Mark Stoops answering the bell for Kentucky Wildcats Football

During Mark Stoops’ tenure at the University of Kentucky, he’s experienced a lot of challenges when it comes to recruiting.

Coming to a school with outdated facilities, consecutive losing seasons, and an ugly exit of the previous head coach, gave no high school player any confidence that Kentucky could turn it around.

Stoops has worked diligently, trying to erase the negative stigma of the Wildcats football program. Each year UK has creeped up the recruiting rankings, and we’ve seen that come to fruition on the field. After finishing the 2016 season 7-5, Kentucky Football fans were ecstatic.

We as fans have seen all the hard work Stoops has put into making this program a powerhouse in the SEC, and it’s truly special to watch it finally pay off on the field and the recruiting trail.

With all of the excitement from last season, and all of the anticipation for next season, Stoops has not disappointed this offseason. Recruiting players like Lynn Bowden and JaVonte Richardson has made Kentucky’s program stand out.

With a recruiting ranking of 24th overall, this 2017 class is one of the best the program has ever seen. Stoops deserves so much credit for building this program up from the bottom. It’s a very rare site to see a University let a head coach fulfill his 5-year plan, so props to the University of Kentucky for believing in Stoops as well.

When you compare how much backlash Stoops received after the loss to Southern Miss to start the year vs how excited fans were when the Cats beat the Cards, it’s a completely different vibe. Fans are excited for this season, and for the first time in a long time, they have hope.

Now, there’s still a whole season to play. We’ll see what Stoops can do with the players he’s recruited, along with most of the guys returning. The future looks bright for the Wildcats, and I for one believe in Stoops and this program.