New Years Resolutions for Kentucky Wildcat Football
By Paul Jordan
Dec 2, 2012; Lexington , KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops spoke to reporters during a press conference at the Nutter Field House. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
It is January 1 and were all planning a resolutions for the new year. Some of us will try to lose weight, someone try to quit smoking, some will try to get into or out of a relationship, and someone just try to be happier people. Here are some New Year’s resolutions for the Kentucky football team, staff, etc.
Mark Stoops: Build the program. Kentucky fans expectations of gotten to a very low point, so I shouldn’t be too hard to put your stamp on this university. As long as there’s not a total meltdown or NCAA sanctions, you’re likely going to get four or five years to really get things going. Do what you need to do; recruit, coach, and still your schemes and build Kentucky into a winning program.
PR department: It’s time to get the UK football team out there. The spring game needs to be publicized and fans don’t need to have to search Internet message boards to find out the date and time. It’s time for the tacky “Operation Win” slogans to go away as well. Market and promote Kentucky football the way it should be… like an SEC team.
Athletic director: Facilitate greatness. Hiring Mark stoops was just the injection of adrenaline that the program needed. Now it’s time to make sure that he has all the resources he needs to be successful. A recruiting room, staff salaries, a private jet, anything the man wants or needs to make the program successful should be given to him and it’s the AD’s job to make sure he gets them.
Maxwell Smith: don’t get injured.
Patrick Towles: don’t get injured.
Josh Clemons: don’t get injured.
Secondary: Grow up and grow up fast. The SEC offenses are only getting more explosive and losing Neloms, Benton, ad Rice leaves junior reserve cornerback Eric Simmons as the oldest member of the defensive backfield.
Neal Brown: create an exciting offense for fans to get behind. You don’t need a traditional air raid and you don’t have to score 70 points a game either. Give people something to come and watch, because the fans come to watch a show.
Staff: Recruit against the big guns. An offer from Alabama, Florida, or Georgia doesn’t mean you back off. There is an abundance of SEC playing time to sell on this team.
D.J. Elliott: Develop an SEC defense. Steve Brown and Rick Minter have provided the blueprints on how NOT to do things, so recruit and teach the players to come out and not get embarrassed the way they did the last time UK had a high-octane offense.
Receivers: Grow up fast. Junior Demarco Robinson will be the most experienced member of the receiving corps. Outside of him, all other players will be either freshmen or sophomores. Coach Brown’s offense throws the ball a lot, so it’s time for some of the young players to step up and become the playmakers can’t expect them to be.
Fans: Support the team. Rebuilding isn’t easy and doesn’t come without some hiccups. Give Stoops time to establish his team and plans and pack Commonwealth.