Youngstown State a unique hometown opponent for Mark Stoops

Mark Stoops says growing up in Youngstown, Ohio, shaped who he is today. (Vicky Graff Photo)

For most Kentucky football fans, Saturday’s game against Youngstown State is being counted on not only as a win, but an easy win.

Obviously coach Mark Stoops would never say that or feel that way, especially this week with his connections to hometown Youngstown State.

“They have won a lot of national championships, that I have followed very closely. Obviously, during the (Jim) Tressel years and how good coach Tressel did, and my uncle Bob (Stoops) being a long-time assistant coach there and winning many national championships with coach Tressel,” Mark Stoops said.

“It’s a program that I have a lot of respect for and looking forward to the opportunity to compete against them here this Saturday.”

Stoops, 55, was born in Youngstown and his parents, Evelyn and Ron, had five other children. He attended Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown — the same school UK associate coach Vince Marrow and defensive backs coach Frank Buffano attended. Stoops’ brother, Mike, is also on the UK coaching staff now along with former UK player Courtney Love, who is also from  Youngstown.

Almost everyone in Youngstown knows the success the Stoops brothers had as collegiate coaches and most know about Marrow, who joked that he had to “buy a lot of groceries and Mark does, too” because of all the friends they will have in town for Saturday’s game.  

“I’ll have a lot of folks come in early, which is Thursday night, and get to spend some time and relax a bit Thursday and Friday get back into getting ready for the game and the same with Saturday,” Stoops said. “It’s an early game so I won’t see as many, like sometimes at a night game there’s a lot of people drifting in and out and I can’t get distracted like that, it does pull you away. But through the years I’ve learned how to manage that and that’ll be much the same here this week.”

Stoops admitted growing up in Youngstown shaped his identity along with anyone else who grew up there.

“It’s a very unique place, great pride coming from that area, and a toughness, it’s the rust belt, blue-collar, steel-mill town, very fortunate to grow up there. It was a fantastic place. Football was extremely important, sports were important and competitive,” Stoops said.

“Fortunately, my father was a high school coach and I got to spend time watching him and the way he influenced others. Coaching at such a great school, Cardinal Mooney. It was a blessing, very tough and very difficult. I had no idea what I had and didn’t have. It was just a great place to grow up and I still have many close friends to this day.”

Stoops knows Youngstown State “will not be intimidated” playing No. 9 Kentucky and “they’re coming in to beat us” Saturday. Stoops insists he’s looking forward to the matchup.

“It’s unique, it’s different. However, every situation, you hear me talk about it every week, I talk to my team about it. The situation is what it is. Last week, we were talking about going on the road, hostile environment, first SEC game. This is a new scenario,” Stoops said.