Vince Marrow has SEC Championship goals at Kentucky

Vince Marrow made the mile-long walk to KSR’s setup at Kentucky Football Media Day, dressed like a million bucks — shirt tucked in and all.

“I’m looking ready for the SEC Championship,” he said before tossing on his headset and talking with the crew. And it wasn’t a slip-up or hot mic moment. That’s exactly how he feels ahead of his 11th season in Lexington.

No more caveats and asterisks regarding the program’s expectations. Marrow wants to make it to Atlanta, representing the SEC East in the conference title game. That’s next for Kentucky.

Getting ready for Atlanta

“That’s our goal, that should be our goal every year,” Marrow told KSR. “Putting limitations on us, sometimes you say, ‘We’re going to win 10 games, but as long as we play good against Georgia.’ People and fans used to say that. Now, I believe our belief from our head man on down is, ‘Hey, get ready to try to go down to Atlanta.'”

It’s a hard schedule — but every schedule is difficult when you’re playing in the SEC. And that’s what Marrow tells recruits when he pitches them on joining the Wildcats in Lexington. Play against the best and beat the best, continue to break down barriers.

“That’s what we tell recruits. ‘Come play against the best guys in the country,'” he said. “But our program now is to a place where we’re not looking to say, ‘OK, we may get a win here or a win there.’ Now, we feel we can beat anybody if we put everything together.

“Special teams, defense, offense — Mark Stoops is the second-longest tenured coach in the SEC. He’s well-groomed. So yeah, we’re ready.”

Taking the next step

What will it take to get there? Marrow understands it starts with fixing the offensive line, inarguably a disaster last season. Kentucky can’t make the jump if play doesn’t improve up front.

“The big elephant in the room is the offensive line,” he said. “We went out and addressed the O-line, got Marques Cox — a true professional. And the thing is, we played against him last year and he played pretty good against us. It’s not gonna be too big for him. Then going to get Courtland Ford, getting Ben Christman and Tanner Bowles. I really like the addition of the offensive linemen we got.”

Those moves will help open the door (and gaps) for Vanderbilt running back transfer Ray Davis in the backfield, who torched the Wildcats last season as an enemy. Now he’s going to be leading the charge for Kentucky this fall.

“Ray is on a mission. I get to see that every day,” Marrow said. “He really kind of reminds me of a combination of Benny (Snell) and Chris (Rodriguez), just how their personalities are. I think Ray is going to show people what type of running back he is.”

And then there’s the straw that will stir the drink, the offense’s most valuable piece. Quarterback Devin Leary will be the difference in Kentucky’s push to Atlanta. Something about him, Marrow says, is just different.

“Watching him behind closed doors, us at practice and during OTAs, he’s really just a professional,” Marrow said. “He does things — the way he throws the ball, distributes the ball. Our receivers, they’ll tell you it just comes out smoother. His resume speaks for itself.”

Vince Marrow and the Kentucky Wildcats have big dreams going into 2023. Title dreams.