Jared Casey, left, joked with UK recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow at UK's Media Day in August. Casey is transferring but will play for UK in the Citrus Bowl. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky has 10 players in the transfer portal — which is not an unusual number for a college football team in today’s world. However, don’t be surprised to see several of those players playing for the Cats Saturday in the Citrus Bowl against Iowa in Orlando.
On his weekly radio show Monday, UK coach Mark Stoops said players in the transfer portal were allowed to play in the bowl game and that is fine with him.
“I wanted it that way. Those are conversations nowadays (about transferring). A lot of times it is mutual and we are just honest with kids and tell them directly where they are at in our program,” the UK head coach told UK Radio Network play-by-play announcer Tom Leach on the weekly radio show.
“There’s no reason for them not to come to the bowl game. They have helped us get here. They have worked extremely hard for this entire year and all the years they have been here.
“They would not be a player on our team if they had not done everything we had asked them to do.”
What a great attitude for a coach to have and truly show that he is a players’ first coach. No reason to hold a grudge when a player leaves because he knows the team has better talent ahead of him.
I immediately found four players — linebacker Jared Casey, defensive lineman Isaiah Gibson, running back Travis Tisdale, and outside linebacker Marquez Bembry — listed on the Citrus Bowl roster. All are transferring but all will provide needed backup relief against Iowa on Saturday.
‘They (the transfers) are great young men. A lot of time it is mutual understanding that there is a better place, or place where they can get more playing time and have an impact,” Stoops said.
“That is an individual choice. Sometimes they will stay here in a backup role or they may transfer somewhere else.”
Stoops has built a culture where key players have not opted out of bowl games to protect their future draft status. Now he has players knowing they are transferring who still want to play in the bowl game before leaving UK.
“That is how it is here. We really try hard to treat all our players right. I know our players treat us right in return by working hard and representing our university the best they can. It is not perfect but it is a very good relationship,” Stoops said.
“I know how hard our players work their whole life to be in the position where they are now. We try to enjoy ourselves (at the bowl) but also try to win. They (players) deserve some of the things they get (at bowl games).
“We have been a lot better than most (teams at having players play in bowl games) and I think it is because of the way we treat each other throughout the entire year.”
5 Responses
That says a lot about who Mark Stoops is, not just as a coach but a man. Kudos Coach Stoops!
Very true Karen
I agree with both of you about the character of Coach Stoops, and it is particularly apparent in his relationship with his players, all of his players, not just some.
His "players first" emphasis is entirely different from another coach’s "players first" approach in that there can be no question that Coach Stoops’ job one is to build and protect this program, and he is accomplishing that goal by treating all of his players with the utmost respect, even those that the coach Stoops’ assessment of " … where they are at in our program …" may mean a player should search for other alternatives for continuing his football career. This is truly treating all of his players as a "first" priority, not just those that he believes are destined to play football on Sundays while letting those not so blessed rot at the end of a bench.
I really liked this article! But mainly I just wanted to say that I have really enjoyed Larry’s articles throughout the years and wish him the best.
Thank you Bob. Means a lot … and I will send you Beth Mann’s address to email her to make sure the boss sees this (ha ha)