Lynn Bowden on Belk Bowl decision: ‘The last impression is the best impression.’
Much has transpired since the last time University of Kentucky head football coach Mark Stoops made a public media appearance.
The Wildcats learned their postseason bowl destination. Multiple players received All-Southeastern Conference and national player of the year honors. The team’s most prominent individual, Lynn Bowden, declared for the NFL Draft.
The coaching staff since Dec. 1 has been traveling around the country to meet with already-committed prospects and those it hopes to secure commitments from down the stretch. Kentucky on Friday night was able to take the practice field together for the first time since the last week of November.
Fittingly, it was cold and rainy.
“They had more energy than a beautiful, sunny day, I can promise you that,” Stoops said with a grin. “I think this is just what they’re used to.”
Stoops said it’s fun to be back on campus — where this weekend the Wildcats will host several recruits for unofficial visits — and he feels good about how their home visits with recruits went the last couple of weeks.
He was non-committal on how UK would approach the bowl game, offensively: Will it use the option-oriented attack with Bowden at the helm or try to use this time to get re-accustomed to something closer to what it wanted to do coming into 2019?
One certainty is that Bowden, who took first-team reps at quarterback on Friday, won’t be around next year. He announced earlier this week that he will enter his name into the 2020 NFL Draft but play in the Belk Bowl on Dec. 31. A couple days later he was named this year’s Paul Hornung Award winner, the first UK player to receive that honor.
Stoops and Bowden had ongoing conversations about his future — at UK and the NFL — throughout the season, but the call to play in the bowl game was solely on Bowden’s shoulders.
“To me, it doesn’t surprise me,” Stoops said. “Once again, (it’s) just who he is and the type of competitor he is.”
For Bowden, there was only a single factor that determined the final call on declaring for the draft: his son.
As for playing in the bowl game …
“I can’t just leave outta here and leave them here with one more game without me,” Bowden said. “The last impression is the best impression.”
Dean Hood
UK special teams coordinator Dean Hood, who also coaches defensive backs along with Steve Clinkscale, will coach in the Belk Bowl.
Hood was officially named the head football coach at Murray State University on Friday. He was the head coach at Eastern Kentucky University from 2008-2015 and has been on UK’s staff since 2017.
“Dean’s worked extremely hard,” Stoops said. “He’s been a big asset to us. Absolutely he’s welcome to be here. … I want to be very flexible for him, and whatever he can do, we appreciate him.”
Stoops isn’t yet sure if UK will replace Hood from within or with an external hire. He said he’s not in any hurry to name a successor.
“We do have a lot of guys on our staff that could coach special teams,” Stoops said. “So that’s the good thing.”
Duffy, named the 2019 Ray Guy Award winner as the nation’s top college punter on Thursday night, explained why he thinks Hood, who recruited him to Kentucky, was sought as a program leader.
“He’s just a genuine guy with the players,” Duffy said. “I think sometimes with coaches, they kind of try out those fake friendships, I guess, but that’s not what he’s about. He’s honest and straight to the point but also a really nice guy. …
“He knows what he’s talking about and he gets the respect of the players, because players never question him about what he wants to do, especially on punts and special teams. We know exactly what he says is right. They got a good coach, and hopefully he does well there.”
Belk Bowl
Kentucky vs. Virginia Tech
When: Noon Tuesday, Dec. 31
Where: Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.
Records: UK 7-5; Virginia Tech 8-4
TV: ESPN
