12/2/2023 0 Comments Kentucky football depth chart 2022![]() ![]() ![]() 1 overall like Tim did, but I feel like you’re going to hear his name very, very early on Day 1 next year. ![]() ![]() It’s been a long time since Kentucky had a quarterback like that, going back to Tim Couch (in 1998). “I’ve never been in this position before, where you have a guy like Will and the talent he has at quarterback. Will Levis’ 24 touchdown passes last season were the most by a Kentucky quarterback since 2007. Afterward, Georgia’s coaches and players talked about how unpleasant that game was in an otherwise dominant season. Stoops’ team was just two plays - a failure to fall on a fumble (thinking it was an incomplete pass) and a dropped touchdown pass - from being down 17-14 in the fourth quarter. Thing is, that’s about as well as anyone played the eventual national champion, and it was really closer than the score indicated. Kentucky started 6-0 last season, beating Florida and clobbering LSU in the process, before losing 30-13 in Athens. The Cats have closed the gap on everyone in the division except the Bulldogs, who’ve turned into Alabama of the East. But now this year, we’re worried about how do we get another game here, another game there, and keep climbing?” A game here, a game there, it could’ve been even more special. Last year, I thought going into the season we’d made some adjustments that would help reboot us and take us to a different level, and that’s what happened. It makes for boring quotes, but this is true: We can’t worry about them we keep our heads down, grind it out and make ourselves a little better every year. We have great respect for Georgia and (head coach) Kirby (Smart) and what they’re doing, but it’s not like we’re just sitting here watching them and giving up. Without a doubt, that’s absolutely our goal. “We’ve not been able to knock that door down, but that’s what we’re chasing. “We’ve been knocking on the door of the East for a while,” Stoops says. But the next step, actually winning the division and getting to Atlanta for the conference championship game for the first time, is the hardest to make. Once a perennial doormat in the SEC, Kentucky has finished second in the East twice, third once and no worse than fourth since 2015. Stoops has led the Cats to six straight bowl games and four consecutive bowl victories, both school records. Kentucky went four decades between 10-win seasons, but just delivered its second in the last four years, both capped by Citrus Bowl victories over ranked Big Ten teams. In his last three non-pandemic seasons, Stoops is 28-11. All three of his coordinators (offense, defense, recruiting) average at least a million a year on their new deals.įor a program that averaged 4.7 wins from 1985-2015 and 7.8 wins since, that’s money well spent. His latest contract extension - which bumps his annual pay by $250,000 each season until he hits $8 million in 2027 - guarantees a salary pool for his 10 full-time assistants of at least $6.5 million. Since his arrival, there’s been a major stadium renovation, a glittering new practice facility and, most recently, plans to address Stoops’ demand for a better indoor practice space. Stoops has Kentucky spending like it is finally serious about competing at the highest level. The clearest signs that you’ve become a football school are the dollar signs. ![]()
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