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

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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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Louisville Football Player Charged With First-Degree Strangulation, Days After Committing Game Losing Personal Foul

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Louisville Cardinals defensive back Tayon Holloway (20) reacts to his defensive play.
Eric Canha | Imagn

On Monday, Louisville football defensive back Tayon Holloway was detained and charged with first-degree strangulation and fourth-degree assault.

This comes just days after the former four-star prospect committed a costly personal foul to put a 2-7 Stanford team in field goal range and upset Louosillve 38-35 with a walk-off field goal.

As expected, Holloway has been indefinitely suspended from the team.

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“The University of Louisville is aware of the arrest of football student-athlete Tayon Holloway,” the university said in a statement. “As we gather more information, Tayon has been suspended indefinitely from all team activities.”

Things Cardinals seem to be in a downward trend as the Commonwealth Cup nears, November 30th.

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Kentucky snaps four game losing streak defeats Murray State 48-6

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Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops talking to Murray State football coach Jody Wright.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

Kentucky gets a much-needed victory over Murray St 48-6 to snap its four-game losing Streak. Brock Vandagriff led the way for the Cats, going 12-19 for 183 passing yards and two touchdown passes to Hardley Gilmore IV and Ja’Mori Maclin. 48 Points is the most points Kentucky has scored in a game since 2021 when the Cats scored 51 points against Louisville.

The defense held Murray St. without a touchdown. For the second time this season, Kentucky’s defense has held an opponent without a touchdown.

Freshman Standout today:

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For the second time this season, Kentucky breaks the 40-point mark as three freshmen make impacts for Kentucky. Jamarion Wilcox had 13 carries and 124 yards with a touchdown in the 3rd quarter.

Receiver Hardley Gilmore IV had two receptions for 72 yards and caught the 52-yard touchdown pass from Brock Vandagriff on the game-opening drive.

Four-star quarterback Cutter Boley started the second half for the Cats, going 10-14 and passing for 130 yards with two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, both touchdown passes to sophomore receiver Anthony Brown-Stephens.

Defense Bounces Back:

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After giving up over 475 yards of total offense each of the last three games, Kentucky’s defense holds Murray State to 256 total yards of offense while also having three takeaways from the Murray State offense

Defensive Lineman Tre’vonn Rybka led the way for the defense with five tackles and the only sack of the game for Kentucky’s defense. Jordan Lovett had two takeaways in the first half for Kentucky and one in the red zone in the second quarter. Jackson Schultz had the final takeaway, picking off Jim Ogle’s pass late in the fourth quarter.

Box Score

With the win today over Murray St., Kentucky moves to 4-6 (1-6 SEC) with two games remaining. They look to keep their bowl eligibility alive as they travel to Austin, Texas, and face the No. 3 ranked Texas Longhorns at 3:30 pm on ABC. 

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Mark Stoops Responds to Retirement Rumors, “Zero Percent Chance I Do That”

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Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops responds to retirement rumors amidst disappointing season. "Zero percent chance I do that."
Jordan Prather | Imagn

To say there is unrest in the Kentucky Football fanbase would be an understatement. With a 3-6 record overall, and 1-6 in the SEC (15th out of 16) things look bleak, and there is still a quarter of the season to go. Considering the regression from the previous two seasons as well, it’s difficult to be optimistic about the future.

Over the last few weeks, rumors have circled that head coach Mark Stoops has considered retiring at the end of the season. Optics wise it makes sense, his older brother Bob Stoops surprisingly retired from Oklahoma at just 56, and Mark, now 57, has expressed a desire to spend more time with his children.

At his weekly press conference, Stoops was asked directly if there is any chance that he would walk away from Kentucky and retire at the season. To which he responded, bluntly:

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“Zero percent chance I do that. Next question.”

Mark Stoops is still owed more than $44 million on his contract. That’s A LOT of money to leave on the table and is the reason that the decision will be Stoops’ to make, as Kentucky cannot afford the buyout.

If Stoops holds true to his word and returns next season, NIL fundraising efforts may be the most difficult it has been for him. However, he hopes it sparks motivation to donate.

“I’ve seen it at other SEC schools,” Stoops said. “I want to stay away from that. I really get tired of — I don’t want to be like I am whining, I am crying. It is reality. You have to have dollars.”

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