Kentucky Wildcats Football: Mark Stoops Changing Identity in Lexington

Dec 2, 2012; Lexington , KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops spoke to reporters at press conference, introducing him as the new football coach at the Nutter Field House. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

For years, Kentucky Wildcats football has been that kid. Broken glasses, torn tighty-whiteys, waltzes into the weight room to get big and show those bullies what’s up, wears gloves, doesn’t know how to use the leg press, becomes the subject of even more ridicule. You know that kid.

Occasionally, on the advice of their older, stronger and better-looking brother (Kentucky Wildcats basketball, maybe?), they stand up to the bullies to mixed results. Sometimes it winds up in a bloodied nose, other times they ward them off for a short time. It’s the easiest cliche, but it’s also the one that makes the most sense. They’re not the nerdy kids–ahem, Vanderbilt– they’re just those kids who always seem to get picked on the most. It’s their identity.

Mark Stoops knew that was Kentucky’s M.O. when he got to Lexington. It’s not one he ever plans on embracing, but he’d be silly not to recognize that what Kentucky Wildcats football has is a confidence problem. It’ll be the first problem he needs to address on his road to changing the perception of what Kentucky is.

The Joker Phillips era has left Kentucky fans longing for the days of Rich Brooks, when the Big Blue would throttle a weak non-conference and then trade punches with the bottom half of the league and steal two or three wins on their way to a mid-December bowl game. That’s probably a pretty fair goal, but it’s hard to imagine that’s what Mark Stoops aims to build.

When the Wildcats were at their best in the last decade, they did so behind the offensive firepower of guys like Andre Woodson, Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke. Even when they won, they weren’t winning tough, and the brand of football they played earned them no respect in the SEC. Mark Stoops isn’t that guy.

He’s the guy in the locker room talking about being gritty and working hard. He probably tells stories about growing up in Youngstown, a place where the grindiest grinders who ever did grind grew up, or about how bad things got when the steel mills closed down or about being the youngest of the coaching Stoopses. About being the guy who has always had to fight.

But, coaches speak in platitudes from time to time, and generally we seem to forgive them these transgressions if the product on the field is as advertised. Mark Stoops wants his Wildcats to be tougher, and he’s going to try to bring the kind of swarming brand of defense that we celebrate in this conference.

At Florida State, his defense was feared in the way that they attacked. Off the edge, across the middle and in the back end, they played aggressively–violently even. And now he hopes to bring that to Lexington, KY.

The obvious obstacle is that they simply don’t have the personnel yet, but Stoops in his first couple months has already done more to correct that than any other modern era Kentucky coach. Stoops pulled in the 29th best recruiting class in the country per Rivals.com, and continues to hit the trail hard.

However, for now he’ll have to make due with what he has on campus. Kentucky’s spring game is Saturday, and the roster he currently fields is one that probably lacks resolution on the heels of a 2-10 season.

He also has to deal with a fanbase that has fairly low expectations, and while that may give him some leeway while he undertakes this massive rebuilding process, he’ll ultimately have to reinvigorate his fans A) to sell more tickets, and B) so that the malaise of the fans in Lexington doesn’t infuse itself with his program.

Basically, Mark Stoops has his hands full. He’s taking over a football team that’s been harassed by the rest of the SEC for a long time, and they’ve gotten used to being picked on. He knew it going in, but being aware of the issue doesn’t always make it easier to address.

Kentucky Wildcats football begins a new era on Saturday in the Blue & White game. Mark Stoops’ goal is to make sure this one doesn’t end like so many others have in Lexington:

As the butt of a joke.