Marquan McCall is one of the players UK was able to go into Michigan and sign. (UK Athletics Photo)
If you think Kentucky has dramatically expanded its recruiting base the last few years under Mark Stoops, you are exactly right.
“When we got here, I didn’t want to expand and go too far away and, how do I put this politely, taking guys that were 14th choice in the SEC, or 12th, 13th, 14th choice—that’s not going to help us build the program,” Stoops said during an appearance on Kentucky Sports Radio. “Guys within a five-hour radius from our campus, six-hour radius, you might get to know better, you know them, you know their coaches, you know the upside that they have, at least the mentality.”
Stoops and his staff went all-in on recruiting Ohio when they got to Kentucky because of their ties to the state and it certainly paid off. Stoops emphasized how much the staff values character in players and making sure they are right for the UK program.
“When I first got here, dipping into the deeper south, you had to make sure you’re getting the right guys and we certainly have. I’m so proud of some of the guys we’ve had that have been great fits for us,” Stoops said. “Now as you prove yourself, as you get better, you have a stronger name in the SEC footprint, you can expand more and more.”
Kentucky has been doing that more and more. Linebacker coach Jon Sumrall has gone into Georgia, Mississippi, and even Alabama to land some top talent. Steve Clinkscale has opened a Michigan pipeline.
“We try to get the guys that fit our program and that are going to represent us the right way and win a bunch of football games. I feel like, as we get better, as we prove ourselves, it gives us an opportunity to expand further.”
And when Kentucky expanded the recruiting base, the doors were open.
“Very receptive, the coaches have been so good to us. We’ve been here for awhile now. Is this nine coming up? It’s been a long time, so they’ve seen us. They’ve seen us knocking on those doors, they’ve seen us calling on these coaches,” Stoops told KSR.
“Even if we don’t get a guy, we try to represent in the right way and get in these schools and build relationships with these coaches, and eventually it pays dividends. It comes from a lot of hard work from a lot of years from a lot of different people.”
