Mark Stoops "as excited as I've ever been" ahead of 10th season at Kentucky

After Mark Stoops interviewed for the job at Kentucky, he famously sent Mitch Barnhart a text saying, “I’ve got G and I’m sitting on O. Let’s go!” Ahead of his tenth spring game and season in Lexington, the man who once uttered “We’re just getting started, bro” is more fired up than ever about Kentucky Football’s future.

“I can definitely use it again,” Stoops said on KSR of his “just getting started” catchphrase. “It’s a new decade, right? I feel like I’m hitting the reset button. I’m telling you, I’m as excited as I’ve ever been. I may say that about every other year, but it’s true. I’m really fired up about where we’re at and where we’re going.”

“Big-time quarterback” Will Levis is a “big deal”

Kentucky is coming off the second ten-win season of Stoops’ tenure. Even though the Cats lost some big names to the NFL Draft like Wan’Dale Robinson, Darian Kinnard, and Josh Paschal, they return some big names too, most notably quarterback Will Levis. The simple fact that Kentucky doesn’t have a quarterback competition right now is a blessing, but when you add in Levis’ strength, skill, and confidence, it’s no wonder Stoops is feeling good.

“Having a quarterback like Will returning with the experience he has is a big deal. Obviously, you’ve got to have a great team and there’s no one player that’s going to make a team in college football. You’ve got to have a great group of guys and a lot of people but I think it’s fair to say when you have a big-time trigger guy, big-time quarterback, that helps a lot of people around you get better. That’s certainly a big deal for us.”

Also a big deal: the upcoming renovations to the Nutter Fieldhouse, which Stoops has worked into almost every interview he’s done over the past few years — including this one.

“Really excited,” Stoops said of his mindset. “Really couldn’t be going any better. Obviously, we want to win more games, we want to recruit players but I just feel really good. I feel like there’s great support. We’ve got some projects going that we need to get finished off and I greatly appreciate everybody working with me to get these things done but the fanbase has been fantastic.”

New coaches notice the good vibes

Three new coaches joined Kentucky’s staff over the offseason: offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello, offensive line coach Zach Yenser, and inside linebacker coach Mike Stoops. All three have decades of experience but noticed there was something different about this team the minute they stepped on campus.

“I love our staff. I absolutely love coming to work every day and I love our team. And that’s the big thing. People are probably like, really? Our coaches, the new coaches that come in here, they tell me and they talk about it often. They’re like, ‘Wow. This is really awesome.’ People feel it. Us coaches, we’ve been involved in a lot of different teams and different organizations. When they come in and they’re like, man, ‘You’ve got really good people, really good players that are enjoyable to work with every day,’ you have no idea what an impact that makes because we spent too much time [building this].”

Ten years in, you can’t blame Stoops for pausing to reflect on just how far the program has come since he took over after the 2012 season. Even with all the new challenges the sport presents, he’s still got a G and sitting on an O, let’s go.

“I’m not crying the blues but I just met with the color people that are doing our spring game tomorrow and it’s interesting. I feel like I’m busier than I’ve ever been. The way things are right now with the portal, with name, image, likeness, with recruiting, I do not even feel like we’ve had an offseason yet. Hopefully, I’ll feel that way but it’s so much fun and it’s exciting and it’s nonstop. It’s full-tilt right now. And you know what? I guess that keeps me young. It’s been fun and it’s a big challenge but it’s also very exciting.”