KSR Today: Plenty of bye week updates, a WBB commit, and another Top 10 VB win

by: Zack Geoghegan3 hours agoZGeogheganKSR

NCAA Football: Kentucky at South Carolina — Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops directs his team against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. (Photo by Jeff Blake-Imagn Images)

Good morning, folks! Big Blue Madness is only a few more sleeps away, but we’re also right in the middle of a Kentucky football bye week. Mark Stoops‘ program isn’t exactly in a great spot right now (more on that later). This week is a chance to get back on the right path. Stoops spoke with reporters on Wednesday to talk about the road ahead.

The good news? Stoops is optimistic that both running back Seth McGowan and cornerback DJ Waller will be healthy and ready to suit up next weekend when Texas comes to town. More good news? The Longhorns aren’t living up to preseason expectations thus far. A Kentucky upset isn’t out of the realm of possibility, but we’ll all be waiting to see it with our two eyes before believing it.

Stoops’ contract situation continues to hang over the program, too. Whispers of UK potentially being more and more willing to cough up the buyout number (if the season keeps going south) are growing louder. KSR’s Matt Jones talked about that exact thing with On3’s Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman on Wednesday. But paying the massive buyout still feels like a doomsday scenario. The schedule ahead is not going to be kind in helping avoid that.

Before we dive into the rest of this morning’s news and notes, feel free to hear everything Stoops had to say following Wednesday’s practice below.

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Kentucky football loses a commit

Offensive lineman Tyreek Jemison backed off his pledge to Kentucky on Wednesday night. The 6-foot-5, 330-pound Georgia product was one of the 2026 cycle’s top recruits, currently ranked No. 576 in the country. Jemison originally chose the ‘Cats over Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, and multiple other power conference offers. Don’t be shocked if he lands at Georgia Tech sooner rather than later. UK is now down to 14 class of 2026 commits.

KSR’s Nick Roush and Adam Luckett broke down what this decommitment means (and the overall current state of the program) on Wednesday night’s 11 Personnel, which you can find below.

Player	Position	High School	Ranking
Matt Ponatoski	QB (6-2, 190)	Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller	4-star (No. 238 overall)
Messiah Tilson	S (6-2, 165)	Rockford (Ill.) Guilford	4-star (No. 322 overall)
Jordan Crutchfield	CB (6-2, 195)	Vero Beach (Fla.) High	High 3-star (No. 426 overall)
Denairius Gray	WR (6-1, 170)	Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna	High 3-star (No. 442 overall)
Dallas Dickerson	WR (6-1, 180)	Bogart (Ga.) North Oconee	High 3-star (No. 547 overall)
Ben Duncum	DL (6-5, 250)	Austin (Texas) Lake Travis	3-star (No. 621 overall)
Lincoln Watkins	TE (6-4, 225)	Port Huron (Mich.) Northern	3-star (No. 627 overall)
Garrett Witherington	DL (6-4, 290)	Birmingham (Ala.) Briarwood Christian	3-star (No. 846 overall)
Isaiah McMillian	CB (6-0, 170)	Katy (Texas) High	3-star (No. 888 overall)
Prince Jean	WR (6-0, 170)	Valdosta (Ga) High	3-star (No. 995 overall)
Cameron Miller	T (6-5, 310)	Hammond (Ind.) Morton	3-star (No. 1,022) overall)
Max Mohring	LB (6-3, 215)	Malvern (Pa.) Prep	3-star (No. 1,108 overall)
Davis McCray	WR (6-2, 190)	San Antonio (Texas) Cornerstone Christian	3-star (No. 1,232 overall)
Delvecchio “Deuce” Alston II	RB (6-0, 200)	Trussville (Ala.) Hewitt-Trussville	3-star (No. 1,344 overall)

But Kenny Brooks GAINED a commit!

You could argue that Kenny Brooks already had the top-ranked 2026 recruiting class in the country coming into this week. But now there’s no doubt about it — Kentucky is sitting alone at the top. And we can thank the addition of four-star guard Emily McDonald for making it happen.

The 6-foot New York product committed to the Wildcats on Wednesday over offers from dozens of schools, even including a recent one from South Carolina. Ranked No. 36 overall in her class, McDonald joins the likes of five-star talents Maddyn Greenway (No. 9 overall) and Savvy Swords (No. 10) as future ‘Cats. McDonald and Swords are teammates at Long Island Lutheran (NY).

Want more Kentucky basketball intel? Join KSR Plus for access to bonus content and KSBoard, KSR’s message board, to chat with fellow Cats fans and get exclusive scoop.

An anonymous coach (kinda) called Mark Pope a bozo

And I won’t lie, the line makes me laugh out loud whenever I see it. Some brave coaches hid behind the label of anonymous to give their thoughts on Mark Pope in CBS Sports’ latest Candid Coaches series. The question asked? Which college basketball coach will be next to win their first NCAA Tournament title? Here was the response from one Pope hater.

“Since UK can do things no other school can financially, he would have to be a complete bozo to not win one soon,” one coach told CBS Sports.

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Pope came in fourth in the poll with six percent, trailing Houston’s Kelvin Sampson (38 percent), Purdue’s Matt Painter (26 percent), and Jon Scheyer (16 percent). I’m not sure bozo is the word I would ever use to associate with Pope, though. That must mean a title is incoming!

Kentucky volleyball keeps on winning…

Would you be shocked to learn the latest win came against another top 10 opponent? Me either. No. 3 Kentucky went into College Station last night and took down No. 9 Texas A&M in four sets. The ‘Cats actually dropped the first set 25-21, but went on to win the next three (25-22, 25-15, 27-25), sending a statement throughout the SEC. For those keeping count (I am!), that’s eight straight wins for Craig Skinner’s team, which will return to action this Sunday for another road trip, this time against LSU (1:00 p.m. ET | ESPN).

[Kentucky VB Picks Up Another Top-10 Win, Extends Winning Streak to Eight]

BREAKING: Louisville doesn’t like Kentucky

The in-state rivalry sure feels more energized than it has in several years. And it’s not just the Pat Kelsey–Mark Pope non-fight that both coaches have leaned into heavily for the sake of the fans. The players are now getting involved, too. Louisville forward/former Colorado transfer J’Vonne Hadley talked about facing UK on a recent episode of The Field for 68.

“We don’t like Kentucky at all. It’s just like how it goes when you’re playing for the separate teams whether you like it or not,” Hadley said. “But you do need that hatred in you if you play for either of the teams. Everywhere you go, like, people say ‘beat Kentucky’ or when you’re in Lexington people say ‘beat Louisville.’ That’s just kind of how people view the rich history.”

Okay, NOW we’re talking!

Jasper Johnson invented the “6-7” meme

We finally got to the bottom of the origin of one of the Internet’s biggest viral memes. It was Kentucky guard Jasper Johnson who initially came up with the “6-7” meme that has consumed today’s youth. Johnson gave KSR the lowdown during a quick interview after he, Trent Noah, and Reece Potter wrapped up a commercial shoot with the law firm Morgan & Morgan. You can hear him tell the story through the video below.

This is true journalism at work…

Jasper Johnson explained to KSR how the "6-7" meme went from a fun video with Tay Kinney to one of the biggest social media trends going around.

➡️ https://t.co/yQ4jmJVmPl pic.twitter.com/17JBmtfgre
— KSR (@KSRonX) October 8, 2025

KSR Happy Hour at 4!

Finish off Friday Jr. with the KSR crew. As we do every Thursday, a few of us will be going live around 4:00 p.m. ET on the KSR YouTube channel to talk about anything and everything. Last week’s episode was less about sports and more about just chatting it up as friends. What will this week’s episode hold? Find out this afternoon!