You know things are bad when players are decommitting faster than the coaching staff can print the scholarship papers.
On Black Friday, Kentucky football fans got a rare piece of good news: Da’Mare Williams, a top-50 JUCO recruit and physical safety, committed to the Wildcats. It was exactly the kind of "immediate help" commitment the secondary desperately needed after getting torched all season.
Two days later and less than 24 hours after Kentucky was humiliated 41-0 by Louisville, Williams is gone.
In a move that screams "panic," Williams announced his decommitment on Sunday, leaving the Wildcats with just 14 commits in the 2026 class.
First I want to thank the University of Kentucky coaching staff for believing in me and giving me an opportunity to be part of their program. I have nothing but respect for them. After talking with my family and taking time to reflect on what’s best for my future I have decided…
— Da’Mare Williams 6’3 205 (@DaMareWilliams3) November 30, 2025
The timeline tells the story
Recruiting is a fickle game, but a 48-hour flip is rare.
Williams committed on Friday. On Saturday, he watched Kentucky get shut out by its arch-rival in a game where the team looked unprepared, uninspired, and completely broken. By Sunday afternoon, he had decided his "long-term goals" didn't align with whatever he saw on that field.
You don't need to be an insider to connect the dots. Williams saw a sinking ship and grabbed a life raft before he even got on board.
Is this a sign Mark Stoops is out?
Mark Stoops has been defiant, claiming there is a "zero percent chance" he walks away. He is leaning on his $37 million buyout as a shield.
But recruits talk. They talk to assistants, they talk to other players, and they read the writing on the wall.
When a recruit commits and then immediately sprints in the other direction after two days, it signals one of two things:
- Total instability: The staff couldn't give him assurances that they would be there in December.
- Total apathy: The product on the field was so toxic that playing time in the SEC wasn't enough to keep him.
Whether Stoops leaves voluntarily, gets fired, or forces a messy stalemate, the damage is already being done.
Recruits are fleeing. The roster is thinning. And the "stability" that Stoops has preached for a decade has evaporated. Da'Mare Williams might just be a JUCO safety, but his exit is a canary in the coal mine.
If Mark Stoops is staying, he is staying to coach a ghost town. Micah 7:7.