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Mark Stoops, UK players respond to Greg McElroy's criticism of Matt Elam

Jon Hale/The Courier-Journal

This story will be updated.

HOOVER, Ala. --- When Mark Stoops and Kentucky’s player representatives arrived at the Southeastern Conference’s annual media day festivities Wednesday, controversy awaited them.

In a segment on the league’s SEC Network Tuesday, analyst and former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy ripped Kentucky senior nose guard Matt Elam as part of a longer examination of Kentucky’s potential strengths and weaknesses.

“This defensive line, they need to be issued the challenge because this was an embarrassing effort last year, particularly the former 5-star Matt Elam who’s lazy and as underachieving a player as I’ve seen in this league in some time,” McElroy said.