KSR Today: Offense Day at Football Practice, Basketball Recruiting Buzz
Good morning, friends. We’re one more day removed from the loss to No. 1 Georgia and one day closer to Saturday’s game vs. Ohio. Although the latter may not sound that exciting, it’s a good chance for Kentucky to build on the positive things from the one-point loss to the Bulldogs before heading to No. 5 Ole Miss.
Today, we’ll put away the leftovers from the Georgia game, look ahead to Saturday’s game vs. the Bobcats, and even talk a little basketball recruiting. First, a message from our friends at AARP Kentucky.
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Quick-Hitters from a busy Monday with Stoops
Mondays are always busy during the season, but with the attention surrounding Saturday night’s near upset, especially so. We had a lot of content on KentuckySportsRadio.com on Monday. Here are the highlights in case you don’t have time to scroll through it all:
- Stoops doubles down on 4th quarter punt: Despite all the criticism, Stoops isn’t budging on his decision to punt on 4th and 8 with three minutes to go in the game. He further explained the reasoning during Monday’s press conference and again on his call-in show.
- Wants answers for the overturned Pick-6: Stoops confirmed he sent some calls to the league office for review, including Zion Childress’ overturned pick-six, which could have been a game changer. That said, he’s not using it as an excuse for the loss.
- Mountain West catching strays: When asked if Bush Hamdan’s success with fourth-down play calls at Boise State could translate to Kentucky, Stoops pointed out that the Cats play in the SEC, not the Mountain West. He prefaced it with “no disrespect at all,” but ouch!
- Kentucky’s defense played well but has room for improvement: Kentucky’s defense was spectacular vs. Georgia, holding the Bulldogs to just 12 first downs and 5-13 on third down. Even so, Mark Stoops saw room for improvement on tape.
- Stoops not afraid to use Jacob Kauwe in 60+ yard field-goal scenario: Alex Raynor is clearly Kentucky’s starting kicker, but Stoops said the staff is ready to try freshman Jacob Kauwe in scenarios of 60+ yards.
- Latest on injuries
You can Stoops’ entire press conference below:
Shortly after, Nick Roush and Adam Luckett met up with Max Duffy at KSOffice to talk about the loss, Stoops’ comments, and what’s next on a new episode of the KSR Football Podcast (Drew Franklin was busy at the KSR Golf Scramble).
It’s Bush Hamdan Day at practice
Yesterday, we heard how Stoops was feeling about the loss to Georgia after a Sunday in the film room. Today, offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan will share his thoughts after practice. After flatlining against South Carolina, Kentucky’s offense came to life a bit against the No. 1 Bulldogs, totaling almost 300 yards and 23 first downs against one of the best front sevens in the country. The passing game is still a concern, but Hamdan has to be pleased with Demie Sumo-Karngbaye and Jamarion Wilcox, who totaled 141 rushing yards.
Fellow running backs Chip Trayanum and Jason Patterson were both out Saturday. On Monday, Stoops said Trayanum will miss at least another week as he recovers from a broken hand. No word on Patterson. We’ll get our first availability report on Wednesday night. You’ll get updates from Hamdan and members of the offense this evening after practice on the site and YouTube Channel.
Basketball Recruiting Updates; New Sources Say
Monday provided some basketball recruiting news. 2025 four-star small forward Tounde Yessoufou cut Kentucky from his list and is now focusing on Arizona, Baylor, and USC. That could be good news for Kentucky and five-star wing Caleb Wilson, who took his official visit to Lexington this past weekend. Jack Pilgrim spoke to several sources on Monday who said that the visit went VERY well. You can read his full notes on the visit on KSBoard. Jacob Polacheck spoke to Wilson himself, who detailed the visit and said he’s planning on making his decision in November or December after upcoming official visits to UCF, Tennessee, Alabama, and Arkansas.
“It was a great visit,” Wilson said. “I had a whole bunch of fun. I felt like I was embraced by the team, the staff, and also the fan base. I like the Cats, man. I really like the Cats.”
In the 2026 class, Kentucky offered four-star guard Jordan Smith Jr., a top-ten prospect. Mark Pope watched the 6’3″ 175 lbs. Virginia native win gold with Team USA in the FIBA U17 World Cup in Argentina earlier this summer. Smith is the eighth member of the 2026 class to earn an offer from Kentucky, joining Brandon McCoy, Tyran Stokes, Caleb Holt, Jason Crowe Jr., Tajh Ariza, Miikka Muurinen, and Tay Kinney.
What does all of this mean? Jack and Shawn Smith will discuss the latest basketball recruiting news on a new episode of Sources Say at 8 p.m. ET on the KSR YouTube Channel.
Peter Burns opens up on how a Missouri fan saved his life
We’re not huge fans of Missouri around here, but one Tiger fan deserves a huge shoutout for his actions last weekend. The SEC Network’s Peter Burns was at a restaurant in Columbia the night before the Tigers’ game vs. Boston College and started to choke on a piece of steak. Thanks to Missouri fan Jack Foster and several others around him, he’s still here to tell the story.
Check out Burns’ tribute to Foster below, and consider CPR training. You may end up saving someone’s life.
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