Mark Stoops holds no ill will toward Vince Marrow, but "we moved on quickly"

It’s been over a month since Vince Marrow left Kentucky for Louisville. As you might expect, Mark Stoops was asked about it first thing today at SEC Media Days. In his first public comments on the departure, Stoops said he doesn’t hold any ill will toward his longtime right-hand man leaving for the program’s biggest rival, but insisted the program has moved on quickly, as evidenced by a hot streak on the recruiting trail.

“I think anybody that’s making a decision to leave the program, I don’t think there’s any, like, perfect way to do that, you know. So I don’t hold any animosity towards that at all, or towards Vince. I greatly appreciate our friendship and what he’s done to help us build this program for 12 years. And, you know, he was instrumental in a lot of ways.

“But with that, I say the same thing about myself, about everybody in our program. I mean, it’s about the program. It’s about so many individuals and so many people that I think that’s what the focus is on. And this program and these student athletes and everybody, we’re resilient, you know, you’ve just got to pick up and move on quickly. And so I greatly appreciate him, you know, I still think the world of him, but we moved on quickly.”

When Marrow left, the perception was that he was frustrated that position coaches had taken some of his control in recruiting. Stoops shot down that narrative today, telling local reporters that position coaches have always played an important role in recruiting, a lesson he knows all too well from his time as a defensive backs coach at Florida State, Arizona, Miami, and several other stops.

“Nothing was structurally different. Nothing at all. I think you can understand the landscape has changed in the last three or four years, in the last two, three, you know, and so recruiting is definitely much different. It’s imperative that we don’t miss on guys. When I was a position coach, and, you know, I think I’ve told you this story many times, but I could go back to some places I’ve been where there was some pressure on you to sign guys, and my position group, I was so critical, because the last thing on Earth I wanted to do was bring somebody into a program that couldn’t play to the standard that we want.

“So, has it changed? Not at all, but we have to be very detailed, very precise on who we’re bringing in. And so position coaches and area coaches have always been involved, always, and sometimes that doesn’t get a lot of attention, but those coaches don’t care. You know, they just do their jobs. And so nothing really drastically, structurally, has changed. I think it’s fair to say the landscape changes year to year and also the number of players that we take out of high school, with the portal being so important.”

Kentucky players respond to Marrow’s departure

Kentucky’s representatives at SEC Media Days mostly played it nice when asked about Marrow leaving for Louisville.

“Obviously, it was a surprise, but I wish him the best,” is what senior tight end Josh Kattus had to say.

Jordan Lovett added a little more bite. “It was crazy, especially Louisville. You know, it was crazy. But I wish the best for him. I wish the best for him. Good luck to him. And when we see him, we see him.”

“It took us all by surprise, but you know, we wish nothing but the best,” Alex Afari said. “He recruited me out of high school, so I got nothing but love for him. I just want to see him do well at Louisville, but in that last game, we’re gonna have to see him.”

Kentucky travels to Louisville for that first showdown on Nov. 29.