LIVE UPDATES: Vince Marrow fills in on Mark Stoops' Call-In Show
It’s 6 p.m. on Monday, which means it’s time for Mark Stoops’ call-in show. This week’s is a little different.
Stoops is with his family in Youngstown, Ohio today as they lay his mother, Evelyn “Dee” Stoops, to rest. In his place, associate head coach Vince Marrow will sit down with Tom Leach to discuss where things stand following Kentucky’s loss to Auburn and hear from fans. KSR will provide updates from the show below, along with our own thoughts on the Cats, who are now 3-5, 1-5 in the SEC, with a daunting game at No. 7 Tennessee coming up on Saturday.
Kentucky could get Demie Sumo-Karngbaye back in Knoxville
10/28/2024, 7:26:35 PMKentucky did not have Demie Sumo-Karngbaye and Chip Trayanum against Auburn. The Wildcats had their worst rushing performance of the season without the top two options at tailback. It sounds like the former could return to the lineup in Week 10.
Vince Marrow says that Sumo-Karngbaye has been impressive this season and UK is hopeful that the veteran will return this weekend.
Sorry, no QB updates
10/28/2024, 7:25:00 PMHoping for some news about Kentucky’s starting quarterback next weekend at Tennessee? The topic never came up between Vince Marrow and Tom Leach — nor did fans ask about it. All we have are Bush Hamdan’s updates from earlier in the day where he said the staff was “evaluating everything today.”
“We’re getting back with those guys and want to get face-to-face with them again. I know we’ve addressed it. It was something we were going to do in the game. We knew we were going to do that, so both quarterbacks were aware of it, and we’ll address that moving forward.
We’ll have to wait for clarification on the QB battle later this week.
Why have confidence? The good culture
10/28/2024, 7:14:24 PMWhat is the reason for optimism regarding the future of Kentucky football? The foundation is strong with a good culture keeping things that way. No concern about players leaving or losing recruiting momentum.
“It’s a new era in college football. I give our whole administration and athletic department credit — we don’t lose guys who are players and contribute,” Marrow said. “It’s the young guys that may think they may not play, especially if there are other young guys ahead of them. We’ve been pretty good so far. Because we have a good culture — guys in the building like being around each other and the coaches, the administration, the cooks, the academic people. Still a long way, but the culture is good.”
“Just give Bush Hamdan some time.”
10/28/2024, 7:09:15 PMNot a believer in Kentucky’s first-year offensive coordinator? Vince Marrow wants you to be patient, giving Bush Hamdan the benefit of the doubt for not getting to bring in his own players coming in late this offseason. When he gets to do that and install the system to his liking with the right personnel, the results will show.
“Let me just say this: Bush Hamdan is a really sharp young man,” he said. “We already had our players picked before we hired him, and sometimes as a coordinator, you have to fit to what the personnel is. … Just give Bush Hamdan some time, because he just got in here. We’re playing with a lot of guys, a lot of young guys, a lot of guys are banged up and they’re coming back.”
Vince: “Just keep supporting and believing”
10/28/2024, 6:07:05 PMMarrow asked the fanbase to stick with the Cats in the final stretch of the season.
“Just keep supporting and believing. I’m very disappointed in some of these losses. When people criticize us — I’m like Stoops. Where we’re from? We’re big boys, we can take the criticism. I really feel bad for our fans. And I’m telling you this, we will get this thing going. I think you’ll see some good things coming down the line. Just keep supporting and you’ll start seeing a team that you love playing hard and physical and playing for this state. I can say this wholeheartedly: We feel the fans, we hear them. I love these fans, they’re the best in the country. Just keep supporting us and see what happens.”
Vince Marrow stands up for Mark Stoops
10/28/2024, 6:01:45 PMMark Stoops is facing some heat right now but Marrow stood up for his good friend, telling Tom and those listening at home that Stoops loves Kentucky and his players love him.
“You hear all this stuff, like people saying, Did he lose, is his this and that. Mark Stoops is a good football coach, but he’s a players’ coach and I can actually tell fans Mark Stoops loves this state. He loves the people in the state. And when you look at our guys that were going other places, they could easily have sat out, but they put their bodies on the line because they really love Stoops, and they actually helped us win games and we’re always thankful for that.”
Even the late Dee Stoops wanted to see the tight ends play more
10/28/2024, 5:58:43 PMA fan wrote in and asked the question we’ve heard from a million Kentucky football fans over the years: “When are we going to see the tight ends more?” Vince, the tight ends coach, laughed and said that Mark Stoops’ late mother wanted to know that as well.
“I know Miss Dee, God rest her soul, she always told Mark, ‘You need to get them tight ends the ball.’ She would always tell him that. So he probably laughed about that.”
Is the RB room getting healthy?
10/28/2024, 6:45:13 PMWill the Wildcats get leading rusher Demie Sumo-Karngbaye back at Tennessee? It sounds like it’s a possibility, with Marrow also adding a note on injured back Chip Trayanum.
“Demie has really surprised me, he’s been really running physical. I think with Demie being out — hopefully he’s back this week. And with Chip being out, he’s a 225-, 230-pound guy and that’s how Benny was. That’s how Chris Rodriguez was. That’s why we went and got him.”
Speaking of running backs, he also not-so-subtly brought up star commit Marquise Davis and his potential impact in the future.
“We got a kid that’s committed — I can’t say his name — but he’s a national guy, one of the top 10 in the country. He’s a really good running back. With him and some of the young guys we got on the roster, trust me, we willl get back to being that. We’re not far off from it.”
Dane Key is ‘making himself some money’
10/28/2024, 6:41:14 PMThere weren’t many standouts from Kentucky’s loss, but Dane Key certainly was one. Marrow says the success he’s found and his continued production is a product of his hard work from the minute he arrived on campus: “He played as a true freshman and made some plays, but I told him, ‘Man, you’ve got to get bigger, stronger and faster.’ Then we hired Daikiel Shorts and he challenged him, said, ‘How do you see yourself in a year?’ He came in at 210, he’s a little taller now — 6-3. What I love about Dane is he does everything right. On the academic report, he’s all A’s and B’s. He don’t miss class, he’s not late to anything, he’s just a pros pro.
“I think some of our other guys can learn from that, because they see how he carries himself. His parents are really good people, his dad played at Kentucky and his brother plays for the Broncos. I really love Dane and he’s really making himself some money.”
Who’s the recruit Vince is talking about?
10/28/2024, 5:32:37 PMVince started the show talking about a big recruit who took an unofficial visit to campus this past weekend. Our Adam Luckett believes that was four-star cornerback Dawayne Galloway. Galloway decommitted from Purdue on October 6. He’s considered the No. 210 overall recruit in the 2025 class in the On3 Industry Ranking and would be a significant add to Kentucky’s class.
“We had a big-time recruit in this weekend,” Marrow said. “We were having dinner and I got a call from Coach Stoops last night about 10. He’s like ‘How are things going? Are things good?’”
“Our guys love playing Tennessee”
10/28/2024, 5:28:32 PMWorried about Kentucky not getting excited for its trip to Knoxville? The Big Dog says the Cats are excited to take on the Volunteers: “We’re gonna be fired up for Halloween, it’ll be a few days after Halloween. We played them two years ago on Halloween and they were pretty jacked down there. … Our guys are looking forward to playing this game.”
Honoring the late Dee Stoops
10/28/2024, 5:12:44 PMVince Marrow opened the show honoring Mark Stoops’ mother as the family lays Dee Stoops to rest on Monday: “I just want to give my condolences again to Coach Stoops and his family. He’s home and it’s tough. If you know his mother, she was a great lady. She would tell him, ‘Hey, get back and start working.’ … She was just a unique woman. Most people would say that about their moms, but she was really unique. She’s a mother to all types of people, all races. She was a really, really good person. Rest in peace to Mrs. Stoops.”
Who’s ready to hear from the Big Dog?
10/28/2024, 5:09:56 PMWe’re trying something a little new here at KSR tonight. Refresh this thread during the show for updates from Vince, who is sitting in for his good friend Mark. If you’d like to listen along, you can hear it on 630 WLAP or iHeart Radio.
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