Freshman receiver Barion Brown could be a player that a lot of other schools would like to use NIL deals to entice him to transfer. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops and recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow constantly are recruiting players to bring to play for UK. However, with the transfer portal and NIL, Stoops and Marrow also have to re-recruit players already on the team.
Speculation has already started that some of Kentucky’s star freshmen — receivers Barion Brown and Dane Key, defensive lineman Deone Walker, defensive back Alex Afari, linebacker Keaten Wade and quarterback Destin Wade — could be targeted by other schools offering more NIL money.
Stoops hopes the “culture” at Kentucky matters when it comes to players contemplating a transfer.
“In this day and age, it is inevitable that we are going to have turnover and going to have guys that enter the transfer portal. There’s going to be guys that we hopefully add. It just happens, it’s part of this new world, sometimes it’s for the better and sometimes it’s not,” Stoops said.
“As coaches, we open ourselves up, we just want to continue to help people grow. Sometimes it is absolutely essential, it’s the right thing for both places. It’s the right thing for a player and the right thing for the program.”
“Other times there’s young men that you say, ‘Let me help continue to help develop you mentally, physically’ and give them the tough love that sometimes we all need.”
However, Kentucky obviously needs more than tough love after the loss to Vanderbilt and that is a game that not only could negatively impact 2023 recruiting but also impact who stays and who goes on the current roster once the season ends.
Kentucky hosts No. 1 Georgia today and Stoops said he had “no reason” to think his team would not bounce back from the Vandy loss.
“I think the locker room in there was — a lot of guys hurting in there. Emotions run deep. Disappointing for everybody. It’s different. Let’s just be honest, it’s just different now with the way — with the portal and just different things. It’s different,” Stoops said after the Vanderbilt loss.
“You have to continue to grind and build your culture, your team, your mentality, and I’m not doing a good enough job with it right now. I told the team that. I can’t ask them to — before they blame or talk amongst groups and things like that to take a good look at themselves and make sure they’re doing things, I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t do that myself, and the staff.”
“So we all have to do that, and it starts with you individually and collectively. We got to find some answers.
