UK Fans of the Day want Hump Day Kentucky Football Notes

Hello, friends. It’s not Jim Nantz in the springtime. It’s Nick Roush writing to you only two weeks away from the start of the Early Signing Period. To say things are heating up around the Kentucky football program would be an understatement.

Rather than diving into all of the nitty-gritty details that we’re discussing on KSBoard (check it out for $1), allow me to hit a few high points and some miscellaneous other topics around Big Blue Nation.

Peculiar Timing for Two Kentucky Assistants

If you blinked, you may have missed it. Reports tied Vince Marrow to the vacant head coaching position at Southern Miss. Matt Jones quickly shared that the Kentucky associate head coach declined continuing conversations with the school.

Even though it was a fleeting moment, one that ultimately ended without much drama, it’s noteworthy because of the timing. Timing is everything.

This is not the first time Vince Marrow’s name has been thrown out for a job at another school. This is only the second time we’ve heard Brad White mentioned as a candidate at another school. That happened a week ago when he was connected to Florida State’s defensive coordinator vacancy.

Will the Seminoles have enough to convince White to move away from Lexington after seven seasons? They might, but if they don’t, we won’t know for a couple of weeks.

What we know right now is that the longest-tenured, highest-paid, and most frontward-facing assistants on Mark Stoops’ staff have put their names into the mix on the coaching carousel. That’s not by accident. It’s a sign of chaos to come.

Liam Coen Might be an NFL Head Coach in 2025

Speaking of Kentucky assistants on the move, his back-and-forth may not have benefitted Big Blue Nation, but Liam Coen might have perfectly parlayed his moves into an NFL head coaching gig.

In his first year as a play-caller in the NFL, the Bucs are scoring points even when Baker Mayfield doesn’t have any wide receivers to throw to. Before the coaching carousel gets busy in January, the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero shared a list of names you’ll hear in the mix. Coen will almost certainly get a few interviews for head coaching vacancies this spring.

A former UMass quarterback who still holds school passing records, Coen spent a season in the arena league before going into coaching, where his résumé in recent years has been unique. He had two stints each with the Rams (2018-20, 2022) and the University of Kentucky (2021, 2023) before replacing Panthers head coach Dave Canales as Tampa Bay’s OC this past offseason. The Buccaneers’ offense has improved statistically, ranking fifth in scoring (27.9 points per game) despite Tampa’s ongoing four-game losing streak amidst injuries to its top receivers. Coen has the demeanor and personality for a head job. He may get a look.

Tom Peliessero

Praise for a Kentucky QB

Cutter Boley was the best true freshman quarterback in all of college football last week. Don’t take it from me. That’s according to Pro Football Focus, who gave the former four-star talent a grade of 90.0 for his performance against Murray State. Leading the Wildcats for the entire second half, Boley completed 10-14 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns, good enough for a QB rating of 196.6 and a QBR of 82.7 (on a scale up to 100).

He wasn’t the only Kentucky Wildcat to receive a hat tip from PFF. Anthony Brown-Stephens was the fourth-highest-graded wide receiver in the country after grabbing a pair of touchdowns from Boley.

Welcome Home, Luke Fortner

For years, Luke Fortner was teased as the old man by his Kentucky football teammates. The ridicule was relentless. Finally, he took matters into his own hands by putting a razor in them. The former Kentucky Wildcat is a member of Big Bald Nation. Welcome Home.

#NFLCats 😼 pic.twitter.com/yoFGlsOMOa

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) November 19, 2024

As bad as that result was for the Jags, what a quartet of former Cats. That’s a crew I’d go to war with seven days a week.