What is Plan B?

A few hours ago, I wrote about what Chris Low at ESPN had in mind when it came to SEC assistant coaches being ready for the next level.

Jan 21, 2012; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks head football coach Bobby Petrino speaks at a press conference before the start of a basketball game between the Michigan Wolverines and Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas defeated Michigan 66-64. Image Credit: Beth Hall-US PRESSWIRE

What Steve Spurrier has done at South Carolina is one reason why so many UK fans seem ready to overlook Bobby Petrino’s elastic history with telling the truth if the Kentucky job were to open after this season.

I’m one of those that realizes there is a segment of the Kentucky Wildcat football fan base that would like to bring former Louisville Cardinals/Atlanta Falcons/Arkansas Razorbacks coach Bobby Petrino to Kentucky. I’m sorry but I will pass on that idea.

It is not just the moral issues I have with what he did at Arkansas but it’s the fact that he was secretly talking with Auburn about their coaching position while coaching the Louisville team. It’s the fact that he up and left the Atlanta Falcons to go back into the college coaching ranks at Arkansas, let alone the moral issues that went down earlier this season.

What Story does get right in his column is that South Carolina was a good spot for Steve Spurrier.

What made the South Carolina job attractive to a Spurrier-level coach is the main thing the Kentucky position lacks: A bountiful in-state recruiting base.

Spurrier has taken his program to another level since 2009 thanks, in large part, to a bevy of home-grown stars — think Stephon Gilmore, Alshon Jeffery, Marcus Lattimore and Jadeveon Clowney, to name four.

That’s the problem. The talent that comes from the Commonwealth and playing for the University of Kentucky is not what it could and should be.

Look at Randall Cobb. Cobb was a 3-star from the state of Tennessee and he turned out to be one of the best standout players for the Wildcats in recent years.

Patrick Towles can be a first round draft pick in time and he is a product of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He was a 4-star recruit.

The top 3 state players in the class of 2013, according to Rivals, are 4-star recruits and 2 of them are going to end up playing out of state. James Quick, a wide reciever at Trinity, did get an offer by the Wildcats. While he’s the 182nd ranked player overall, he is also the 21st nationally ranked wide receiver.

Of the 10 players ranked by Rivals in Kentucky, only Jacob Hyde, a defensive tackle, has committed to play for the Wildcats.