Who Could Replace Vince Marrow as the Kentucky Tight Ends Coach

Vince Marrow was much more than a tight ends coach. Mark Stoops will not be able to find a carbon copy on short notice, however, the Kentucky head coach has a few suitable options to manage his tight end room ahead of the 2025 football season.

C.J. Conrad

A four-star talent in the class of 2015, C.J. Conrad was a four-year starter in Lexington and a fan favorite. He tallied 1,015 yards and 12 touchdown receptions during his time in a Kentucky uniform, most notably the walk-off, game-winner with zeroes on the clock at Missouri that set up a date with Georgia for the SEC East Title.

Following his playing career, Conrad didn’t go far. An undiagnosed heart condition was discovered at the NFL Combine, derailing his professional opportunities. He returned to Lexington and joined Mark Stoops’ staff, serving as a graduate assistant with Marrow’s tight ends. In his third and final year, he had a quality control role.

Conrad took a job as the tight ends coach at Eastern Kentucky in 2023. Last year, he moved up to the MAC at Kent State. While it’s on short notice, if he gets the call from Mark Stoops, he’ll probably take it and run to Lexington. Kent State is currently led by an interim head coach, Mark Carney, after Kenni Burns was fired in April.

Two Kentucky Quality Control Options

Can Mike Hartline coach tight ends? I know he can coach quarterbacks. The last Kentucky quarterback to throw for 3,000 yards in a season returned to the program this spring as a quality control assistant. He’s been in the coaching ranks since 2019, calling plays at the Division II level and most recently serving as an offensive analyst at Coastal Carolina.

The former Kentucky Wildcat doesn’t have as much experience as the other quality control hire. Kevin Barbay was the offensive coordinator at Houston in 2024 and at Mississippi State the previous year. A veteran with nearly two decades of coaching experience, Barbay rose to prominence coaching alongside former Florida coach Jim McElwain. While most of his time has been with quarterbacks and qide receivers, his experience may have to suffice in a pinch.

Terrible Timing

There have been numerous occasions where timing has been terrible. Liam Coen was hired by the Rams long after the college coaching carousel quit spinning. That feels like peanuts compared to this. Kentucky is in the middle of the biggest recruiting month of the year without its top recruiter. Stoops can find someone suitable to coach the tight end room this fall, but it will almost certainly feel like a short-term solution to a much bigger long-term problem.