said. “As football coaches, we use this term a lot, but for us it was like a 4th-and-1 mentality, that moment in a 4th-and-1 situation demands urgency, unity, and execution.
“We obviously needed to have a strong off-season. Every rep, every lift, every team meeting, no matter what we’re doing, we have to embrace that challenge. I greatly appreciate the focus and the relentless commitment that these players have had to each other.”
College Football World: Prove It
They will need it. Most of the college football world does not expect Kentucky to get back on track this season, partly based on last year’s disappointing results and partly based on an unforgiving schedule deemed to be one of the toughest in the country.
But it should be noted that some of Stoops’ best teams have been fueled by a lack of respect. The Cats have frequently used that chip on their shoulder to surprise some of the traditional powers in the league.
To do that this year, it sounds like UK will try to dip into an old formula for success, starting in the trenches.
“For us, we will continue to anchor with the core values of our program: that’s attitude, toughness, discipline, and pride,” Stoops said.
He knows there will be skeptics. Many among Big Blue Nation have turned his “motivated” comments in the spring into a popular meme. That won’t deter him.
“I’m excited about this group. I really love the way they’re working,” Stoops said. “I know everybody says that. I wouldn’t be any different.
“… I think I’ll play along and let the media have their fun, take their shots. That’s cool with me. I’m ready to just move forward.”
On an otherwise guarded day at the podium, Stoops eventually let a bit of his Youngstown, Ohio-bred fighting spirit slip out.
“This shit’s hard. You might as well go enjoy it, dive into it.”