Mark Stoops is staying at Kentucky, but there is still work to do this offseason
Mark Stoops is staying at Kentucky rather than jumping to Texas A&M as had been reported Saturday night, but his decision does not mean everything is perfect in Lexington.
Kentucky’s upset of No. 10 Louisville on Saturday silenced some of the criticism of the Wildcats’ 2023 season, which did not feature another win against a team that reached a bowl game, but the issues apparent throughout a 3-5 Southeastern Conference schedule still need to be addressed. Add in the awkwardness of mending any hurt feelings from his public flirtation with Texas A&M, and Stoops has a pivotal offseason ahead of him.
Here is a look at what issues he will have to deal with over the next month.
Coaching staff
The offseason almost always brings coaching turnover, but after a season that saw several position groups struggle Stoops might need to take the opportunity to bring in new voices. There is a need to boost the recruiting prowess of a staff that still feels the sting of losing top recruiters Steve Clinkscale and Jon Sumrall in recent years.
The contracts for four Kentucky assistants (offensive line coach Zach Yenser, wide receivers coach Scott Woodward, safeties coach Frank Buffano and linebackers coach Mike Stoops) are set to expire in June. It would not be a surprise to see a least a couple of those coaches sign extensions, but Stoops could use the natural point of transition to beef up his staff, too.
Transfer portal
Stoops acknowledged last week that the Louisville game was likely to be the last game this entire roster played together as players will start entering the transfer portal now that the regular season has ended. The portal officially opens on Dec. 4, but players will begin announcing their intentions to transfer this week.
Most of UK’s outgoing transfers will come from players looking for larger roles at other programs, but the Wildcats must also be wary of powerhouse programs trying to poach their young stars. UK’s pitch to keep those stars might be complicated by the perception Stoops was prepared to leave for Texas A&M before Aggies fans took to social media to voice their displeasure at the potential hire.
Priority No. 1 has to be keeping sophomore defensive lineman Deone Walker, who has since deleted a cryptic tweet he posted when it looked like Stoops was leaving. Wide receivers Barion Brown and Dane Key disappointed for much of their sophomore season, but Kentucky’s depth at the position means the Wildcats can ill afford to lose anyone of their talent level, either.
Stoops and his staff will need to mine the portal for instant impact additions, too, starting at quarterback.
The hope is four-star Lexington Christian Academy recruit Cutter Boley is the quarterback of the future, but it would be unwise to expect him to start in the SEC as a freshman. Kentucky needs another transfer quarterback to at least compete with Boley in the spring and fall. Devin Leary failed to live up to the hype as UK’s transfer quarterback this season, so the staff will need to do a better job of evaluating the type of quarterback it wants for 2024.
One prominent quarterback already reported to be entering the portal is Mississippi State’s Will Rogers, the SEC’s career leader in completed passes. Reports tied him to Kentucky after he announced he was transferring, but the Herald-Leader has been told that move is unlikely. Much of Rogers’ success came in an “Air Raid” offense, and he does not seem like a fit for Liam Coen’s pro-style scheme.
Wide receiver, offensive line, edge rusher, cornerback and punter are other positions where incoming transfers could be needed.
Bowl prep
Kentucky does not have a surefire 2024 NFL draft pick on its roster, but Stoops also acknowledged last week some players might opt out of the bowl to begin preparing for that option. Opt-outs combined with outgoing transfers could leave UK’s roster in a precarious position for its bowl game, but its opponent will likely face a similar scenario.
The most likely bowl destination appears to be the Duke’s Mayo Bowl for a matchup against an ACC team, but the official selections will not be made until Dec. 3. The team will have a couple of weeks off before starting bowl practice, which will be an opportunity for the Wildcats’ redshirting freshmen to see expanded opportunities.
Only five scholarship freshmen played enough games in the regular season to burn their redshirt, so the future impact of the 2023 high school class is still largely unknown. Evaluating the players who did not see the field much over the next month will help the staff determine what holes need to be filled in the transfer portal.
Resetting the culture
Throughout the last offseason, Stoops made it clear Kentucky faced a new set of challenges in maintaining its physical, blue-collar mentality in the era of free transfers and name, image and likeness deals. Nothing about how the 2023 season played out did anything to ease those concerns.
“We need very consistent leadership in terms of the day-to-day process,” offensive coordinator Liam Coen said last week. “… At some point it really has to come from the players to take it over and to be the guys that are holding each other accountable. Man, if we have an (missed assignment) in practice, it shouldn’t be us as coaches always having to reload the play or holler about the issue.
“Good teams are typically player-led. We would love for that to occur and for somebody to really emerge to take this thing over and to truly fix the issues. A lot of the issues, hey, you correct a mistake, but ultimately it takes accountability and it takes guys looking each other in the eyes to make it right.”
While Stoops always felt like an awkward fit at Texas A&M, it was easy to see reasons why he might consider leaving Kentucky after 11 years. Back-to-back disappointing seasons have raised concerns that Stoops has hit a ceiling for what is possible here. Maybe the Texas A&M pursuit will be the spark that leads to the program taking another step forward, but to do that Stoops has to figure out a way to make the most of the current college football landscape, especially knowing Kentucky is unlikely to ever have the same NIL resources that powerhouse programs do.
This story was originally published November 26, 2023 at 10:51 AM.