KSR Today: Vince Marrow on UK, Jasper Johnson's family history, and 2 soccer matches

KSR - 2025-08-21T090032.746 — Photos of Vince Marrow (left) and Jasper Johnson (middle) via KSR | Photo of Alexis Tylenda via UK Athletics

Good morning, folks! Can you believe it? The college football season is only a couple of days away. Saturday’s Week 0 slate isn’t exactly loaded with great games, but football is football, and we’re going to be glued to the TV for all of it. A noon kickoff on ESPN between a pair of ranked teams (No. 22 Iowa State vs. No. 17 Kansas State) in Ireland will serve as the perfect appetizer for next week’s main course.

Mark Stoops‘ Kentucky Wildcats will have to wait until next Saturday before finally being able to tackle someone other than themselves. But they’ll use that time to fine-tune the game plan. Following today’s practice, members of the media will chat it up with the Kentucky defense to learn more about how Brad White’s group looks. As always, stay tuned to the website and KSR’s YouTube channel for updates on everything they have to say.

Now, let’s dive into the rest of this morning’s news and notes.

Vince Marrow talked about Kentucky and KSR

Vince Marrow‘s divorce from Kentucky hasn’t exactly gone smoothly since news first broke in June. In a feature with the Courier-Journal that was published on Tuesday, the former Kentucky football assistant opened up on why he took a job at Louisville. In the piece, Marrow talked about his mindset being “50-50” before a family vote led him to the Cardinals, but he also made sure to get in a jab at KSR. The head of Louisville’s front office was not a fan of a post Nick Roush wrote that compared the football coach turned general manager to a Game of Thrones character.

“I know sometimes you gotta spin a narrative to do damage control, but that kind of pissed me off. I’m like, ‘So you really gonna try to spin this?’ But guess what? It’s like when you’re running for office,” Marrow said. “The American people are smart. Kentucky football fans were smart.”

There’s a lot going on in this piece, which you can read in full below.

READ: Louisville football GM Vince Marrow ‘on a mission’ to help Cardinals reach new heights (Courier-Journal)

A must-read feature from Tyler Thompson

KSR’s Editor-in-Chief, Tyler Thompson, has been in the lab putting together something special over the last few weeks. And now she’s ready to share it with the rest of the Big Blue Nation. Tyler dove deep into the family history of Kentucky men’s basketball freshman guard Jasper Johnson, who you already might know is from Lexington and has endless connections to the University. Tyler peeled back the curtain on the Johnson family legacy to bring us this brilliant feature.

You can read her piece below. A video component will follow this evening over on the KSR YouTube channel.

NEW: You probably know a little about Jasper Johnson’s family. It’s time to learn more.

Few legacies in Kentucky sports can compare. I sat down with the Johnsons to talk about it — and how Jasper is dedicating the next chapter to his grandfather, Alvis.https://t.co/7KGnQGh7gG pic.twitter.com/lK6oNlss4W
— Tyler Thompson (@MrsTylerKSR) August 21, 2025

[Jasper Johnson Ready to Honor His Grandfather’s Spirit, Continue Family Legacy at Kentucky]

Two soccer matches on the docket

Both the Kentucky men’s and women’s soccer teams will be in action this evening. The women’s team is already off to a 2-0 start after shutting out its first two opponents last week, but for the men’s side, today will serve as the season-opener. Johan Cedergren’s crew, which saw plenty of roster turnover in the offseason, was picked to finish 4th in the Sun Belt this season. They’ll face a top 25 team on the road to open the 2025 slate.

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Kentucky MSOC @ No. 20 Western Michigan | 5:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Kentucky WSOC vs. East Tennessee State | 7:30 p.m. ET (SEC Network+)

New 11 Personnel in your feed

The football season countdown continues. Kentucky is now just nine days away from kicking off the 2025 season against Toledo inside Kroger Field. Fall camp is coming to a close. What do we know about the Wildcats a little over a week out from opening day? Live from Monticello Bank, KSR’s Nick Roush and Adam Luckett discussed Kentucky’s QB situation, what’s going on with the running backs, the Big Blue Wall, and much more.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.

John Wall isn’t going anywhere

A day after it was announced that John Wall was hanging up his sneakers for good, it was revealed that the former Kentucky Wildcat is taking on a new career path. Wall will join NBA on Prime as an analyst for the upcoming 2025-26 season. He’ll be on Amazon’s studio show, which also includes former NBA stars Blake Griffin and Dirk Nowitzki, and will be hosted by Taylor Rooks. Wall has some prior broadcast experience, but he’ll be tossed into the fire this season.

We're excited to welcome @JohnWall to the #NBAonPrime family! 👏 pic.twitter.com/5jw4gBkHe5
— NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) August 20, 2025

Preseason Thursday Night Football action

Week 0 in the college football world doesn’t begin until Saturday, but we do have some Thursday Night Football to get you in the mood. Two NFL games are on the schedule tonight, with five former Kentucky Wildcats expected to take the field.

7:00 p.m. ET (NFL Net) | Steelers (Echols) @ Panthers (Wallace, Weaver)
8:00 p.m. ET (Prime Video) | Patriots @ Giants (Phillips, Robinson)

Kenny Brooks is cooking on the trail

In Rivals’ latest player rankings update released on Wednesday, both of Kentucky’s 2026 high school commits are now considered to be among the 11 best rising seniors in the entire country. 6-foot-1 combo guard Savvy Swords checks in at No. 10 overall, immediately followed by 5-foot-8 point guard Maddyn Greenway at No. 11. Both are rated as five-star talents. You won’t find a better two-woman class in the country than what Kenny Brooks has cooked up right now.

Big Red always steals the show

The latest TikTok dance trend is one I won’t try to explain. But I don’t need to be a meme expert to know that three mascots dancing is good content. The Kentucky, Louisville, and Western Kentucky mascots got together to create their own version, and it told me three things: The Wildcat is the coolest, the Cardinal is the strangest to look at, and Big Red is and always will be the star.