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#BBN: Our Loss, Our Gain.

by Larry Vaught | photo by Vicky Graff

Think about what Kentucky football has lost since it beat Iowa in the Citrus Bowl to complete a second 10-win season in a four-year span: • Offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who revamped the

UK offense into a pro-style attack, left after one season to become offensive coordinator for the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams. • Offensive line coach Eric Wolford left after one season to join the Alabama staff. • Inside linebackers coach Jon Sumrall, one of UK's best recruiters, got the head job at Troy State. • Receiver Wan'Dale Robinson left early for the NFL after one record-setting season following his transfer from

Nebraska.

• Three starting offensive linemen — Darian Kinnard, Dare Rosenthal and Luke Fortner — are all likely NFL draft choices.

• Three defensive players — Josh Paschal, Yussuf Corker and Marquan McCall — were all invited to the NFL Combine.

Yet Kentucky coach Mark Stoops has been almost giddy as he thinks ahead to the season opener September 3rd against Miami. "Our players are as excited today as they were a year ago," Stoops said before spring practice started. "We have a culture here where guys work hard and want to win. That is not changing." Stoops went back to the NFL to help fill his coaching staff. He got San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello to be UK's new offensive coordinator and 49ers assistant offensive line coach Zach Yenser to become the new line coach.

"There are some really good players coming back here," Scangarello said. "Coach Stoops has done a great job recruiting the right type of people. I think the pieces are here that we need. There has been a foundation laid that has set the right trend for where we are headed." Those "good players" start with quarterback Will Levis and running back Chris Rodriguez. Levis threw for 2,826 yards and 24 touchdowns and ran for 376 yards and nine more scores. Rodriguez ran for 1,379 yards and three touchdowns last season and has averaged over 6.5 yards per carry overall during the last three seasons. Yenser, a Kentucky native, said he was "intrigued" about joining Stoops' staff. "Seeing his vision and plan for the future here really fired me up. It was a no-brainer to take the job," Yenser said. "It's a great opportunity to be part of what is going on here. We have guys used to winning who want to keep winning. "Coach Stoops is dedicated to the same physical play that we believed in at the 49ers. We are going to try and be the most physical offensive line on the field every game. That's the mentality we are going to keep having." Kentucky is also adding its highest-rated recruiting class that features the speed at receiver the Cats need to offset the loss of Robinson and potential depth at a lot of other positions. The Cats also got a huge boost when three linebackers — DeAndre Square, Jacquez Jones and Jordan Wright — all decided to return for a "super" senior season. Once again, Kentucky also did well in the transfer portal to potentially help fill voids in the offensive and defensive lines along with receivers.

"The standard here now is to win ten or more games every year, and with the roster we have, I think we can do that," Levis said. "We have high expectations and standards for ourselves. Even though you might make a mistake, mistakes aren't acceptable. You can't beat yourself up, but you have to learn. I think as long as we trust the coaches, we can build on what we did last year and have an even better season." •