Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
The Kentucky fans bought whatever Mark Stoops was selling and 51,000 fans attended the Spring game. And the recruiting machine continued in earnest.
As expected, the football team was too thin to fully compete in the SEC and another 2-10 season followed. Instead of panic, there was hope. Kentucky showed a lot more fight against teams like Louisville and Florida. After falling early against South Carolina, Kentucky very nearly pulled off a miracle against Steve Spurrier. Kentucky fans realized what was going on and that Rome was not built in a day. And while 2-10 was disappointing, no one could argue that there was finally a light at the end of the tunnel.
Especially the recruits.
Seeing a fanbase hungry for success and a coach that was able to guide them, recruits found the lure of playing immediately in the SEC too much to turn down. The four stars came en mass from Dorian Baker and Blake Bone to Mikel Horton and Kendall Randolph. Mark Stoops went into the uncharted recruiting areas of Ohio and struck gold. And he was fearless in his recruiting. In an unprecedented move, Stoops went head to head with Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban to keep Drew Barker and Matt Elam in the Bluegrass state.
And a funny thing happened. Instead of being just a random list of recruits waiting to come to Kentucky, these recruits bonded with the current Wildcats via social media and became a family. And even a 2-10 season kept this incoming class together. This Kentucky class went into uncharted territory for Kentucky with a #1 national ranking in June before finishing at #17. A sense of family and commitment was born and another Super Bowl ad aired, featuring these new faces.
And it was only natural that this team adopted the fiery persona of their head coach. and even though most publications tabbed 2015 as the year that Kentucky would make their move, it was apparent from the first game of the year that this season could be special.
And the Wildcats proved made it a reality by going into the traditional house of horrors in Gainesville and very nearly pulled out a win.
This team has built on that with back to back wins over Vanderbilt and South Carolina. All of a sudden, Kentucky football is staring 5-1 in the face and a trip to face a demoralized LSU team in Baton Rogue. It won’t be a shock this time if Kentucky can shock the SEC yet again. THe swagger is there and this team is for real.
Mark Stoops has built it and they have come.
The recruits have come. The fans have come. And the national media has come around and are regarding Kentucky football as a force to be reckoned with in the SEC East. Kentucky add three four star recruits over the weekend and as of this writing, the 2015 class is at #19 in the country between Texas and Oregon per Rivals.
While it’s surreal, no one is shocked anymore.
And the thing is, this is still a very young team. This was not supposed to happen this year yet it has. And the bulk of this team have only played five college games. They will get better. No matter what happens the rest of the season, the page has been turned and a new chapter of Kentucky Wildcats football is being written. And as for the #Whynot slogan, I leave you with this from “Field of Dreams”.