catmandoo
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Member # 1284
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posted 03-09-2016 12:07 PM
Spring practice is important for Kentucky, maybe even more so than usual. This is Mark Stoops’ fourth spring here and the UK coach doesn’t have to go to Florida to feel the heat. He’s 13-24 overall as the UK coach, including just 4-20 in the SEC. After strong starts the last two seasons, his Cats have faded fast, the perception of progress replaced by the disappointment of multiple defeats.
“There’s no denying it’s a very important spring for many reasons,” the coach said Tuesday after his team’s first set of drills.
Stoops knows football. No one doubts that. The people who follow such things, insist he has recruited better than any previous UK coach in recent memory. But Kentucky is a hard job. And for whatever reason, the task appeared to get a little bit away from him over the last half of last season. Things were running in reverse.
So changes were made. Out went one-year offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson and receivers coach Tommy Mainord. Running backs coach Chad Scott departed for North Carolina. In came the ex-Cincinnati tandem of offensive coordinator Eddie Gran and quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw. Lamar Thomas, former Miami and NFL wide receiver, left Louisville to join Stoops’ staff.
Drew Barker is now the heavy favorite to be the starting quarterback. Linebacker and defensive leader Josh Forrest has graduated. The team’s best defensive linemen, Melvin Lewis and C.J. Johnson, are prepping for the NFL Draft. Jason Hatcher, who would have been the team’s best defensive end/outside linebacker, is no longer on the squad.
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http://www.ukfightsong.com/
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