Mark Stoops, Kentucky in good position for 2024 despite near breakup

Saturday was very nearly the end of Mark Stoops’ tenure at Kentucky. Since his move to Texas A&M fell apart at the eleventh hour, though, what does the future look like for him and his program now that he’s set to return to Lexington?

KSR’s Nick Roush took a stab at answering that question during ‘Andy Staples On3’ on Sunday. In his opinion, their latest win in the Governor’s Cup combined with this near breakup could be exactly what the Wildcats needed in order to look in the mirror and revitalize their approach with Stoops at the helm.

“It certainly can. Because I know the glaring issues within the program – offensive line play hasn’t been up to snuff, you had these talented receivers, you finally think your offense is taking a step forward. Finding a quarterback? Kentucky hasn’t had a 3,000-yard passer in the Mark Stoops era – that’s not a very high bar,” explained Roush. “You have to be able to score. You can’t just score 14 points in a road game against South Carolina.”

“There’s some big offensive problems. There was a lot of chatter in Lexington about the locker room and ‘Do people have confidence that Stoops can get this turned around?’. When you win like that? And then you see the biggest job opening and you have this sort of – I don’t even know how to exactly describe just how close that was to happening. That was unprecedented, right? So much happening at once that when you come back and kind of exhale? There should be a lot of hope and belief,” Roush said. “That was a wild day. But you know what? We can turn that into the positive, we can get this train back on the tracks because there is a lot of energy now – a kind of shot in the arm of the program.”

There’s even more reason for excitement when you consider what Kentucky is bringing in. To start, the Wildcats already have a 23-man class that’s Top-25 in the country per On3’s Industry Ranking coming to the bluegrass this offseason. Add in the fact that they’ve been somewhat successful on their swings in the portal and Roush doesn’t see why next year can’t be positive step into the future for UK.

“Right now, Kentucky has got the No. 22 recruiting class,” noted Roush. “It is loaded in their front seven too. Brian Robinson, the Smith twins in Corbin, a bunch of talented edges, a bunch of great linebackers. A shutdown corner from Cincinnati in Terhyon Nichols. They’ve got a Top-100 quarterback – Stoops has never had one of those – in Cutter Boley.”

“Then you look at the portal landscape? I think the biggest apprehension if you’re a Kentucky fan going into this offseason is that last year? hey went in the portal and they said, ‘We’re going to invest in the offense’. They did alright on the offensive line – that turned out well. But then your return on investment? Ray Davis had a 1,000-yard season but was a little inconsistent. Devin Leary was not what you thought he was going to be,” Roush said. “Now, you’re going to have to go and get a running back, get a quarterback.”

The only issue now is any reactionary contempt for the fanbase. That’s why, in 2024, Roush believes Stoops’ challenge is to show some forms of progress. That’s the best way for him to make people forget about this near split and remind them why he’s still the man for the job after 11 seasons.

“There is going to be a little trepidation. Now, it’s, ‘You’ve really got to show me’, ‘you’ve got to prove it to me’. Kentucky fans have fallen for that before – so go out and get it done,” Roush said. “He has got some excitement around now but there’s going to be a fair share of naysayers and I do think that’s when Stoops is at his best.”