Kentucky Football: Ranking the Top 5 recruiting wins in the Mark Stoops era

Mark Stoops and staff have done an incredible job at pulling great talent to Lexington. The Kentucky Football program was in a dark place before Mark Stoops. Now, the Wildcats are on their way up.

Mark Stoops and recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow have done their work to get some top level recruits to Kentucky. The Kentucky Football program isn’t known as a national powerhouse like other surrounding schools. In the SEC, Alabama, Florida, Auburn, LSU, and Georgia reign supreme on a consistent basis. When Kentucky has to recruit players that these schools are recruiting, there isn’t a lot of leverage to provide from a Kentucky standpoint. Also, the Kentucky football staff has to fight geography for top recruits. Louisville, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Tennessee are also constant competition for local talent.

The state of Ohio is a recruiting hotbed for Kentucky coaches. Unfortunately, Urban Meyer and the Ohio State Buckeyes also scavenge that area for top recruits. Additionally, Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines dive south for recruits as well. The same goes for Michigan State. Mark Stoops has won some recruiting battles with some of the top schools in the world of college football. Here are the top five recruiting victories in the Mark Stoops Era.