Kentucky fans became all too familiar with tragedy in 2020, mourning one loss after another from the UK Athletics family. Mark Stoops’ program was hit especially hard, starting well before the season when Chris Oats suffered a medical emergency that debilitated the starting linebacker. Months later, John Schlarman’s fight with cancer reached a crescendo. Grief engulfed the Big Blue Nation.
“I think our team, I just credit our team with perseverance and strength to continue to fight through that. There’s no denying, it was very difficult. It was difficult on everybody,” Stoops said last week at SEC Media Days.