Last up at SEC Media Days was Kentucky’s Mark Stoops, who returns for his 12th season with the program.
As the Wildcats aim for their ninth straight bowl appearance, what were the biggest takeaways from the head coach’s time at the podium?
Three Takeaways From Mark Stoops Talking at SEC Media Days
1) Impacts of a New Offensive Coordinator and Quarterback
Former offensive coordinator Liam Coen is once again off to the NFL. He took over play-calling duties in 2021 before leaving for the same role with the Los Angeles Rams. Just one season later, he returned to Kentucky. Now, he’s the new OC for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Stoops hired Boise State’s Bush Hamdan to fill the vacancy and shined a lot on him at Media Days.
“Wouldn’t be SEC Media Days if I didn’t have to talk about a new offensive coordinator, so those of you — I’m very excited about Bush Hamdan. He comes to us from Boise. I’ve known Bush for a while, actually talked to him three or four years ago. I love the influence — he’s got a background of working with Coach [Eli Drinkwitz], who I have a tremendous respect for. He’s worked with Coach [Steve Sarkisian]. He’s been around and did a great job at Boise, and very excited about Bush and what he’s going to do.
“Tried to keep as much continuity as I could but also wanted him to be very confident and do the things that he does to put us in a position to be successful.”
Despite a head coaching switch midseason, Hamdan guided the Broncos’ offense to No. 2 in scoring and No. 3 in total yardage in the Mountain West. He’ll attempt to bring that spark to Kentucky, and he’ll do so with a first-time starting QB in Georgia transfer Brock Vandagriff.
“But what I like about Brock is you saw him — for Georgia’s sake, they won a lot of games, so they were up a lot of points, so they were able to work some of their backups even at the quarterback position because you know what’s very difficult to do is get QB reps,” Stoops said.
“But when Brock was in there, even if they had a lead or anything, you just saw the way he operated. For us, that’s a big deal. We’ve always been a pro-style offense, so you know he was coached well there. You know it was complex. You know he was doing the right things, and he could come in and handle our situation. … He obviously has the talent. He just needs to get under center and get some reps.”
A four-star recruit in the 2021 class, Vandagriff ranked behind only Quinn Ewers, Caleb Williams, Sam Huard, and Drake Maye. That’s great company.
Nevertheless, he’s spent the last three years sitting on Georgia’s bench, completing 12 of 18 passes for 165 yards and two TDs last season. Vandagriff has the pedigree of an above-average SEC QB, but it’s up to Hamdan to help him translate it to the field.
2) Mark Stoops, Texas A&M Head Coach?
Stoops admitted that Texas A&M pursued him after it fired Jimbo Fisher last November. However, he declined to give much more information than that.
“Yeah, I was pursued pretty aggressively by them, and we’ll leave it at that out of respect for everybody involved. There’s a lot of people over the years, a lot of interactions between people, but it was very brief. I was pursued. I had a job to do.
“There’s only been 19 coaches in the history of the SEC that have been 12 years at their institution. I’m proud to be a member of that group. I’ve been grinding at Kentucky for a long time, and very proud of that and want to continue to do that.”
The Aggies ultimately hired former Duke head coach Mike Elko, who was actually the defensive coordinator in college station from 2018-21.
3) Defensive Outlook in 2024
The Wildcats return nine starters on defense in 2024, which is rare in the transfer portal era. Additionally, defensive coordinator Brad White is back for his sixth season at the controls, giving Kentucky immense continuity on that side of the ball.
The defense finished middle of the pack in the SEC last year, ranking No. 9 in points per game allowed (26.6) and No. 7 in yards per game allowed (357.1). Stoops believes the unit could take a step forward in 2024.
“Overall, we feel like it’s a good group. You need the depth. It’s a long season. You need some impact players. We have some experience with J.J. [Weaver] coming back up front and Deone [Walker] and Tre’vonn Rybka and Octavious Oxendine.
“We feel very good about that. We have a transfer in Georgia with [Jamon ‘Pop’] Dumas-Johnson. Pop is an impact guy. He’s a big, physical dude, and we needed that. I think we hit the portal at every position except tight end.”
DT Deone Walker is the big-bodied leader of the unit, a future NFL Draft prospect, and the No. 21 player on College Football Network’s Top 100. Despite standing at a massive 6’6″ and 348 pounds, he accounted for 12.5 TFLs and 7.5 sacks, flashing the free-moving and powerful build to open the floodgates on the interior.
Yet, he wasn’t the only Kentucky defender to make the list, with CB Maxwell Hairston checking in at No. 80. Stoops, a longtime defensive backs coach, gushed about the 2023 second-team All-SEC corner at Media Days.
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“Of course, Maxwell, we think the world of him. He’s a difference-maker. He’s an elite player, a guy that will play on Sundays.”
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