Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is the home of the Wildcats. Six thirty w
l A. P. Good Morning, Welcome in Stockyards, Bake Sunday
morning sports Talk. I'm Anthony White, along with Jack Pilgrim
of KSR and Larry Vaught on this snowy Sunday morning,
(00:22):
coming to you from Clark's Main Street Market Studios and
beautiful downtown Lexington, Kentucky. Good morning, Larry Vaught. How are
you doing? Happy Thanksgiving? Hopefully?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:35):
It was.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
It was good or good as it could be over
the weekend, and a little cold for my blood this morning.
But I guess we're getting used to it because I's
going to stay that way. And then there's a few
other things that didn't go great yesterday. But it is
what it is.
Speaker 5 (00:52):
And I came from up north, Larry Vault. I came
from Ohio. That's where we played phone tag all week.
I was back home.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
I figured that, Yeah, and.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
The weather's worse here than it is up north, believe
it or not.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
I actually noticed that because I looked the sievers. He changed,
you might get the snow. Then I thought, well, maybe Anthony,
this won't come back because it's arbor where he is.
Speaker 5 (01:14):
Jack Pilgrim ironically Jack Pilgrim having Thanksgiving? How was your Thanksgiving?
And how was your weekend?
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Oh, it was the best, and it was even better
waking up this morning to snow on the ground on
December first. It's a beautiful time. Love Thanksgiving, love being
able to hang out with family. Got another one this afternoon, actually,
so it's a good good time. I know the Pilgrim
jokes just right themselves. So yes, it was a very
very enjoyable Thanksgiving for the Pilgrim household.
Speaker 5 (01:46):
Well, thank you. This morning, we have a lot to
talk about. Our volleyball team has captured an eighth SEC championship,
even with outright Larry Vaught, right outright champion SEC championship,
even with Texas in the conference.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
If you are very very impressive with the start that
UK got off to this season, makes it even more impressive.
They had some injury issues they they've had to battle
and they came through and Skinner's winners just kept kept
doing it and probably I think their best title that
they've won under him, considered all the adversity that they
had to deal with, and he's clearly the SEC coach
(02:26):
of the Year, and hopefully that tonight they'll find out
they're going to get the hosts the first two rounds
of the NCAA Tournament at Morial Coliseum, and hopefully they
can keep advancing.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
Kenny Brooks is still undefeated. Georgia Amore is still playing
forty minutes a game. Our men's basketball team is still undefeated.
Eight people in double digits. But what everybody tuned in
for Larry Jack Pilgrim. Everybody tuned into the conclusion of
our football season with our nine million dollar coach, uh
(02:59):
with the forty one to fourteen loss to rival Louisville
down the street. That is going to be the topic
of the conversation, and we led the conversation off with volleyball,
which we would have Em mcgroms joining us at ten
thirty and the big Dog would join us at eleven am,
(03:20):
so he ain't ducking the dodge in any questions. We're
gonna discuss this probably for three hours, so Jack Pig
can put your football hat on, tuck your basket because
after this, we got all basketball the rest of the year.
But everybody's worried about the state of our football team.
I was quite disappointed. My prediction from last week was
way off. But these guys are human beings. They did
(03:43):
not play as well as I thought. I'm not sure
if they have checked out. So there's the reset. There's
the Mark Stoops press conference where he kind of talked
about a little bit of resources being allocated.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
This time.
Speaker 5 (03:59):
From my understanding, I don't think he's asking for you
guys to allocate resources. I think he's going to reallocate
the resources he has, which I'm sure he's probably he
may be expecting for the fan base to allocate resources,
which they some of them showed out. He was he
was happy with the crowd, but I did not think
(04:19):
the crowd was was was it? Was it toward the
end of Joker Phillips era type crowd yesterday, Larry faukm
what you noticed on the pan?
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (04:33):
No, do you remember that in the Joker there was
one gaming I think it was against Vanderbilt. The stadium
was almost empty.
Speaker 5 (04:40):
It was like I thought that his lowest for like
ten was it? Was it twenty thousand or was it
twelve thousand? Toward the end of Joker.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
I want to stay closer to twelve. Now, again, that's
been years back, and you're testing the old guy's memory.
But I just know I remember sitting that. I mean,
if you remember there was sections of the stadium that
had no buddy in it.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
For that game, Well, you are right, Well we did
have We did have Jamari and Wilcox. We did have
Cutter Bowley start the game. Both of them would probably
probably both of them play games they would like to
have back. You made, young guy mistakes. Louisville probably was there.
They were definitely the better team. Louisville's definitely the better team,
no matter if we cleaned up a couple of the
(05:22):
mistakes up front. They whooped us, they wanted to turn
over battle. There was a lot of things that happened
in the game. The question everybody wants to know Jack Pilgrim,
is this performance. Is this season recoverable for, recoverable from
or will it only be salvaged if we changed coaches?
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Oh, starting off hot and heavy? I like it. It's
a really tricky question because, as we've said all season long,
it's a forty four million dollars buyout that is not
getting bought out. Mitch Barnhart will not be firing Mark
Stub So it does simply come down to if he
wants to retire himself, says that I don't have the
(06:07):
energy and and you know, desire and passion to do
this anymore. I love coaching the x's and o's that
come with it, but I hate fundraising. I hate having
to beg fans for money and donors for money and
you know, grip and grin and you know, have drinks
with all of our richest donors and trying to beg
them for you know, our stand out left tackle and
(06:29):
our you know, stand out defensive end. Like I wonder
how much energy he you know, gas he has left
in the tank in that regard. But you know, he
said that he did and that he was going to
show up today at work. He might be listening, Hi, Mark,
if you are, I hope you're not, because you need
to be recruiting and reevaluating some of the guys you
(06:50):
have on the roster. But if it's his decision, it
sounds like on his on his BEF he wants to
come back and run it back and see how this
thing goes. But barring somebody else coming in from left
field to take him the way Cal did, I just
don't see a scenario where he does leave. You know,
(07:13):
I know fans probably seriously disagree with that, and I
think that's kind of the next step of this is
John Caliperry made almost identical comments after the Oakland loss
that this is one of my favorite groups coming up.
You know, we have a really really talented, young young core.
You know, just did not read the room well at
all as things unfolded. As Mitch Barnhardt is just fuming
(07:36):
in the back of the room, shaking his head and
discussed as is Cal's talking about next season. It kind
of had a similar vibe of you know, I'm gonna
be here tomorrow, whether you guys like it or not.
You're not going to force me out. It's a very
similar situation where, you know, we got to see what
the energy of the fan base is and how things
are the next couple of days, the next couple of weeks,
(07:57):
and see just you know, is the money going to
be pouring into bringing the new resources and hit reset
on the program the way I think he wants to
in his head. So a lot of these things kind
of still up in the air as the dust settles
on the season. I think it's way too early to
make any definitive statement, but it does definitely. Uh seem
(08:17):
like we're trending toward another you know, run at it
with with Mark soops and you know that's that's the contracts.
This is deciding that, not not anything else.
Speaker 5 (08:27):
And Jack Pilgrim was talking about that Arkansas team that
got pretty much man handled by Illinois on Thursday Thanksgiving
and that is that. But Larry vaught what says you
have Mark Stewke's definitely comes back. We understand he's coming back.
I do think he needs to be offered opportunity to
(08:49):
run it back. He wants to read said I've heard
through the grapevine. He wants to rededicate himself. I think
he's going to call coaches a question. I think he's
going to reevaluate some of the portal people. I think
he's going to reevaluate, which he said as press comes.
He's gonna reevaluate some of the people on this roster.
Some people won't be returning. He made that perfectly clear.
Is that just coach speak for you, Larry Vaughd. Is
(09:11):
that something you get interested to, you subscribe to that is.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
No.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
I don't think it was coach speak. When it comes
to what he's talking about with the roster. Sounds like
he's already made those decisions and probably maybe maybe some
players know that, and maybe that's why the performance wasn't
brilliant yesterday. Maybe some players were just ready to be gone.
I mean, that's sort of what it looked like if
you're just on the outside looking in, and I mean,
(09:40):
it sounds like it's going to be just a massive
exodus in the transfer portal and a maxidus, a massive
bringing guys in and the transfer portal and try to
get the quick fix that you need. Of course, signing.
The national high school signing date is this week and
as far as I know that there's only been one
player bail out out on so far, which is a
(10:02):
little surprising. When you have a more in age season,
you would think you might lose some other guys. But
they have a pretty good recruiting class put together again,
and Mark certainly seems pretty defiant that he's going to
be back, And he also accepted a lot of the
blame for what went on, blamed it on himself. Maybe
the one thing that surprised me was he talked after
(10:25):
the game about he needed continuity in the offensive staff.
And then Brad White's very loyal and that continuity on
defense is really paid out for him. So it didn't
really sound like unless that was just the coach speak
there and that he's getting ready in there this morning
to go through some pretty serious come to mark meetings
(10:47):
with different staff guys. But it sounds like changing staff
is not what he thinks needs to be done to
fix the problem.
Speaker 6 (10:54):
Right.
Speaker 5 (10:54):
He did accountability a whole lot of times. You've been
on the show with me for quite some time in
the past last couple of years. Accountability is a word
I used a whole lot with you, And I think, Mark,
I don't know why. It's just now taking him to
that point where I think he wants to hold people accountable.
But I do think he's rededicating itself and I think
maybe he's questioned itself in the past for not holding
(11:16):
guys accountable. Is why he's you know, he's kicking hisself
in the rear now that is has reared his head
at this point. People not being accountable is why we
have a foreign eight season. I'm going to say this
before we go to break. Larry Vaught and I said
this in the past. You look at a foreign eight
season and some people say how are we going to
keep recruits as a recruit when they come into your
living room and they're foreign eight? Larry, what you know
(11:37):
why we were foreign eight because we didn't have you
on the roster.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
That's my recruiting pitch, and that's.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
The recruiting pitch they used when they first got here.
So maybe that is what they are doing. And it's
generous what you said about accountability, because a couple of
things that jumped out of me after the game was
Jimurry Macklin, who had the two touchdown catches, when he
was asked what they had to do to get things better,
and he basically said, need better better leadership on the team,
(12:04):
need more accountability on the team. And then Eli Cox
talking after the game about you just can't get it
done with the if you keep going to the transfer
portal to get offensive lineman because there aren't great offensive
lineman floating around the transfer portal that you had to
get back to where you could develop players that you
brought in. But that the problem that was it takes
(12:25):
guys at least two years to be ready to play
in there and they need help next year. So that
did kind of concern me. I think Eli was being very,
very honest about what he was saying.
Speaker 5 (12:36):
That is the great Larry Vaught. We got Jack Pilgrim
on the line with us. We are talking about Kentucky
football and the state of the Kentucky football program. We
will continue this conversation after the break. You're listening to
Stockyards Bank Sunday Morning Sports Talk on news radio six
thirty WL.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
This is the home of the Wildcats, six thirty WLAPP.
Speaker 5 (12:56):
Welcome back Stockyards Bank Sunday Morning Sports Talking Anthony White
along with the Great Larry Vaught and Jack Pilgrim of KSS.
Sorry this hour of Sunday when the sports talking is
brought to you by Country Boy Brewing. We are talking
UK Louisville Rivalry Week. It's not Georgia Georgia Tech. We're
talking to Kentucky versus Louisville football. Kentucky leaden nigg. The
(13:21):
end of the season four and eight and now there's
questions about who's returning the state of our program. One
whoever decides is going to return. Jack Pilgrim, your buddy
Matt Jones talked about last night our coaching staff having
Mark Stoop's buddies is kind of how he said it.
(13:43):
I don't know if that was verbatim, but basically he's
hiring his friends and that may have led to the decline.
As Ginger and all the people on Twitter are saying
the program is declining. It is absolutely declining. Four wins.
He hasn't done that bad since his first year when
he had two. Then he went to five.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
But he.
Speaker 5 (14:06):
They're kind of saying he's building a pro or he's
building his roster, which Larry Vass said before want to break.
He's building his coaching staff full of friends and maybe
not people that can coach.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Continuity is huge.
Speaker 5 (14:18):
There's people on Twitter who's saying he's had seven offices
coordinators and his time here. I don't think he's responsible
for Liam Cohen. I'm Skangarello may have taken a hit.
He may have taken a big hit. Now everybody's Larry
Jack Pilgrim. Everybody's clamoring for Eddie Grant. Now everybody didn't
want Eddie Graham when he was here. Everybody's claying, well
(14:38):
he got rid of Now you didn't like what Eddie
grand was doing there. And Jack Pilgrim, you do know
off the record, on the record on air, I thought
there was somebody on Eddie Grant's staff that shouldn't have remained.
I did not have a problem with Eddie Grand. Now
everybody's wanted Eddie Grand back, but address or how do
you feel the millennial group? How do you all feel
(14:59):
that people are saying and the decline of Mark Stoop's
era is coming because he's been hiring friends.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
I mean, it's it's tricky because you want people around
you that you trust and you know, have loyalty, and
you know people that you know that you could, you know,
put sent on the recruiting trail to come bring home
dudes like that was kind of the The issue with
Eric Wolford was, Hey, this dude burned me. This dude
embarrassed the program by by leaving me in the middle
(15:30):
of a visit representing the University of Kentucky and leaving
the visit as a representative of the University of Alabama.
That was a slap in the face of the program.
And still decided to bring him back, knowing that it
was a little bit of a black eye, and yeah,
you know, this guy burned me. But I know Eric
Wolford can bring in dudes, So I'm going to kind
of take the pr hit there and you know, yes,
(15:52):
he's a Youngstown buddy, but you know kind of the
hope that the long term payoff is worthwhile it hasn't
been up to this point. We'll see if it continues
to be and in what kind of guy if he
brings in this next cycle with the offensive line. But
it kind of you can kind of say that about
all the positions Mike Stoops bringing him in. You know,
there was a call last night or a fan said
(16:13):
that that was kind of the start of the decline
with you know on the defense that like, I don't know,
is that fair? Is that that correlation or causation? I'm
not totally sure, but you know it's balancing that fine
line of having people around me that I trust, because
there's also something to be said of, you know, if
you bring in somebody that you know that you talk
(16:34):
about the Liam and Stoof button headge a little bit
where Liam wanted to kind of do his own thing
and call his own shots. Clearly that's worked out well
for him, but if you don't trust that your guy
totally to be able to make some of those calls,
and you know, goes against your culture whatever you're trying
to establish, you know, it could lead to some tension internally,
(16:55):
so it's kind of that balance. I just it feels
like every off season at this point where we're you know,
trying to shove a square peg in a round hole
and hoping that it works and say, oh, well, uh,
you know, clearly is the offensive coordinator that wasn't working.
We gotta we gotta find, you know, find somebody different here,
and then you know, reevaluate who we're going to bring
(17:16):
in with a transfer portal, and uh, you know, the
circus is a circus. Whether you get new leaders or
new animals, a circus is still a circus. And it
feels like that's what we have right now, whether we
you know, reevaluate the talent that you bring in to
kind of reset the culture the way Stukes was talking about, like,
you know, name me an offensive line that was broken
(17:40):
before and then had one massive off portal off season
and magically fixed it fixed itself the next season. I
to my knowledge, it's never been done before. So it's
it's easy to say, oh, well, I have it covered.
This is going to be an easy quick fix for me.
We just have the you know, to reallocate our resources. Yeah,
that's fine and good, But do I trust you to
(18:01):
hit on all of the offensive line talent that you're
going to bring in? Do I trust you to replace
the bad eggs in the locker room with new bright
leader eggs or however you want to, you know, describe
the metaphor that is where the hangu Do I personally
trust them to make those calls?
Speaker 7 (18:18):
No?
Speaker 2 (18:18):
I don't. I don't trust the staff I to in
the nil era to find those right fits with who
they're able to bring in. And I think that's kind
of my big pic picture issues. So staff, players, what
you know, whoever you want to put the blame on.
I think there's plenty of it to go around. I
just I'm not seeing the quick fix the way Stoops
(18:39):
thought he saw one once he wrapped up the loss yesterday.
So I am not very optimistic about the future of
Kentucky football, no matter if there are staff changes, player changes,
you know, going high school recruiting, poral recruiting, however you
want to do it, I'm not optimistic whatsoever.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
Wow, that is Jack Pilgrim.
Speaker 5 (18:58):
But we had two freshman backs rush for almost three
hundred yards on one of I think one of the
best defensive line coaches in the country on his line,
on his defensive line. So there's some questions there. We're
gon we're gonna discuss some of that. If you'd like
to join the show eight five nine to eight zero
two two eight seven eight five nine two eight zero Cats,
we will be We will be back after this year.
(19:19):
Listens Stockyards Bank Sunday one in Sports Talk on news
radio six thirty w LP.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
This is the home of the Wildcats, six thirty w LAP.
Speaker 5 (19:29):
Welcome back. Stockyards Bank Sunday one is Sports Talk. I'm
Anthony White along with Jack Pilgrim. Okay, sorry, and the
Great Larry Vaught. Stockyards Bank is your trusted partner since
nineteen o four, so head on over to syb dot
com for all your banking and financial needs. If you'd
like to join the Big Ass Fans Hotline eight five
(19:50):
nine to eight zero two two eight seven eight five
nine to eight zero Cats. If you want to join us,
let's head on over to the hot line and see
what Larry has to say.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
Good morning, Larry, what do you got for us?
Speaker 6 (20:04):
Well, you know, I watched that game you see, and
I didn't see no energy. I didn't see no efforts
like kids were just you know, no firing them. You know,
like against the lover team and they're just walking around.
They'd make a play and walk to the thing. It
had a little slow Now sitting I'm thinking, you know,
you don't even want to be here. And that's that's
the way they see it seemed like can be you know,
(20:25):
like the season ended last week and now you know
the lowd was just punk to say ran through us.
I was just pointing their defense. They just ran through U.
I mean how many yards we got on the ground
and you know, yeah, I mean, I mean our defense
supposed to be great. Look at it. I mean it
just got punped. But you know, I mean what that's
what's so disimportant? You know, Lowe was not just they're
(20:45):
they're good, but they're not great. I mean, you know,
of course they did hand Clemson a Smike down, but
you know, if you ever want to get that trophy
by things have got to change. You know. I'm a
March six fan, one of the biggest ones. But the
way I see things going now, like other guy there
is talking for we uh anyway, I just don't see
you change in one year. You know, you look around
(21:07):
and these great programs like Oklahoma and different ones, look
at the trouble we're having, and they're they're already got
a history behind them. How do how do people think
that we're gonna come back when al Bamas got you know,
two or three losses and Georgia should have had three
and look at a whole safe there's there's struggling. You know,
they're gonna have uh they've got what two or three
losses and some of the great programs of all these losses,
(21:28):
but we're in a we're in this conference. I'm telling
you what is so big and so heavy with football tradition.
I just don't see next year, you know, unless you
make some kind of miracle change on offense. Especially the
offense has been really the bugaboo for us all year,
and we can't put points up and you can't expect
the defense and just sit there time after time after
(21:51):
time trying to stop these kids. And you look around
and say back on the field again, you know, and
there's a point that you will give up, you know,
and you can't really blame the kids, but but yesterday
I've so disappointed that that you know, they just ran
through us. They just are the line beat us. I
mean we were physically beating. You know. I'd like to,
you know, the big dog if Trump leaves, I like
to keep the big doll around.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (22:12):
I mean he's a good recruiter. I just like the
way he talks and stuff. But I'd like to ask
him if y'all get chased, why would we not? So,
you know, very physical here in the last few games.
It's like everybody's pushing is around. It's been like that
for a while.
Speaker 3 (22:24):
You know, we will we will ask him that. Larry.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
We appreciate the call. And I did I did he
call stupents Trump. I'm not gonna go down to I'm
not gonna go down Larry Vaught. Here's the question I have,
and I don't. I don't disagree with a lot of
things that Larry said. I am. I am extremely concerned
Mark Steuke's reads the need that reads to need needs
(22:48):
to rededicate himself, and I think he should be given
a year to do that or too, I think he
should be given two years today. If next year looks
as bad as this year, unmotivated or unprepared, then I
think he shall be his year after next year would
be the one to reevaluate whether you're.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Making the right direction.
Speaker 5 (23:09):
The thing that I'm in the back of my mind
right now, Larry, when Larry call her Larry from Lebanon
was talking, was that the traditions of Oklahoma, traditions of Alabama, Georgia,
we don't have a tradition. Mark Stoops has created the
position of the tradition. This is tradition we've never had. Well,
(23:30):
I've only been a fan since ninety four, but we
are not accustomed to all this winning. Everybody is expecting.
I am with you all on the fan base. I
am with you. This year was disappointing. I think we underachieved.
I think at some point we may have lost the
energy across the board because one side of the ball
or one aspect of the team was not producing. And
(23:53):
I say this because on my podcast on Wednesday, we
had a former linebacker on the podcast. On the podcast,
if you watched it, we curse everything like there's a
lot going on, and we asked this linebacker, man, do
y'all get like y'all get in offensive stuff when they nah? Man,
coach won't allow us to. He don't allow fights. I
(24:14):
know how money used to manufacture fights. But and Bill
Curry didn't frown upon fights. But if you fought for
a good reason, he would pick everybody else, dust yourself
off and get back to practice, like he understood. But
the fact that you will not allow your team to
fight or discourage it, I just have never seen that,
(24:34):
because I think a tough guy that bully is a
teammate that is allowed to be bullied. I think the
coach thinks that will break them, which is a soft
mind state altogether. But Larry Larry from Lebnon was talking
about the tradition of the teams in SEC and we
are not one of those.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
Through we are the fan base.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
Understand that the tradition we have, the expectations you have
now is all based off Mark Stoops not saying that
he's done a good job this year, not even I'm not.
I don't care if you think he should be gone.
I don't care if you think he should take a
pay cut. But he has produced this tradition and the
expectations you all have, and I think he should be
(25:17):
given a year or so to recommit himself. Whether it's
possible because Nick Saban quit football or there's a lot
of there's a lot of coaches who quit football because
of the NIL transfer portal, and I think those are
the reasons. But Mark Stups is adjusting to all this.
When he was making when he was making progress, it
(25:39):
was before NIL, it was before transfer a portal, and
he was getting he had this program somewhere where it's
never been. Now he's trying to adjust to those things.
Whether he's doing a good job of it or not,
I don't know. I do not care. But the whole
idea that he's not doing a good job of keeping
our tradition alive?
Speaker 3 (25:59):
Is it? Am I wrong? Layer of what?
Speaker 6 (26:03):
No?
Speaker 4 (26:03):
He certainly has done things nobody else has done, and
I think, but I think it's also kind of like
what I heard Jeff Bacorol say after the game last
night on the wrap up on the postgame show. So
he talked about, yeah, Marcus done this, this, this, But
now the mindset is, but the last three years you've
gone seven, six, seventy six, four and eight. Yeah, you
(26:25):
are in a rut. And he and he's right about that.
Now can you get out of that rut?
Speaker 7 (26:30):
Now?
Speaker 4 (26:31):
I believe that I'm like you, he deserves another chance
to do that he certainly sounded like a guy to
me after the game last night. There was a little
more realistic about what had gone on than he had before,
and putting a lot of the blame on himself, which
I think is what you have to do, and again
(26:52):
saying the changes are going to be made. But again
I go back to listen to Eli Cock talk about
that they've got to get back to being a tough, dirty,
physical football team because that's what Stoops is and I
agree with that, and that's what they have got away from.
Whether you can get back to that in a year,
(27:13):
I don't know, Anthony, because I think once that culture
kind of slips away, it's hard to just suddenly become
that tough and physical overnight, or I think it is.
Maybe you'll tell me it's not that hard, but I
think for Mark Steups to be successful, that's the way
he coaches best that type of player, and that culture
has kind of slipped away. I mean, I don't know
(27:33):
what you thought about the video that was going around
yesterday about one of the injured players being at the
concession stand during the game. I mean, maybe there's nothing
wrong with it, but it is just a bad look
and fans don't like that, and I don't think that
most coaches would like that either. I don't think. But
just a lot of little things like that, Just a
(27:54):
culture seems to have kind of slipped away. And whether
you can put it all back together that quick, we'll see.
Except I think about having been sown with this at eleven,
he can kind of tell us what the plan is
going to be for the next few months and how
things are going to change, or if they can change.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
I will say this, Larry.
Speaker 5 (28:12):
You bring up great points Nick Saban when we questioned
that Nick Saban was always a ground to pound three
yards well for Alabama's five or six yards in the
cloud of dust. But he changed his ways. He made
it okay to throw the deep ball, to throw the
long ball, change to a passing style. Still with greedy guys.
I still you asking, and it's been asked on Twitter,
(28:34):
which I do really want to get to probably after
the break.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Is is he able to maneuver through nil?
Speaker 7 (28:46):
Now?
Speaker 3 (28:47):
I'm not sure, but I'm not sure if any coach is.
Speaker 5 (28:50):
Ryan Day just lost yesterday with I think Michigan having
like sixty some yards offense and they lost some football game.
The kicker miss to two field goals. But do I
think Mark Stukes can do it? I don't know, because
these are uncharted territories. These are new things, and there
are from legendary coaches who's getting out of coaching because
(29:11):
they don't want to put up with nil and transfer
a portal. As I told you a long time ago,
let's get to the phone lines really quickly before we
have to break. Get on the big ass phone, the
big ass fans phone line, and see what John Short
has to say.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
Good morning, John Short, You're a great American. What do
you get?
Speaker 7 (29:30):
A good game of all, good game at all yesterday?
A little better fact, I believe been making football playoffs
thanks ship winning championship.
Speaker 5 (29:40):
Sheesh uh all, Larry Vault. The rest of the guys
wanting us to do is just clean up the things
around the program. You talking championship.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
Huh, that's right.
Speaker 5 (29:50):
You do know our women's basketball and our men's basketball
team are still undefeated.
Speaker 7 (29:56):
That's correct. We're not don know men's basketball seven no
ways say the exhibition games through note and uh.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
Yeah see you you always optimistic. You count those games.
We got.
Speaker 5 (30:06):
We got Clemson on Tuesday for the guys, and on
Thursday we got North Carolina that may be our second
biggest uh the girls on December fifth, on Thursday, what
do you got for that?
Speaker 3 (30:18):
Five Biggins ten with.
Speaker 7 (30:21):
Team Bigins Thursday and Tim Biggins TC.
Speaker 5 (30:23):
Yes, all right, we take that. Our volleyball team has clinched.
We got Texas in the conference and they still they
still clinch the SEC championship. Not a part of it.
Last week when we got off the show. They had
the opportunity for a part of it, but they wanted
the whole thing.
Speaker 7 (30:40):
John Short, Yes, I needed meanings go to say Texas
win the Southeast Conference, and me is what the means
is gonna do because of being light the care too
much for can take me to take you want it?
That's good? That way win the volleyball champions shouldn't did
the April twenty four one re Texas for the championship?
Speaker 3 (30:56):
You're right, John Short?
Speaker 7 (31:00):
Yes, And they said we want in twenty twenty. No,
we're not way in twenty twenty. We want it in
twenty twenty one. No way won in twenty twenty because
of COVID.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
Yeah, so when we came back we won it.
Speaker 7 (31:11):
We beat Texas, that's right, in April twenty twenty, so
that made through twenty twenty one champion's. That's why I
favorite twenty twelve champions, not twenty twenty.
Speaker 5 (31:21):
Yeah, we don't have the same roster we have back
in twenty twenty one though, John Shorts, you know that
we do got m Rone. Though we do have Emmigron.
Speaker 7 (31:32):
He's good. wOBA players be into coaching. Hope they hope
they all do.
Speaker 5 (31:37):
I hope they do too, John Short, We appreciate the call.
You're a great American. We appreciate you talking.
Speaker 3 (31:44):
If you would like to join the Big Ass Fans,
Big Ass.
Speaker 5 (31:47):
Fans Hotline eight five nine two eight zero two two
eight seven eight five nine two eight zero Cats, we
will be back after this year. Are listening to Stockyards
Bank Sunday Morning sports Talk on news radio six thirty WLAP.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
This is the home of the wild Cat.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
That's six thirty WLAP.
Speaker 5 (32:02):
Welcome back Stockyards Bank Sunday Morning Sports Talk on Anthony
White along with Jack Pilgrim of KSORRY and the great
Larry Vaught talking UK football. We also talk in UK
volleyball because we got Emmogroham, the All American emmcgroam coming
up at ten thirty and the Big dolphense Maryol coming
(32:23):
out at eleven. Hey, Jack, I did want to ask
you this. It came up on Twitter, and there's a
whole lot of stuff coming up on Twitter, a lot
of it I can't repeat, but and Larry Vaught brought
it up. I don't think it's a good look for
mint cd be going to the concession stand during the game.
(32:46):
I didn't really zoom in on the video. Maybe it
was him, maybe it wasn't. I don't know if you
can verify whether it was or not. That's really not
a good look. I don't know why you ever separate
from your team during the game if you are ever
on the sideline. And I think those are some of
the things that Mark Stoops may be reevaluating the the
leash that the players have or the freedom that some
(33:09):
of the players have even as a teammate, which we
discussed before we went to break the accountability. But can
you confirm or deny if that was actually Gerald Mincy
at the stands? And why is he going to the
stands when they got a locker room full of grub
and there like I don't understand that part.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
Because it's a disc of course it was him. I mean,
unless you have a perfect replica jersey of the specific
jersey that they were going to be wearing with a
guy that looks exactly like Jered Minci. I mean, yeah,
of course it was him. But it's it's a culture thing.
And what's what's funny and ironic and just so disheartening
and part of the reason why fans are so frustrated is,
(33:52):
you know, you you pop off about, you know, we
don't need to wear sunglasses and do goofy commercial videos
to uh, you know, establish a culture that team that
you are poking fun of and that coach that you're
poking fun of a embarrassed you week two to completely
derail the train this season and is now nine and
three on the year, and it potentially a College Football
(34:15):
Playoff contender when everybody said, oh cool, you know, Kentucky's
not you know, a program that's going to be able
to stay in the College Football Playoff year in year out.
The team with the same hype and expectation and leadership
as we had on ours potentially supposedly that's exactly who
South Carolina was this year. As we go for and
(34:35):
the most disappointing year of Mark Mark Soup's time here
in Lexington. It's not close, and it's a continuation in
a series of events where you get your twenty one
season vacated, where that was your kind of pride and joy,
you know, overachieving, kind of striking while the irons high
with Wando Robinson, Will Levis, you know, all of that
(34:57):
work to perfection to a ten win season, you get
that one vacated, and then you go three and five,
three and five, one and seven in the SEC with
a guy that's making nine million dollars a year, the
eighth highest paid coach in college football. That's the thing
that we kind of keep we you know, we're living
in twenty eighteen and saying, well, remember where we were
to begin with. Yes, this man was awarded, rewarded for
(35:20):
those those years and how he was able to reset
the culture of this program. That culture is slipping. So
when you when you had reset the expectations for this
program and get rewarded for it contractually, financially, he he got.
He reset the standard as a head coach at Kentucky
as well. You know, you look at the stat comparison
(35:41):
A joker Phillips with the same you know, last couple
of years results during his head coach at time in
the last two years under Stooped, Hey Joker was making
one point seven million dollars to suck Like Kentucky, Mark
Stoops has been getting paid nine million dollars a year
to suck the last couple of years. And even his
big pride and joy got vacated, so he doesn't even
have the mill the ten win season to kind of
(36:03):
hang his hat on, because that's no longer even in
the record books. We all saw it. But it's it's
it's the the dwindling of the of the culture. And yes,
it as dumb as it sounds. Gerald Mincy getting a
pretzel at the concession stand is is one of of
a dozens upon dozens of things of culture slip ups
that you can't be poking fingers and making fun of
(36:24):
other programs and their cultures and saying we work hard
for our cultures. We can't fake it with some stupid
sunglasses and have that team make the college football playoffs
as you're sitting at home watching TV with a glass
of burban. That's embarrassing.
Speaker 5 (36:37):
We're not certain if it was a pretzel. We're not
certain if it was popcorn. I don't think so. I
don't know if Jack just pulled out, Larry what we
got about a minute left and probably on the other
side of our will continue to discuss this, but Bluegrass
Pobate wants to know does youse think Stoops in the
staff is able to navigate the the NIL era and
(36:58):
we'll Mitch Barnhardt looking to bring in a general manager
that isn't That is a thing now in college sports,
general managers to handle nil in those things. Mitch Barnhard,
I am available. I'm fairly cheap. I get hometown discount.
But Larry Vatt is, do you think Stups has the
staff or do you think Stoops is the person to
navigate NIL?
Speaker 4 (37:19):
I don't know. I think Eddie Grant is supposed to
be doing some of that. I think maybe we can
get it a little bit more with fence, but now
I think it would certainly help to have somebody in
charge of that if there's not somebody designated as that.
And also, when you were talking earlier about Stoop saying
there's going to be more NIL resources, what I don't
(37:40):
understand is does that mean from the amount of money
that the school has to now allocate to spend on players.
And if that's the case, that's what he's talking about,
whatever school's going to have that much more work. So
I don't know if that would really That doesn't really
put you ahead anymore. If the techy's getting sixteen billion
dollars put into football, but if Alabama is getting eighteen
(38:00):
million more, I still don't see that you're moving ahead
any that way.
Speaker 3 (38:04):
That is Larry Vault. We will be back at the
top of the hour.
Speaker 5 (38:07):
You're listening to Stockyards Bank Sunday morning sports talk on
news radio six thirty WLAP
This is the home of the Wildcats. Six thirty w
l A. P. Good Morning, Welcome in Stockyards, Bake Sunday
morning sports Talk. I'm Anthony White, along with Jack Pilgrim
of KSR and Larry Vaught on this snowy Sunday morning,
(00:22):
coming to you from Clark's Main Street Market Studios and
beautiful downtown Lexington, Kentucky. Good morning, Larry Vaught. How are
you doing? Happy Thanksgiving? Hopefully?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:35):
It was.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
It was good or good as it could be over
the weekend, and a little cold for my blood this morning.
But I guess we're getting used to it because I's
going to stay that way. And then there's a few
other things that didn't go great yesterday. But it is
what it is.
Speaker 5 (00:52):
And I came from up north, Larry Vault. I came
from Ohio. That's where we played phone tag all week.
I was back home.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
I figured that, Yeah, and.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
The weather's worse here than it is up north, believe
it or not.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
I actually noticed that because I looked the sievers. He changed,
you might get the snow. Then I thought, well, maybe Anthony,
this won't come back because it's arbor where he is.
Speaker 5 (01:14):
Jack Pilgrim ironically Jack Pilgrim having Thanksgiving? How was your Thanksgiving?
And how was your weekend?
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Oh, it was the best, and it was even better
waking up this morning to snow on the ground on
December first. It's a beautiful time. Love Thanksgiving, love being
able to hang out with family. Got another one this afternoon, actually,
so it's a good good time. I know the Pilgrim
jokes just right themselves. So yes, it was a very
very enjoyable Thanksgiving for the Pilgrim household.
Speaker 5 (01:46):
Well, thank you. This morning, we have a lot to
talk about. Our volleyball team has captured an eighth SEC championship,
even with outright Larry Vaught, right outright champion SEC championship,
even with Texas in the conference.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
If you are very very impressive with the start that
UK got off to this season, makes it even more impressive.
They had some injury issues they they've had to battle
and they came through and Skinner's winners just kept kept
doing it and probably I think their best title that
they've won under him, considered all the adversity that they
had to deal with, and he's clearly the SEC coach
(02:26):
of the Year, and hopefully that tonight they'll find out
they're going to get the hosts the first two rounds
of the NCAA Tournament at Morial Coliseum, and hopefully they
can keep advancing.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
Kenny Brooks is still undefeated. Georgia Amore is still playing
forty minutes a game. Our men's basketball team is still undefeated.
Eight people in double digits. But what everybody tuned in
for Larry Jack Pilgrim. Everybody tuned into the conclusion of
our football season with our nine million dollar coach, uh
(02:59):
with the forty one to fourteen loss to rival Louisville
down the street. That is going to be the topic
of the conversation, and we led the conversation off with volleyball,
which we would have Em mcgroms joining us at ten
thirty and the big Dog would join us at eleven am,
(03:20):
so he ain't ducking the dodge in any questions. We're
gonna discuss this probably for three hours, so Jack Pig
can put your football hat on, tuck your basket because
after this, we got all basketball the rest of the year.
But everybody's worried about the state of our football team.
I was quite disappointed. My prediction from last week was
way off. But these guys are human beings. They did
(03:43):
not play as well as I thought. I'm not sure
if they have checked out. So there's the reset. There's
the Mark Stoops press conference where he kind of talked
about a little bit of resources being allocated.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
This time.
Speaker 5 (03:59):
From my understanding, I don't think he's asking for you
guys to allocate resources. I think he's going to reallocate
the resources he has, which I'm sure he's probably he
may be expecting for the fan base to allocate resources,
which they some of them showed out. He was he
was happy with the crowd, but I did not think
(04:19):
the crowd was was was it? Was it toward the
end of Joker Phillips era type crowd yesterday, Larry faukm
what you noticed on the pan?
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (04:33):
No, do you remember that in the Joker there was
one gaming I think it was against Vanderbilt. The stadium
was almost empty.
Speaker 5 (04:40):
It was like I thought that his lowest for like
ten was it? Was it twenty thousand or was it
twelve thousand? Toward the end of Joker.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
I want to stay closer to twelve. Now, again, that's
been years back, and you're testing the old guy's memory.
But I just know I remember sitting that. I mean,
if you remember there was sections of the stadium that
had no buddy in it.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
For that game, Well, you are right, Well we did
have We did have Jamari and Wilcox. We did have
Cutter Bowley start the game. Both of them would probably
probably both of them play games they would like to
have back. You made, young guy mistakes. Louisville probably was there.
They were definitely the better team. Louisville's definitely the better team,
no matter if we cleaned up a couple of the
(05:22):
mistakes up front. They whooped us, they wanted to turn
over battle. There was a lot of things that happened
in the game. The question everybody wants to know Jack Pilgrim,
is this performance. Is this season recoverable for, recoverable from
or will it only be salvaged if we changed coaches?
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Oh, starting off hot and heavy? I like it. It's
a really tricky question because, as we've said all season long,
it's a forty four million dollars buyout that is not
getting bought out. Mitch Barnhart will not be firing Mark
Stub So it does simply come down to if he
wants to retire himself, says that I don't have the
(06:07):
energy and and you know, desire and passion to do
this anymore. I love coaching the x's and o's that
come with it, but I hate fundraising. I hate having
to beg fans for money and donors for money and
you know, grip and grin and you know, have drinks
with all of our richest donors and trying to beg
them for you know, our stand out left tackle and
(06:29):
our you know, stand out defensive end. Like I wonder
how much energy he you know, gas he has left
in the tank in that regard. But you know, he
said that he did and that he was going to
show up today at work. He might be listening, Hi, Mark,
if you are, I hope you're not, because you need
to be recruiting and reevaluating some of the guys you
(06:50):
have on the roster. But if it's his decision, it
sounds like on his on his BEF he wants to
come back and run it back and see how this
thing goes. But barring somebody else coming in from left
field to take him the way Cal did, I just
don't see a scenario where he does leave. You know,
(07:13):
I know fans probably seriously disagree with that, and I
think that's kind of the next step of this is
John Caliperry made almost identical comments after the Oakland loss
that this is one of my favorite groups coming up.
You know, we have a really really talented, young young core.
You know, just did not read the room well at
all as things unfolded. As Mitch Barnhardt is just fuming
(07:36):
in the back of the room, shaking his head and
discussed as is Cal's talking about next season. It kind
of had a similar vibe of you know, I'm gonna
be here tomorrow, whether you guys like it or not.
You're not going to force me out. It's a very
similar situation where, you know, we got to see what
the energy of the fan base is and how things
are the next couple of days, the next couple of weeks,
(07:57):
and see just you know, is the money going to
be pouring into bringing the new resources and hit reset
on the program the way I think he wants to
in his head. So a lot of these things kind
of still up in the air as the dust settles
on the season. I think it's way too early to
make any definitive statement, but it does definitely. Uh seem
(08:17):
like we're trending toward another you know, run at it
with with Mark soops and you know that's that's the contracts.
This is deciding that, not not anything else.
Speaker 5 (08:27):
And Jack Pilgrim was talking about that Arkansas team that
got pretty much man handled by Illinois on Thursday Thanksgiving
and that is that. But Larry vaught what says you
have Mark Stewke's definitely comes back. We understand he's coming back.
I do think he needs to be offered opportunity to
(08:49):
run it back. He wants to read said I've heard
through the grapevine. He wants to rededicate himself. I think
he's going to call coaches a question. I think he's
going to reevaluate some of the portal people. I think
he's going to reevaluate, which he said as press comes.
He's gonna reevaluate some of the people on this roster.
Some people won't be returning. He made that perfectly clear.
Is that just coach speak for you, Larry Vaughd. Is
(09:11):
that something you get interested to, you subscribe to that is.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
No.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
I don't think it was coach speak. When it comes
to what he's talking about with the roster. Sounds like
he's already made those decisions and probably maybe maybe some
players know that, and maybe that's why the performance wasn't
brilliant yesterday. Maybe some players were just ready to be gone.
I mean, that's sort of what it looked like if
you're just on the outside looking in, and I mean,
(09:40):
it sounds like it's going to be just a massive
exodus in the transfer portal and a maxidus, a massive
bringing guys in and the transfer portal and try to
get the quick fix that you need. Of course, signing.
The national high school signing date is this week and
as far as I know that there's only been one
player bail out out on so far, which is a
(10:02):
little surprising. When you have a more in age season,
you would think you might lose some other guys. But
they have a pretty good recruiting class put together again,
and Mark certainly seems pretty defiant that he's going to
be back, And he also accepted a lot of the
blame for what went on, blamed it on himself. Maybe
the one thing that surprised me was he talked after
(10:25):
the game about he needed continuity in the offensive staff.
And then Brad White's very loyal and that continuity on
defense is really paid out for him. So it didn't
really sound like unless that was just the coach speak
there and that he's getting ready in there this morning
to go through some pretty serious come to mark meetings
(10:47):
with different staff guys. But it sounds like changing staff
is not what he thinks needs to be done to
fix the problem.
Speaker 6 (10:54):
Right.
Speaker 5 (10:54):
He did accountability a whole lot of times. You've been
on the show with me for quite some time in
the past last couple of years. Accountability is a word
I used a whole lot with you, And I think, Mark,
I don't know why. It's just now taking him to
that point where I think he wants to hold people accountable.
But I do think he's rededicating itself and I think
maybe he's questioned itself in the past for not holding
(11:16):
guys accountable. Is why he's you know, he's kicking hisself
in the rear now that is has reared his head
at this point. People not being accountable is why we
have a foreign eight season. I'm going to say this
before we go to break. Larry Vaught and I said
this in the past. You look at a foreign eight
season and some people say how are we going to
keep recruits as a recruit when they come into your
living room and they're foreign eight? Larry, what you know
(11:37):
why we were foreign eight because we didn't have you
on the roster.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
That's my recruiting pitch, and that's.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
The recruiting pitch they used when they first got here.
So maybe that is what they are doing. And it's
generous what you said about accountability, because a couple of
things that jumped out of me after the game was
Jimurry Macklin, who had the two touchdown catches, when he
was asked what they had to do to get things better,
and he basically said, need better better leadership on the team,
(12:04):
need more accountability on the team. And then Eli Cox
talking after the game about you just can't get it
done with the if you keep going to the transfer
portal to get offensive lineman because there aren't great offensive
lineman floating around the transfer portal that you had to
get back to where you could develop players that you
brought in. But that the problem that was it takes
(12:25):
guys at least two years to be ready to play
in there and they need help next year. So that
did kind of concern me. I think Eli was being very,
very honest about what he was saying.
Speaker 5 (12:36):
That is the great Larry Vaught. We got Jack Pilgrim
on the line with us. We are talking about Kentucky
football and the state of the Kentucky football program. We
will continue this conversation after the break. You're listening to
Stockyards Bank Sunday Morning Sports Talk on news radio six
thirty WL.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
This is the home of the Wildcats, six thirty WLAPP.
Speaker 5 (12:56):
Welcome back Stockyards Bank Sunday Morning Sports Talking Anthony White
along with the Great Larry Vaught and Jack Pilgrim of KSS.
Sorry this hour of Sunday when the sports talking is
brought to you by Country Boy Brewing. We are talking
UK Louisville Rivalry Week. It's not Georgia Georgia Tech. We're
talking to Kentucky versus Louisville football. Kentucky leaden nigg. The
(13:21):
end of the season four and eight and now there's
questions about who's returning the state of our program. One
whoever decides is going to return. Jack Pilgrim, your buddy
Matt Jones talked about last night our coaching staff having
Mark Stoop's buddies is kind of how he said it.
(13:43):
I don't know if that was verbatim, but basically he's
hiring his friends and that may have led to the decline.
As Ginger and all the people on Twitter are saying
the program is declining. It is absolutely declining. Four wins.
He hasn't done that bad since his first year when
he had two. Then he went to five.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
But he.
Speaker 5 (14:06):
They're kind of saying he's building a pro or he's
building his roster, which Larry Vass said before want to break.
He's building his coaching staff full of friends and maybe
not people that can coach.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Continuity is huge.
Speaker 5 (14:18):
There's people on Twitter who's saying he's had seven offices
coordinators and his time here. I don't think he's responsible
for Liam Cohen. I'm Skangarello may have taken a hit.
He may have taken a big hit. Now everybody's Larry
Jack Pilgrim. Everybody's clamoring for Eddie Grant. Now everybody didn't
want Eddie Graham when he was here. Everybody's claying, well
(14:38):
he got rid of Now you didn't like what Eddie
grand was doing there. And Jack Pilgrim, you do know
off the record, on the record on air, I thought
there was somebody on Eddie Grant's staff that shouldn't have remained.
I did not have a problem with Eddie Grand. Now
everybody's wanted Eddie Grand back, but address or how do
you feel the millennial group? How do you all feel
(14:59):
that people are saying and the decline of Mark Stoop's
era is coming because he's been hiring friends.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
I mean, it's it's tricky because you want people around
you that you trust and you know, have loyalty, and
you know people that you know that you could, you know,
put sent on the recruiting trail to come bring home
dudes like that was kind of the The issue with
Eric Wolford was, Hey, this dude burned me. This dude
embarrassed the program by by leaving me in the middle
(15:30):
of a visit representing the University of Kentucky and leaving
the visit as a representative of the University of Alabama.
That was a slap in the face of the program.
And still decided to bring him back, knowing that it
was a little bit of a black eye, and yeah,
you know, this guy burned me. But I know Eric
Wolford can bring in dudes, So I'm going to kind
of take the pr hit there and you know, yes,
(15:52):
he's a Youngstown buddy, but you know kind of the
hope that the long term payoff is worthwhile it hasn't
been up to this point. We'll see if it continues
to be and in what kind of guy if he
brings in this next cycle with the offensive line. But
it kind of you can kind of say that about
all the positions Mike Stoops bringing him in. You know,
there was a call last night or a fan said
(16:13):
that that was kind of the start of the decline
with you know on the defense that like, I don't know,
is that fair? Is that that correlation or causation? I'm
not totally sure, but you know it's balancing that fine
line of having people around me that I trust, because
there's also something to be said of, you know, if
you bring in somebody that you know that you talk
(16:34):
about the Liam and Stoof button headge a little bit
where Liam wanted to kind of do his own thing
and call his own shots. Clearly that's worked out well
for him, but if you don't trust that your guy
totally to be able to make some of those calls,
and you know, goes against your culture whatever you're trying
to establish, you know, it could lead to some tension internally,
(16:55):
so it's kind of that balance. I just it feels
like every off season at this point where we're you know,
trying to shove a square peg in a round hole
and hoping that it works and say, oh, well, uh,
you know, clearly is the offensive coordinator that wasn't working.
We gotta we gotta find, you know, find somebody different here,
and then you know, reevaluate who we're going to bring
(17:16):
in with a transfer portal, and uh, you know, the
circus is a circus. Whether you get new leaders or
new animals, a circus is still a circus. And it
feels like that's what we have right now, whether we
you know, reevaluate the talent that you bring in to
kind of reset the culture the way Stukes was talking about, like,
you know, name me an offensive line that was broken
(17:40):
before and then had one massive off portal off season
and magically fixed it fixed itself the next season. I
to my knowledge, it's never been done before. So it's
it's easy to say, oh, well, I have it covered.
This is going to be an easy quick fix for me.
We just have the you know, to reallocate our resources. Yeah,
that's fine and good, But do I trust you to
(18:01):
hit on all of the offensive line talent that you're
going to bring in? Do I trust you to replace
the bad eggs in the locker room with new bright
leader eggs or however you want to, you know, describe
the metaphor that is where the hangu Do I personally
trust them to make those calls?
Speaker 7 (18:18):
No?
Speaker 2 (18:18):
I don't. I don't trust the staff I to in
the nil era to find those right fits with who
they're able to bring in. And I think that's kind
of my big pic picture issues. So staff, players, what
you know, whoever you want to put the blame on.
I think there's plenty of it to go around. I
just I'm not seeing the quick fix the way Stoops
(18:39):
thought he saw one once he wrapped up the loss yesterday.
So I am not very optimistic about the future of
Kentucky football, no matter if there are staff changes, player changes,
you know, going high school recruiting, poral recruiting, however you
want to do it, I'm not optimistic whatsoever.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
Wow, that is Jack Pilgrim.
Speaker 5 (18:58):
But we had two freshman backs rush for almost three
hundred yards on one of I think one of the
best defensive line coaches in the country on his line,
on his defensive line. So there's some questions there. We're
gon we're gonna discuss some of that. If you'd like
to join the show eight five nine to eight zero
two two eight seven eight five nine two eight zero Cats,
we will be We will be back after this year.
(19:19):
Listens Stockyards Bank Sunday one in Sports Talk on news
radio six thirty w LP.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
This is the home of the Wildcats, six thirty w LAP.
Speaker 5 (19:29):
Welcome back. Stockyards Bank Sunday one is Sports Talk. I'm
Anthony White along with Jack Pilgrim. Okay, sorry, and the
Great Larry Vaught. Stockyards Bank is your trusted partner since
nineteen o four, so head on over to syb dot
com for all your banking and financial needs. If you'd
like to join the Big Ass Fans Hotline eight five
(19:50):
nine to eight zero two two eight seven eight five
nine to eight zero Cats. If you want to join us,
let's head on over to the hot line and see
what Larry has to say.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
Good morning, Larry, what do you got for us?
Speaker 6 (20:04):
Well, you know, I watched that game you see, and
I didn't see no energy. I didn't see no efforts
like kids were just you know, no firing them. You know,
like against the lover team and they're just walking around.
They'd make a play and walk to the thing. It
had a little slow Now sitting I'm thinking, you know,
you don't even want to be here. And that's that's
the way they see it seemed like can be you know,
(20:25):
like the season ended last week and now you know
the lowd was just punk to say ran through us.
I was just pointing their defense. They just ran through U.
I mean how many yards we got on the ground
and you know, yeah, I mean, I mean our defense
supposed to be great. Look at it. I mean it
just got punped. But you know, I mean what that's
what's so disimportant? You know, Lowe was not just they're
(20:45):
they're good, but they're not great. I mean, you know,
of course they did hand Clemson a Smike down, but
you know, if you ever want to get that trophy
by things have got to change. You know. I'm a
March six fan, one of the biggest ones. But the
way I see things going now, like other guy there
is talking for we uh anyway, I just don't see
you change in one year. You know, you look around
(21:07):
and these great programs like Oklahoma and different ones, look
at the trouble we're having, and they're they're already got
a history behind them. How do how do people think
that we're gonna come back when al Bamas got you know,
two or three losses and Georgia should have had three
and look at a whole safe there's there's struggling. You know,
they're gonna have uh they've got what two or three
losses and some of the great programs of all these losses,
(21:28):
but we're in a we're in this conference. I'm telling
you what is so big and so heavy with football tradition.
I just don't see next year, you know, unless you
make some kind of miracle change on offense. Especially the
offense has been really the bugaboo for us all year,
and we can't put points up and you can't expect
the defense and just sit there time after time after
(21:51):
time trying to stop these kids. And you look around
and say back on the field again, you know, and
there's a point that you will give up, you know,
and you can't really blame the kids, but but yesterday
I've so disappointed that that you know, they just ran
through us. They just are the line beat us. I
mean we were physically beating. You know. I'd like to,
you know, the big dog if Trump leaves, I like
to keep the big doll around.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (22:12):
I mean he's a good recruiter. I just like the
way he talks and stuff. But I'd like to ask
him if y'all get chased, why would we not? So,
you know, very physical here in the last few games.
It's like everybody's pushing is around. It's been like that
for a while.
Speaker 3 (22:24):
You know, we will we will ask him that. Larry.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
We appreciate the call. And I did I did he
call stupents Trump. I'm not gonna go down to I'm
not gonna go down Larry Vaught. Here's the question I have,
and I don't. I don't disagree with a lot of
things that Larry said. I am. I am extremely concerned
Mark Steuke's reads the need that reads to need needs
(22:48):
to rededicate himself, and I think he should be given
a year to do that or too, I think he
should be given two years today. If next year looks
as bad as this year, unmotivated or unprepared, then I
think he shall be his year after next year would
be the one to reevaluate whether you're.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Making the right direction.
Speaker 5 (23:09):
The thing that I'm in the back of my mind
right now, Larry, when Larry call her Larry from Lebanon
was talking, was that the traditions of Oklahoma, traditions of Alabama, Georgia,
we don't have a tradition. Mark Stoops has created the
position of the tradition. This is tradition we've never had. Well,
(23:30):
I've only been a fan since ninety four, but we
are not accustomed to all this winning. Everybody is expecting.
I am with you all on the fan base. I
am with you. This year was disappointing. I think we underachieved.
I think at some point we may have lost the
energy across the board because one side of the ball
or one aspect of the team was not producing. And
(23:53):
I say this because on my podcast on Wednesday, we
had a former linebacker on the podcast. On the podcast,
if you watched it, we curse everything like there's a
lot going on, and we asked this linebacker, man, do
y'all get like y'all get in offensive stuff when they nah? Man,
coach won't allow us to. He don't allow fights. I
(24:14):
know how money used to manufacture fights. But and Bill
Curry didn't frown upon fights. But if you fought for
a good reason, he would pick everybody else, dust yourself
off and get back to practice, like he understood. But
the fact that you will not allow your team to
fight or discourage it, I just have never seen that,
(24:34):
because I think a tough guy that bully is a
teammate that is allowed to be bullied. I think the
coach thinks that will break them, which is a soft
mind state altogether. But Larry Larry from Lebnon was talking
about the tradition of the teams in SEC and we
are not one of those.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
Through we are the fan base.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
Understand that the tradition we have, the expectations you have
now is all based off Mark Stoops not saying that
he's done a good job this year, not even I'm not.
I don't care if you think he should be gone.
I don't care if you think he should take a
pay cut. But he has produced this tradition and the
expectations you all have, and I think he should be
(25:17):
given a year or so to recommit himself. Whether it's
possible because Nick Saban quit football or there's a lot
of there's a lot of coaches who quit football because
of the NIL transfer portal, and I think those are
the reasons. But Mark Stups is adjusting to all this.
When he was making when he was making progress, it
(25:39):
was before NIL, it was before transfer a portal, and
he was getting he had this program somewhere where it's
never been. Now he's trying to adjust to those things.
Whether he's doing a good job of it or not,
I don't know. I do not care. But the whole
idea that he's not doing a good job of keeping
our tradition alive?
Speaker 3 (25:59):
Is it? Am I wrong? Layer of what?
Speaker 6 (26:03):
No?
Speaker 4 (26:03):
He certainly has done things nobody else has done, and
I think, but I think it's also kind of like
what I heard Jeff Bacorol say after the game last
night on the wrap up on the postgame show. So
he talked about, yeah, Marcus done this, this, this, But
now the mindset is, but the last three years you've
gone seven, six, seventy six, four and eight. Yeah, you
(26:25):
are in a rut. And he and he's right about that.
Now can you get out of that rut?
Speaker 7 (26:30):
Now?
Speaker 4 (26:31):
I believe that I'm like you, he deserves another chance
to do that he certainly sounded like a guy to
me after the game last night. There was a little
more realistic about what had gone on than he had before,
and putting a lot of the blame on himself, which
I think is what you have to do, and again
(26:52):
saying the changes are going to be made. But again
I go back to listen to Eli Cock talk about
that they've got to get back to being a tough, dirty,
physical football team because that's what Stoops is and I
agree with that, and that's what they have got away from.
Whether you can get back to that in a year,
(27:13):
I don't know, Anthony, because I think once that culture
kind of slips away, it's hard to just suddenly become
that tough and physical overnight, or I think it is.
Maybe you'll tell me it's not that hard, but I
think for Mark Steups to be successful, that's the way
he coaches best that type of player, and that culture
has kind of slipped away. I mean, I don't know
(27:33):
what you thought about the video that was going around
yesterday about one of the injured players being at the
concession stand during the game. I mean, maybe there's nothing
wrong with it, but it is just a bad look
and fans don't like that, and I don't think that
most coaches would like that either. I don't think. But
just a lot of little things like that, Just a
(27:54):
culture seems to have kind of slipped away. And whether
you can put it all back together that quick, we'll see.
Except I think about having been sown with this at eleven,
he can kind of tell us what the plan is
going to be for the next few months and how
things are going to change, or if they can change.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
I will say this, Larry.
Speaker 5 (28:12):
You bring up great points Nick Saban when we questioned
that Nick Saban was always a ground to pound three
yards well for Alabama's five or six yards in the
cloud of dust. But he changed his ways. He made
it okay to throw the deep ball, to throw the
long ball, change to a passing style. Still with greedy guys.
I still you asking, and it's been asked on Twitter,
(28:34):
which I do really want to get to probably after
the break.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Is is he able to maneuver through nil?
Speaker 7 (28:46):
Now?
Speaker 3 (28:47):
I'm not sure, but I'm not sure if any coach is.
Speaker 5 (28:50):
Ryan Day just lost yesterday with I think Michigan having
like sixty some yards offense and they lost some football game.
The kicker miss to two field goals. But do I
think Mark Stukes can do it? I don't know, because
these are uncharted territories. These are new things, and there
are from legendary coaches who's getting out of coaching because
(29:11):
they don't want to put up with nil and transfer
a portal. As I told you a long time ago,
let's get to the phone lines really quickly before we
have to break. Get on the big ass phone, the
big ass fans phone line, and see what John Short
has to say.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
Good morning, John Short, You're a great American. What do
you get?
Speaker 7 (29:30):
A good game of all, good game at all yesterday?
A little better fact, I believe been making football playoffs
thanks ship winning championship.
Speaker 5 (29:40):
Sheesh uh all, Larry Vault. The rest of the guys
wanting us to do is just clean up the things
around the program. You talking championship.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
Huh, that's right.
Speaker 5 (29:50):
You do know our women's basketball and our men's basketball
team are still undefeated.
Speaker 7 (29:56):
That's correct. We're not don know men's basketball seven no
ways say the exhibition games through note and uh.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
Yeah see you you always optimistic. You count those games.
We got.
Speaker 5 (30:06):
We got Clemson on Tuesday for the guys, and on
Thursday we got North Carolina that may be our second
biggest uh the girls on December fifth, on Thursday, what
do you got for that?
Speaker 3 (30:18):
Five Biggins ten with.
Speaker 7 (30:21):
Team Bigins Thursday and Tim Biggins TC.
Speaker 5 (30:23):
Yes, all right, we take that. Our volleyball team has clinched.
We got Texas in the conference and they still they
still clinch the SEC championship. Not a part of it.
Last week when we got off the show. They had
the opportunity for a part of it, but they wanted
the whole thing.
Speaker 7 (30:40):
John Short, Yes, I needed meanings go to say Texas
win the Southeast Conference, and me is what the means
is gonna do because of being light the care too
much for can take me to take you want it?
That's good? That way win the volleyball champions shouldn't did
the April twenty four one re Texas for the championship?
Speaker 3 (30:56):
You're right, John Short?
Speaker 7 (31:00):
Yes, And they said we want in twenty twenty. No,
we're not way in twenty twenty. We want it in
twenty twenty one. No way won in twenty twenty because
of COVID.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
Yeah, so when we came back we won it.
Speaker 7 (31:11):
We beat Texas, that's right, in April twenty twenty, so
that made through twenty twenty one champion's. That's why I
favorite twenty twelve champions, not twenty twenty.
Speaker 5 (31:21):
Yeah, we don't have the same roster we have back
in twenty twenty one though, John Shorts, you know that
we do got m Rone. Though we do have Emmigron.
Speaker 7 (31:32):
He's good. wOBA players be into coaching. Hope they hope
they all do.
Speaker 5 (31:37):
I hope they do too, John Short, We appreciate the call.
You're a great American. We appreciate you talking.
Speaker 3 (31:44):
If you would like to join the Big Ass Fans,
Big Ass.
Speaker 5 (31:47):
Fans Hotline eight five nine two eight zero two two
eight seven eight five nine two eight zero Cats, we
will be back after this year. Are listening to Stockyards
Bank Sunday Morning sports Talk on news radio six thirty WLAP.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
This is the home of the wild Cat.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
That's six thirty WLAP.
Speaker 5 (32:02):
Welcome back Stockyards Bank Sunday Morning Sports Talk on Anthony
White along with Jack Pilgrim of KSORRY and the great
Larry Vaught talking UK football. We also talk in UK
volleyball because we got Emmogroham, the All American emmcgroam coming
up at ten thirty and the Big dolphense Maryol coming
(32:23):
out at eleven. Hey, Jack, I did want to ask
you this. It came up on Twitter, and there's a
whole lot of stuff coming up on Twitter, a lot
of it I can't repeat, but and Larry Vaught brought
it up. I don't think it's a good look for
mint cd be going to the concession stand during the game.
(32:46):
I didn't really zoom in on the video. Maybe it
was him, maybe it wasn't. I don't know if you
can verify whether it was or not. That's really not
a good look. I don't know why you ever separate
from your team during the game if you are ever
on the sideline. And I think those are some of
the things that Mark Stoops may be reevaluating the the
leash that the players have or the freedom that some
(33:09):
of the players have even as a teammate, which we
discussed before we went to break the accountability. But can
you confirm or deny if that was actually Gerald Mincy
at the stands? And why is he going to the
stands when they got a locker room full of grub
and there like I don't understand that part.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
Because it's a disc of course it was him. I mean,
unless you have a perfect replica jersey of the specific
jersey that they were going to be wearing with a
guy that looks exactly like Jered Minci. I mean, yeah,
of course it was him. But it's it's a culture thing.
And what's what's funny and ironic and just so disheartening
and part of the reason why fans are so frustrated is,
(33:52):
you know, you you pop off about, you know, we
don't need to wear sunglasses and do goofy commercial videos
to uh, you know, establish a culture that team that
you are poking fun of and that coach that you're
poking fun of a embarrassed you week two to completely
derail the train this season and is now nine and
three on the year, and it potentially a College Football
(34:15):
Playoff contender when everybody said, oh cool, you know, Kentucky's
not you know, a program that's going to be able
to stay in the College Football Playoff year in year out.
The team with the same hype and expectation and leadership
as we had on ours potentially supposedly that's exactly who
South Carolina was this year. As we go for and
(34:35):
the most disappointing year of Mark Mark Soup's time here
in Lexington. It's not close, and it's a continuation in
a series of events where you get your twenty one
season vacated, where that was your kind of pride and joy,
you know, overachieving, kind of striking while the irons high
with Wando Robinson, Will Levis, you know, all of that
(34:57):
work to perfection to a ten win season, you get
that one vacated, and then you go three and five,
three and five, one and seven in the SEC with
a guy that's making nine million dollars a year, the
eighth highest paid coach in college football. That's the thing
that we kind of keep we you know, we're living
in twenty eighteen and saying, well, remember where we were
to begin with. Yes, this man was awarded, rewarded for
(35:20):
those those years and how he was able to reset
the culture of this program. That culture is slipping. So
when you when you had reset the expectations for this
program and get rewarded for it contractually, financially, he he got.
He reset the standard as a head coach at Kentucky
as well. You know, you look at the stat comparison
(35:41):
A joker Phillips with the same you know, last couple
of years results during his head coach at time in
the last two years under Stooped, Hey Joker was making
one point seven million dollars to suck Like Kentucky, Mark
Stoops has been getting paid nine million dollars a year
to suck the last couple of years. And even his
big pride and joy got vacated, so he doesn't even
have the mill the ten win season to kind of
(36:03):
hang his hat on, because that's no longer even in
the record books. We all saw it. But it's it's
it's the the dwindling of the of the culture. And yes,
it as dumb as it sounds. Gerald Mincy getting a
pretzel at the concession stand is is one of of
a dozens upon dozens of things of culture slip ups
that you can't be poking fingers and making fun of
(36:24):
other programs and their cultures and saying we work hard
for our cultures. We can't fake it with some stupid
sunglasses and have that team make the college football playoffs
as you're sitting at home watching TV with a glass
of burban. That's embarrassing.
Speaker 5 (36:37):
We're not certain if it was a pretzel. We're not
certain if it was popcorn. I don't think so. I
don't know if Jack just pulled out, Larry what we
got about a minute left and probably on the other
side of our will continue to discuss this, but Bluegrass
Pobate wants to know does youse think Stoops in the
staff is able to navigate the the NIL era and
(36:58):
we'll Mitch Barnhardt looking to bring in a general manager
that isn't That is a thing now in college sports,
general managers to handle nil in those things. Mitch Barnhard,
I am available. I'm fairly cheap. I get hometown discount.
But Larry Vatt is, do you think Stups has the
staff or do you think Stoops is the person to
navigate NIL?
Speaker 4 (37:19):
I don't know. I think Eddie Grant is supposed to
be doing some of that. I think maybe we can
get it a little bit more with fence, but now
I think it would certainly help to have somebody in
charge of that if there's not somebody designated as that.
And also, when you were talking earlier about Stoop saying
there's going to be more NIL resources, what I don't
(37:40):
understand is does that mean from the amount of money
that the school has to now allocate to spend on players.
And if that's the case, that's what he's talking about,
whatever school's going to have that much more work. So
I don't know if that would really That doesn't really
put you ahead anymore. If the techy's getting sixteen billion
dollars put into football, but if Alabama is getting eighteen
(38:00):
million more, I still don't see that you're moving ahead
any that way.
Speaker 3 (38:04):
That is Larry Vault. We will be back at the
top of the hour.
Speaker 5 (38:07):
You're listening to Stockyards Bank Sunday morning sports talk on
news radio six thirty WLAP
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