LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Mark Stoops faces his biggest challenge at Kentucky going into his 13th season as the longest-tenured coach in the Southeastern Conference.
The Wildcats are coming off a 4-8 record that is their worst since going 2-10 in Stoops' debut season in 2013. Stoops also lost associate head coach Vince Marrow, who had been with him since he came to Kentucky, to in-state rival Louisville in June.
Stoops believes he's looked at what went wrong to fix everything.
“We didn’t want to just move past it,” Stoops said. “We had to look at everything, turn over every stone and make sure that we were doing things to the best of our ability. I feel like we’ve done that.”
Stoops has nine starters back. He also went into the transfer portal for 26 more along with 11 incoming freshmen.
Stoops' future
The coach should be secure at Kentucky with the extension he got in November 2022 enough to keep him around. Stoops hasn’t had back-to-back losing seasons since his first three at Kentucky, and he would be due about $37.5 million within two months if officials wanted to make a coaching change.
Stoops also likes what Kentucky has done investing in football. He said it feels the Wildcats are on the same playing field as other programs with funding and support for the first time in his tenure.
Painful loss
Marrow is considered one of the top recruiters in college football. When he left Kentucky, he was Stoops' associate head coach since 2019 and also the recruiting coordinator and NFL liaison. Louisville made him executive director of player personnel and recruiting. When Louisville announced the hiring, Marrow said his ultimate goal is winning a national championship. That's a tough path for Kentucky in the 16-team SEC.
New QB
Brock Vandagriff retired from football after last season, and Cutter Boley is back after appearing in four games with one start last season.
That leaves a big starting job open. Stoops brought in Zach Calzada who led the Football Championship Series with 35 touchdown passes and 3,791 yards passing at Incarnate Word last season. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Calada is 23-9 as a starter, spending 2022 at AUburn and starting his career at Texas A&M.
Whoever wins the job will be helped by having three starters back on the offensive line, though Kentucky needs a new starting center and left tackle.
The schedule
The Wildcats open with Toledo on Aug. 30 followed by two more home games, including No. 21 Mississippi on Sept. 6. The slate gets tough with a trip to No. 13 South Carolina on Sept. 27 and No. 5 Georgia on Oct. 4. Another open date offers a break before hosting top-ranked Texas on Oct. 18 followed by No. 24 Tennessee and Florida is the final SEC home game Nov. 8. Kentucky goes to Auburn on Nov. 1 and Vanderbilt on Nov. 22 before the regular season finale Nov. 29 at Louisville. ___
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