It is officially the offseason, folks.
With that comes mostly NFL Draft and recruiting storylines to follow, but also some fun insight into the top programs in the country.
Brad Crawford of 247 Sports did just that as he put out a ranking for the top 25 football facilities in the country. The Kentucky Wildcats made the cut coming in at No. 18, which comes in at ninth overall in the SEC (not counting Texas and Oklahoma).
Here is what Crawford had to say on his ranking of UK:
“See what funneling more money into football brings to the Bluegrass? Kentucky might be considered a basketball school, but the Wildcats’ $45 million upgrade to its football training facility in 2016 totaled 100,000 square feet and proves the administration believes in Mark Stoops and his steps toward the future. It paid off in 2018 as the Wildcats won nine games and earned a New Year’s Day bowl berth. Every player’s locker is ventilated with a cell phone charger, lock box and cup holders. For a cool price tag of $120 million, renovated Commonwealth Stadium saw its first fans in 2017 and reviews have been extremely positive.”
Facilities have been a point of emphasis in the last few months for the Kentucky football program, especially in the effort to retain Mark Stoops this offseason. With the plans in motion for a new or upgraded indoor practice facility, it is quite possible to see the Cats continue to slowly climb these rankings.
Mark Stoops and Mitch Barnhart have a recipe for future success brewing. Facilities help in recruiting, and recruiting helps raise the floor of your program.
Kentucky football is headed in the right direction, now it’s time to continue to recruit and develop.