College football is a talent acquisition game. Under Mark Stoops, Kentucky has done a great job at developing three-star prospects into big-time players, but games are often won on Saturdays due to signatures landed on signing day. The 10th year head coach recognizes this.
“I don’t look at it as the recruiting class makes it or breaks it, but I do look at it as maybe there’s a game-changing few players who can take you to another level, and we have to get some of those,” Stoops told The Athletic before the 2021 season. “We have a solid core, a solid foundation, and we develop players.