News: Sumrall and 2026 OL decommit

[EKYCat]

I still have hope we get Sumrall but I'm certainly not counting on it. I think if we don't get him we should still go after a head coach at a G5 school. Coordinators don't have the same allure anymore because they aren't likely to bring half their roster with them. If it's a "sure thing" like hiring Kirby Smart off of Saban's staff, or Brent Venables, then okay, sure. But a coach that just won 10 games at a school like USF (including a win @Florida) should be able to basically pick the best guys from their roster with eligibility remaining and bring them to UK. That, plus the best players from the UK roster that the coach can hold on to, and a mix of other recruits and transfers and you should be competitive year one. This is basically what Indiana did, for example.

I get that. If somehow UK were to hire Sumrall I don't know that we want him to bring half his roster. Sumrall's Tulane team lost to Ole Miss (a team UK was competitive with and probably could have beaten had it not been for coaching blunders) 45-10. I really hope UK fires Stoops and Sumrall is probably my first choice to hire. I just don't see it happening. He's going to have offers from some of the traditional schools. He only takes this job because he played here. I would love to see it.

Honestly, I think Stoops leaving is 50/50. He's certainly not going out on his own. Why would he? That's too much to leave on the table. This is Barnhart's mess. Just like Cal. But hey, the rifle team is really good!

[Los Gatos]

Tulane QB Jake Jake Retzlaff was 26/36 and 347 yards in last night's win. He is a junior.

[Matt Dillon]

Tulane QB Jake Jake Retzlaff was 26/36 and 347 yards in last night's win. He is a junior.

Very interesting.

[TheZookeeper]

I get that. If somehow UK were to hire Sumrall I don't know that we want him to bring half his roster. Sumrall's Tulane team lost to Ole Miss (a team UK was competitive with and probably could have beaten had it not been for coaching blunders) 45-10. I really hope UK fires Stoops and Sumrall is probably my first choice to hire. I just don't see it happening. He's going to have offers from some of the traditional schools. He only takes this job because he played here. I would love to see it.

Honestly, I think Stoops leaving is 50/50. He's certainly not going out on his own. Why would he? That's too much to leave on the table. This is Barnhart's mess. Just like Cal. But hey, the rifle team is really good!

Even if he only brought 8-12 starter/contributor level guys with him (ideally including his QB) that gives you a foundation on both sides of the ball, guys who know his system and will speed up the transition for the other players. Fill in the roster with other transfers and hopefully some returning talent and you're in much better shape than you were back before the mass-transfer era. A roster like that would be much more competitive than Stoops first roster for example, in part because Stoops won’t be leaving the cupboard quite as bare as when he got here, no matter how the end of his tenure plays out.

[Trueblujr]

Sorry to disagree. I'll be very surprised if our competitors don't offer at least 8M.

I know Coaching Salaries are going through the roof and all, but Sumrall isn't going to jump to being a top25 paid coach...yet. I will concede that he could go in the $6 to 6.5 mil range though after looking a little more into it.

[bigblue4life]

I'm not going to put all my eggs in the Sumrall basket, although I did like him a lot and think he could turn things around if he had the proper from the UK Athletic Administration. Which brings me to my next point.... The one thing I'm sure of is I don't want Barnhart involved in the search and in negotiating the new coach's contract.