Greg McElroy calls Kentucky the SEC’s Michigan State

Despite a 10-3 season in 2018, most of the national media is still disrespecting Kentucky.

At SEC Media Days, the media projected the Cats to finish sixth, only ahead of Vanderbilt, in the SEC East this year. While many don’t believe the Wildcats are here to stay, former Alabama national championship quarterback and SEC Network analyst Greg McElroy is one buying in.

After Thursday’s Kentucky media session at SEC Media Days McElroy compared Kentucky’s program to one of the Big Ten’s best programs.

“I think Kentucky is the Michigan State of the SEC at this point, Michigan State has obviously achieved a lot more than Kentucky. They’ve been to College Football Playoffs. They’ve reeled off 11-win seasons. They’ve won their league. I think that is the ceiling for what Kentucky can maybe become if they hit on some big-time players.”

This is quite the compliment, as the Spartans reached the CFP in 2015 after winning the Big Ten with an 11-1 regular-season record. This came after several mediocre seasons in the 2000s.

The main reason why McElroy made the comparison of Josh Allen’s development and the several players Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio helped turn into starts in East Lansing.

If Kentucky can reach the Spartans level in the SEC, it’s hard to imagine anyone would ever doubt them again.