Former UK QB Reese Phillips: "Stoops is the greatest thing to ever happen to Kentucky football"

USA Today Sports

Saturday’s loss to South Carolina has some UK fans calling for blood on social media or in the KSR comment section, but one former Wildcat strongly disagrees. Reese Phillips, who served as Kentucky’s backup quarterback during Mark Stoops’ first few years at Kentucky, took to Twitter to defend his former coach.

“Coach Stoops is the greatest thing to ever happen to Kentucky football,” Phillips tweeted. “If you even whisper about getting rid of him you’re clinically insane.”

Strong words from the former Wildcat.

Phillips came to UK in 2013 as a three-star recruit out of Tennessee, but he redshirted his freshman year after both coaches who originally recruited him (Joker Phillips and then-offensive coordinator Randy Sanders) were fired from the university. The following year, Phillips played sparingly but lost the starting job to Patrick Towels. In 2015, he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon before spring practice; his new offensive coordinator, Shannon Dawson, was fired later that year.

Eventually, Phillips made the decision to transfer to Montana, where he spent one year as the backup before earning the starting job. Unfortunately, a gruesome leg injury in his third start with his new team ended his season.

Coach Stoops is the greatest thing to ever happen to Kentucky football. If you even whisper about getting rid of him you’re clinically insane.

— Reese Phillips (@ReesePhillips11) September 29, 2019

Clearly, Phillips’ journey with the sport, especially at the collegiate level, has been frustrating, at best. After all of that, he’s apparently still a huge fan of Mark Stoops. That should tell you something.

On the other hand, he’s not quite as favorable toward Kentucky’s offensive coordinator, Eddie Gran.

Now that’s a different convo 😂😂

— Reese Phillips (@ReesePhillips11) September 29, 2019