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Posted by eleem (Member # 884) on 02-22-2016, 07:56 PM:

Mark Stoops’ has apparently found his new secondary coach. News began to surface on Sunday that Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator Steven Clinkscale would be moving an hour or so south to the Nutter Center. Clinkscale makes three former Bearcat coordinators of some nature to make the transition from Tommy Tubberville to Mark Stoops’ coaching staff. There are more connections. Coach Clinkscale is reportedly Vince Marrow’s cousin and hails from Youngstown, Ohio. Intended circumstance or simply coincidental? In an initial tweet, I indicated that the hire was interesting to say the least. Of all the names that had surfaced, Clinkscale wasn’t mentioned. That was intentional. Stoops played this hire close to his vest, as he should have. As I like to say, he played chess in the midst of checker boards.

“Sources” leaked non-Clinkscale names prior to Sunday’s news. To be honest, none of the proposed coaches moved the needle. Still, I fixated on the University of Cincinnati and Youngstown/Marrow connection more so than the career of Steven Clinkscale. Research ensued. The more I read, the more impressed and intrigued I became. Yet, two questions remained, why Kentucky, why now?

Cincinnati Head Coach Tommy Tubberville promoted Clinkscale from cornerback coach to defensive coordinator on January 22. One month later, Clinkscale apparently accepted a position at Kentucky. Exactly what the position will be titled is yet to be seen. Interesting. Yes, aforementioned Stoops/Marrow and Clinkscale commonalities appear to be outlying influences, but his move tells me that Clinkscale has complete buy-in with the future of Kentucky Football. Why else would a first time defensive coordinator move on so quickly? Likely, financially UK can and will pay more money which is a story within itself.

Clinkscale stared his coaching career at his alma mater, Ashland University. Eight years later, Western Carolina then Toledo, Illinois, UC, to Kentucky. Upward trajectory and accomplishments accompanied him along his journey. Both on the field and on the recruiting trail, he left programs in better condition than when he arrived.

As a cornerback’s coach, Clinkscale’s time at Toledo and Illinois saw the most impactful contributions. Toledo’s interception total jumped to 20 as forced turnovers nearly doubled. While in Champagne, similar results produced. Another positive attribute for the 38-year-old coach is his experience as a special team’s coordinator. Again, while at Toledo, Clinkscale developed Eric Page into an All American returner while both his kickoff and punt return teams finished the season ranked in the top 20 nationally.

In recruiting circles, Clinkscale is known as a closer and

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