KSR Today: Kentucky football hosts Fan Day

Football season has pretty much arrived, Big Blue Nation. Over at the practice outside of the Joe Craft Football Training Facility, Kentucky will have practice No. 4 of fall camp. Only this one will have a large viewing party.

The Wildcats are hosting fan day for an open practice that runs from 11:00 a.m. ET to 12:45 p.m. ET. The gates will open at 10 a.m. ET in the plaza outside Gate 12 at Kroger Field. The annual event is open to the public, and admission/parking is free. Fans will be asked to stand behind the ropes surrounding the practice field. Free posters, snacks, and beverages will all be available.

Click here for more details on UKAthletics.com

For nearly two hours, spectators will be able to watch Devin Leary spin the football, and Deone Walker wreak havoc. KSR will be on the scene to provide coverage. Written content, YouTube videos, and a live threat at KSR Plus with constant updates can all be consumed by our faithful supporters on the first Saturday of August.

Take advantage of the KSR+ FALL CAMP SALE to get bonus preseason coverage, including practice reports, personnel rundowns, and scoop on KSBoard.

But first, we need to get caught up to speed on what happened on Friday at Kroger Field. The University of Kentucky opened its doors for media day, and the football content avalanche started on Friday afternoon and will continue for the next few days.

Kentucky is excited about the upcoming season

Kentucky has new jerseys, a newly renovated indoor practice facility, brand-new stadium turf, and tons of positivity entering the 2023 campaign. Head coach Mark Stoops is chomping at the bit for Week 1 to get here sooner rather than later.

“Excited about this team,” Stoops told reporters on Friday morning. “Going into year 11, it’s hard to believe. Joked about it before: sometimes it feels like an eternity, and sometimes it feels like the blink of an eye. It’s been a journey, to say the least.”

The CEO of Kentucky was not the only person that KSR spoke with on Friday. Vince Marrow, Brad White, Liam Coen, and numerous players joined Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the radio. Nick Roush and I had boots on the turf and spoke with dozens of players. We’ve got a full menu of football stories ready for your consumption before the weekend festivities kick off later today.

• Redshirt freshman tackle Nik Hall is out for the season
• Renovated indoor facility is “one of a kind”
• Vince Marrow has high goals
• KSR’s media day photo gallery
• Deone Walker can be dominant
• Mark Stoops doesn’t think new clock rules will alter the game much
• Expectations are high for Devin Leary
• The offensive line has one mission this season
• Izayah Cummings and Ricky Bobby?
• Notes from a jam-packed radio show
• Strength in numbers at tailback

We will have more to unpack over the next few days to go along with some takeaways from Saturday’s open practice.

Tons of YouTube content

Press conferences, player interviews, and much more coming your way. KSR’s video team has been hard at work pumping out content. We’ve got some stuff coming down the chimney soon.

For now, smash that play button, drops us a like, jump in the comments, and hit subscribe to stay up to speed with the fastest-growing YouTube channel in the SEC.

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Stone Saunders is in the fold

The football news did not end in Lexington. The Kentucky recruiting department got some excellent news on Friday evening when class of 2025 quarterback Stone Saunders ended his recruitment with a commitment to Kentucky over Nebraska. Liam Coen has now landed two high-level QB prospects in just one summer.

Let’s work!!💙@UKCoachStoops @LiamCoen @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/X79TyyvUw4

— Stone Saunders (@Stone_Saunders8) August 4, 2023

“Coach Stoops and Coach Coen and the staff made the difference,” told On3. “Coach Coen’s offensive system coming from the Rams is very pro-style and will help me. I was their number one and a major priority for them and that was a very big part of it as well.”

The Harrisburg (Pa.) Bishop McDevitt rising junior has been starting for this powerhouse program since his freshman season and has already secured one state championship ring. Saunders has already thrown 100 touchdown passes and shows a great feel for the quarterback position with the ability to make vertical throws and hit small windows thanks to good ball placement.

Nick Roush and I jumped into the KSR virtual studios to discuss this latest recruiting win. Coen has quickly changed things for the program, and gives UK a much-needed early building block in the 2025 high school cycle.

The Pac-12 might be gone forever

While the KSR crew was focused on Kentucky football on late Friday morning here on the east coast, the Big Ten and Big 12 were busyi knocking out the Pac-12. After some back and forth between multiple members, the conference is now down to four teams.

Oregon and Washington have accepted bids to join the Big Ten. Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah have followed Colorado to the Big 12. California, Oregon State, Stanford, and Washington State are the only programs remaining in the Pac-12.

Friday could be a day we remember for a long-time in college athletics.

👀 pic.twitter.com/yvWXyAgamH

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) August 4, 2023

Big 12 Conference Adds Arizona, Arizona State and Utah pic.twitter.com/Or4ypfW7d8

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) August 5, 2023

The Big 12 joins the SEC with 16 members. The Big Ten now is up to 18 members as four former Pac-12 schools will now call a conference that hosts many of its marquee events in Indianapolis home. A Power Two has already emerged, but commissioner Brett Yormark now has the Big 12 in a position to be the third most powerful league in college sports.

Expect things to settle for the moment. Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger is reporting that a merger with the remaining Pac-12 schools and the Mountain West could occur soon. Notre Dame still has no plans to join a conference. Expansion is likely not an option for the SEC at the moment due to ACC members having a Grant of Rights with the league until 2036. But that SEC expansion is likely inevitable.

The Big 12 did what it needed to survive over the last year by adding eight new members to the conference after Texas and Oklahoma bolted for the SEC. The Big Ten saw an opportunity and took away the Pac-12’s most powerful members. That likely leaves us without a power conference on the west coast.

Things are changing in a big way in college athletics.