KSR Today: Offensive Coordinator Watch Continues

Good morning, friends. I’m traveling back from London today and have some time to kill before leaving for the airport so I decided to drop in and say hello. Turns out I missed quite a lot while I was sightseeing yesterday. If you did too, let’s catch up on the headlines and look ahead to what’s coming up today in the world of Kentucky sports and beyond.

Is today the day we hear about an offensive coordinator hire?

The biggest question in the Big Blue Nation today is will Liam Coen come home? Although Mark Stoops insisted Monday there are multiple candidates for Kentucky’s offensive coordinator position, Coen is undoubtedly the frontrunner, which leaves us in a waiting pattern as he makes his decision. Last night, Matt Jones confirmed that Coen is the staff’s first choice, but his current role with the Los Angeles Rams makes a timeline for a decision complicated. The sooner a decision is made the better as the staff pursues players in the transfer portal and high school ranks.

“I’d be very surprised if by the end of the week there’s not (a move),” Jones said. “I actually would be really surprised if by Wednesday there’s not one. If it’s Liam, it probably needs to happen tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest because I don’t feel like they can wait on him because they’ve got to get players.”

Matt also said he believes Kentucky will land Vanderbilt running back Ray Davis and Northern Illinois offensive lineman Marques Cox. At quarterback, Wisconsin signal-caller Graham Mertz is a name to keep an eye on, along with North Carolina State quarterback Devin Leary. Yesterday, Davis announced he received a scholarship offer from Kentucky, furthering the buzz between the two parties.

Transfer Portal Movement

The transfer portal officially opened on Monday even though players have been announcing they are entering for a week now. Two Wildcats announced they are leaving the program on Monday: offensive lineman John Young and cornerback Adrian Huey. Neither move is a huge surprise, but we wish them well in the next chapter.

Here’s who has entered the portal so far from Kentucky:

Wide Receivers: 5

• DeMarcus Harris
• Chauncey Magwood
• Rahsaan Lewis
• Chris Lewis
• Tae Tae Crumes

Running Backs: 1

• Kavosiey Smoke

Tight Ends: 1

• Keaton Upshaw

Offensive Linemen: 1

• John Young

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. Nick Roush has a thorough rundown of which Cats are on the move and who the staff is pursuing in the Kentucky Football Transfer Portal Tracker.

Kentucky lands 3-star WR Ardell Banks

On Monday, we also gained a wide receiver to help offset the loss of the five that have entered the portal so far. Three-star wideout Ardell Banks committed to Kentucky over Arizona State, Cincinnati, Wisconsin, and Pittsburgh on Monday. The 6-foot-4, 180-pound prospect out of Massillon, Ohio hosted Vince Marrow on an in-home visit on Monday. You can read more about him here. I like that Dane Key comparison.

Lots of Mark Stoops content to pass along

If Monday wasn’t busy enough, we also heard from Mark Stoops, who spoke for over 30 minutes about Kentucky’s Music City Bowl bid (including the unfortunate time conflict with the basketball game vs. Louisville), playing his alma mater Iowa again, what he’s looking for in an offensive coordinator, and much more. You can catch up via our coverage below, watch it for yourself, or let Drew Franklin, Nick Roush, and Adam Luckett give you the highlights.

• Adaptability, Pace are Priorities in Kentucky’s Offensive Coordinator Search
• Kentucky’s play-calling will be ‘group effort’ in Music City Bowl
• Stoops: Music City Bowl “puts fans in a pickle,” but there are enough fans to support both sports

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.

I still don’t understand Cincinnati hiring Scott Satterfield

The news that Cincinnati is hiring Scott Satterfield broke while we were enjoying a Christmas market in Hyde Park yesterday and quickly took precedence over the sights and sounds. I understand Satterfield wanting to leave Louisville, but why does Cincinnati want him? Either way, I’m sad that he won’t be part of the rivalry anymore. He was very easy to make fun of and very easy to beat. I’m also worried this means Jeff Brohm will finally come home, not only because he’s a great coach but because it’s going to make life a little trickier for our Nick Roush, his relative. Christmas in the Roush house could be a little awkward this year.

This thread on Kentucky’s performance vs. Michigan is great

If you’re not already following Sam Vecenie on Twitter, you’re missing out. Today, The Athletic’s college basketball writer tweeted his thoughts on Kentucky vs. Michigan in a lengthy, in-depth Twitter thread that’s worth your time. If you don’t have time to scroll, he basically said that Kentucky’s issues are all fixable and there’s plenty of upside for the Cats, in large part because of Cason Wallace. He also had a lot of praise for Ugonna Onyenso. Here are just a few of the tweets:

I keep tweeting these, in part, because I think Kentucky is just giving teams a lot of easy shots with basic execution/communication errors. Not any sort of roster/talent deficiency. Clean these up like most teams do by Feb/March, and the upside for this defense is super high.

— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) December 6, 2022

And another. Seriously, if Wallace is just letting rip like this with confidence and no hesitation from 3 with zero load time into the shot, that's just immediately translatable to him playing a good role in the NBA when taken in conjunction with his defensive pressure. pic.twitter.com/z2FkBsml6M

— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) December 6, 2022

So easy to see why Kentucky is as excited as it is about Ugonna Onyenso. Moves so fluidly, good instincts in pick-and-roll defensive coverage. Superb work here containing the dribble, helping at the rim, recovering onto Dickinson, managing his post spin, and blocking the shot. pic.twitter.com/cUrYFnS6Tg

— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) December 6, 2022

World Cup and College Basketball on TV today

Round of 16 action in the World Cup continues today. Morocco faces Spain in the first match of the day at 10 a.m. ET, followed by Portugal vs. Switzerland at 2 p.m. If futbol ain’t your thing, there’s plenty of college basketball on TV tonight.

TIME	AWAY	HOME	TV
7:00 PM	17 Illinois	2 Texas	ESPN
7:00 PM	NCG	9 Arkansas	SECN
7:00 PM	Georgia	Georgia Tech	ESPN2
8:00 PM	Tarleton St.	12 Baylor	ESPN+
8:00 PM	North Florida	1 Houston	ESPN+
8:00 PM	Jackson St.	24 TCU	ESPN+
8:00 PM	James Madison	3 Virginia	ACCN
9:00 PM	13 Maryland	Wisconsin	ESPN2
9:00 PM	Iowa	15 Duke	ESPN

It sounds like our Uber is here so I better go. Have a great one, #BBN. I’ll catch you stateside.