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Kentucky Football Has “A Serious Problem” In the Best Way Possible

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1 year ago

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Kentucky football coach VInce Marrow on the sidelines at Kroger Field
Drew Brown - A Sea of Blue

Ever since Vince Marrow arrived on the scene in Lexington as UK’s Tight Ends Coach, he has always had a room of guys who could contribute here and there when needed. For the most part, guys like CJ Conrad and Justin Rigg were one-man wrecking crews that carried the load at the tight end spot.

However, Marrow believes that this year’s tight-end group is the best in his decade-plus tenure at Kentucky, and for good reason. There are a handful of capable guys who could get valuable reps at tight end this year.

When asked about who the BBN can expect to be the primary tight end, Coach Vince Marrow had to rave about his position players.

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Marrow said, “I have a serious problem right now, and I’m really being serious. I was talking to a scout (Assistant GM for the Chiefs), and Dane [Key] happened to come in my room, and he asked Dane, ‘Hey, how good are the tight ends?,’ and Dane said what I just said a week ago. I could close my eyes, and we got 12 personnel, and I can pick any four of them guys.”

There is a plethora of talent in the tight end room, and Marrow sees true potential in each and every one of his guys. As mentioned earlier, while there has been a a lot of talent at tight end, there has been a top dog, TE1 going into each season.

This season, Marrow believes anyone can and will see the field with some significant minutes. Marrow went on to explain, “With Khamari [Anderson] being a freshman, he’s coming along. If that was four years ago, Khamari would be our starter, but I think what people forget about, you know, I read the paper, and I see projected starters, and they got [Josh] Kattus and [Brenden] Bates.”

The praise didn’t stop there, however. Marrow had more to say about the quality of the tight end group, next talking about sophomore Jordan Dingle.

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“Did y’all see Jordan Dingle play last year? Jordan Dingle’s a pretty good tight end. Now that he’s back (and he was pretty good out there today), it’s just a good problem to have.”

Setting a Good Example

Part of why the tight end room has expanded into this loaded group of young talent is because of the leadership within the group. Marrow opened up about what it’s like to have locker room leaders for his tight ends.

“With Bates being the veteran there, we have three really good young guys, and Izayah Cummings, now that Liam is back. Izayah Cummings was probably the best tight end in training camp. So, it’s a good problem to have.”

With the leadership of experienced upperclassmen, the newcomers are able to be molded into the contributors that we are now all so familiar with, which obviously bodes well for Marrow and the tight end lineage at UK.

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To put it simply, why have one superstar tight end when you can have several? With Coach Vince Marrow hitting the recruiting trail and the transfer portal hard, UK has managed to develop an excellent core of tight ends who can help reawaken the Kentucky football offense this fall.

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Kentucky Athletic Collectives Rank 11th of 16 Teams in SEC, Bring in over $11 Million

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2 weeks ago

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December 10, 2024

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Kentucky ranks 11th of 16 SEC teams in collective fundraising.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

For better or for worse of college sports, NIL is here to stay and it certainly gives an advantage to schools with more money. Just looking at the SEC alone, collectives raised more than $200 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year. Unfortunately, Kentucky is ranked in the lower half of that.

According to documents from the House v. NCAA proposed settlement, Kentucky raised $11,254,204 from athletics collectives for the 2023-24 fiscal year. That ranks 11th of the 15 public universities in the SEC and is just more than half of the top collective, Texas who raised over $22 million.

Full Rankings

Rank
School NameCollective Funding
1Texas22,272,474
2LSU20,137,141
3Georgia18,326,566
4Texas A&M17,228,714
5Alabama15,995,406
6Florida15,802,237
7Oklahoma14,817,595
8Tennessee11,602,164
9Auburn11,588,953
10Arkansas11,544,039
11Kentucky11,254,204
12S. Carolina9,554,700
13Ole Miss8,872,378
14Missouri7,146,859
15Mississippi St.6,467,166
NRVanderbiltNot Available (Private School)

While collective funding is low, Kentucky has been a top 20 athletic program in total revenue, partly thanks to being a school that profits from its basketball program. Looking ahead to 2025, Kentucky is expected to stay in the top 20 nationally in athletic revenue, fifth in the SEC by bringing in an estimated 131,139,792. Ahead of programs like Georgia, LSU, Florida, and Tennessee.

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With revenue sharing coming in the near future, even more money is going to be involved in roster and program building. Schools in the Big Ten and SEC have an even bigger advantage due to their new TV deals, giving them up to an extra $70 million or more.

A new era of college sports is here. It’s time to prepare and embrace it.

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Kentucky Wide Receiver Calls for “A Lot” More Leadership and Accountability from Staff

Published

3 weeks ago

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December 2, 2024

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Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops walks onto the field before the game against the Louisville Cardinals.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

A poor offensive line. Inconsistent quarterback play. A lot of things led to Kentucky football’s abysmal 2024 season. However, they had the talent to finish better than 4-8, only defeating one power opponent this season. So what could have helped?

Kentucky wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin was asked that question after the Wildcats’ loss to Louisville on Saturday. To his credit, he answered honestly and professionally.

“A lot more leadership,” Maclin said. “Holding guys accountable for things. A lot more discipline for all the guys… All around, players and coaches. We’re still a team, I don’t want to point at any one person or specific group. All around we need better leadership.”

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Maclin is a junior and could return for another season. Despite talking about Kentucky taking the next step, he has not made his decision and will be returning home to talk to his family to do so. If Maclin does return, it sounds like Kentucky will have a leader in the receiving room.

Despite being a 1,000-yard receiver at North Texas, Maclin was not targeted often. However, on his 13 receptions, he caught four for touchdowns, the most of any receiver on the team.

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Kentucky Player Seen At Concession Stand During Kentucky’s 41-14 Loss to Louisville

Published

3 weeks ago

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December 2, 2024

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A Kentucky football player was seen at buying food from the concession stand in Kentucky's 41-14 loss to Louisville.

Kentucky’s on-field product against Louisville was poor to say the least, sending 99% of Wildcat fans home early. It even sent an injured player from the sideline to get a snack…

Yes, offensive lineman Gerald Mincey, one of Kentucky’s most expensive transfer portal additions, was seen at one of the concession stands at Kroger Field during Kentucky’s 41-14 defeat.

Watching a 4-8 team is bad, but even worse to do on an empty stomach.

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Mincey is a senior and will not be returning next season, but it is nice to see him reinvesting some money back into the program.

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