Kentucky Football: Grading Stoops, the players what letter do they get?

2020 was a tough season, but it ended perfectly.

During the course of 2020, there were several times many believed something was going on internally with the team. Players were using social media as an outlet to vent frustration, and the play on the field at times was also frustrating. Whatever was going on, the players righted the ship and finished strong with a huge Gator Bowl win for the program.

I fully believe the product on the field this year was a much better product than Kentucky’s 5-6 record. I think the Gator Bowl was very evident of that. Had Kentucky played its normal schedule and had the 4 non-conference games to help work out some kinks, Kentucky likely would’ve finished somewhere between 7-5 and 9-3 which obviously would’ve warranted an A+ grade.

There were times this season that the team played like a team graded with a D or F. Like the Alabama blowout in Tuscaloosa or the second-half collapse in Gainesville against Florida. Thankfully the players never gave up, and the players and fans were rewarded.

The win in Knoxville will be one Kentucky fans remember for a while. More smoking gun proof that the state of the Kentucky Football program is in much better shape than our disliked neighbors to the south.

When many players could’ve opted out because of the pandemic, or opted to not play in the bowl game for personal reasons involving their futures they came together as a group and bought in. Every player voted to play and was on the sideline on January 2. Something that Mark Stoops has been able to do better than anybody at Kentucky in the modern era. Get guys to buy into the program, and trust him.

If a quarterback emerges as the leader this summer, and the players can get up to speed quickly on  Coen’s new system I think 2021 can be a magical season for Kentucky. A season perhaps fans may finally be able to make the trip to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game, I mean why not us?