Kentucky Wildcats Football: Mark Stoops Expanding “La Familia”

Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports

When John Calipari came to Kentucky to take over the head coaching position, he did something somewhat revolutionary for a new coach. He reached out to former players from all generations, letting them know that they were welcome to come back any time. He took this a step farther a few years back, setting up scrimmages for his current UK team to face former UK players and other players he had coaches at previous stops that are now in the NBA. This gave the team and former player a sense of family that many schools do not have. Often times, a player is gone once they move on from the program. This is not the case at Kentucky. Players are welcomed back often. Whether it be for the ‘Y’ at a game or for a scrimmage against current players, these former players have no doubt that they are part of the family, or “La Familia” as Calipari likes to call it.

Well it now appears the Mark Stoops is taking a page from good ole Calipari. Former Kentucky Wildcat and current Atlanta Falcon Center Matt Smith tweeted out a picture of some apparel and a hand-written note that current head coach Mark Stoops sent to him. This seems like the next logical step in keeping the ever growing momentum going. Look at what Stoops and company has done already in the short amount of time. Closing out the 2013 recruiting class with a flurry of good prospects, most of whom national analysts had said the Cats had no chance at getting. Then came the spring game and the record attendance of over 50,000 people. This is more fans that were at most games last season, a sad reality of how far the program had fallen since the retirement of Rich Brooks. Then came the flurry of top 2014 recruits that have committed to UK, giving them a top five class at this point in the cycle.

Through this, it is evident that Mark Stoops is changing the culture of Kentucky Football to something that is generally reserved for basketball alone in this great state. The fan support is almost overwhelming, as they are showing up anywhere and everywhere the team is at. Recruits are obviously starting to notice, which is evident by the fact that Stoops has gotten more 4* prospects to commit in his nine months on the job than Joker got in his three years as head coach. The only thing missing from the crazy culture change is getting former player involved. With this most recent development, it appears the Stoops is now jumping at the chance to get them involved as well. One would have to think that Matt Smith is not the only one receiving these special gifts and notes. Let’s all hope that former UK greats like Randall Cobb, Stevie Johnson, Jacob Tamme, Larry Warford, and many more are receiving them as well. Getting these guys on board could be another huge tool in recruiting, as there are no better spokesmen for the program than a player sent to the NFL!