Mark Stoops confident Kentucky will overcome off-the-field 'hiccups'

Multiple off-the-field incidents have forced Mark Stoops to answer questions about the culture of his Kentucky football program. Despite the black eyes to the program’s reputation, Stoops believes he has fantastic team prepared for his ninth season as head coach.

This offseason there have been three separate incidents between members of the Kentucky football team and law enforcement. On Thursday six Wildcats were charged with first degree burglary stemming from an altercation at a fraternity party in March. The players are currently being withheld from practice, but Stoops does not believe that will be the case for long.

“I know there’s a few things going on out there right now that we will get straight, I promise ya. I love this team. I love these players. None of them are perfect. That’s for sure. We don’t ever pretend to be, but you’re going to love this team,” Stoops told alumni gathered at the Louisville Kickoff Luncheon.

“This is a fantastic group. There are a couple of hiccups that are in the road right now, but I anticipate we’ll get through those just fine and get everybody back on the football field playing.”

The six players in question were previously sidelined for 11 weeks this spring as UK’s student conduct committee investigated and reviewed the events.

What We Know from March 6

Last Thursday six Kentucky football players — RJ Adams, JuTahn McClain, Joel Williams, Andru Phillips, Earnest Sanders and Vito Tisdale — were charged with first degree burglary. According to the charging documents, three players were asked to leave a party, then returned with three others to force their way into the private home. Tisdale was also charged with wanton endangerment for allegedly brandishing a firearm.

The fraternity that hosted the party was placed on probation. Students who purportedly attended the party spoke anonymously to WDRB, sharing graphic details of the incident. All six players pleaded not guilty during arraignment on Friday. According to the Associated Press, Fayette County District Judge Joseph T. Bouvier, the father of former UK wide receiver David Bouvier, ordered the players to stay away from the victims and the site where the incident took place before scheduling a preliminary hearing for Wednesday.

Mark Stoops spoke at length about the unfolding situation with the media Saturday morning.

“Anytime there’s situations like that, we take it very serious and we address it and we look at it. We did. Is there new information that we don’t know about? I’m not sure. That’s what we have to look at, but they deserve an opportunity to defend themselves. We’ll let that process play out.”