Brad White (behind Mark Stoops) turned down a chance to coach at LSU to stay at Kentucky. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops did not want to lose defensive coordinator Brad White when his name was mentioned with other jobs, including being part of new LSU coach Brian Kelly’s staff.
“We as an organization did not want to lose Brad. He is a quality, quality man and a great football coach. He’s a terrific — he’s a great person, great coach. Very selfless, and he does a terrific job in all areas,” Stoops said.
White came to UK from the NFL and has helped put together solid defenses at UK while producing players capable of playing in the NFL. Stoops said White deserves more overall credit for what he does.
“He recruits at a high level, and maybe not getting all the credit, but recruiting all those defensive guys, evaluating those guys, does a terrific job. Really wants to fly under the radar,” Stoops said.
The UK coach pointed out how White decided he would donate his Citrus Bowl bonus to the tornado relief fund even before he turned down lucrative offers — and didn’t want anyone to know he was doing that.
“I was like, ‘Brad, if that helps motivate people to maybe give some more,’ then he understood that, and he’s like, ‘That’s a good idea,'” Stoops said. “We do that at my fundraiser in the summer, kind of like matching and pushing people and motivating people to give, and that’s the only reason he even brought it up.”
While Stoops is glad to have offensive coordinator Liam Coen and White both back, he wished nothing but the best for former UK co-defensive coordinator Jon Sumrall on his new job as head coach at Troy.
“He recruited all the way through (signing day) and helped us through with some of these guys, including Kobi (Albert) and some guys, and that shows the class that John has and who he is, but he’s moving on to a head coaching job, and we wish him well,” the UK head coach said.
