Mark Stoops says no Wildcats have opted out; gives update on Joey Gatewood

The Kentucky Wildcats and the rest of the SEC are still full speed ahead when it comes to having a fall football season.

On Tuesday, Kentucky had its first day of fall camp. Afterward, head coach Mark Stoops had his first press conference of the 2020 season.

One of the hottest topics in college football lately has been players opting out of the upcoming season due to concerns with the coronavirus.

But so far, no one at Kentucky has approached Stoops about opting out of the upcoming season.

“At this point, I have not had one person come to talk to me about opting out,” he said, adding that it’s still possible players will decide to do so in the coming weeks.

Stoops did reveal that there were three positive tests for the coronavirus in Kentucky’s most recent round of testing. That’s to be expected with students reporting to Kentucky for the fall semester over the last two weeks. He didn’t divulge into who tested positive.

Finally, Stoops gave a brief update on quarterback Joey Gatewood, who is still waiting on the NCAA to rule on if he’ll be eligible this season following his transfer from Auburn.

“I’ve not heard yet on that,” he said. “We have turned in everything necessary. We expect an answer here soon. I don’t think it is appropriate for me to speculate at this point in time.”

Stoops also expressed optimism that the SEC season will start on time, despite the coronavirus threatening to end the season before it even begins.

“I am personally very optimistic that the season will get started on time,” he stated. “Again, it is a very fluid situation.”

We’ll have a full transcript of Stoops’ presser up later today.