It wasn’t long ago the Kentucky football program was the living, breathing punching bag of the Southeastern Conference. Prior to head coach Mark Stoops’ arrival, the roster was lined with FCS-level talent, raising the incline of the uphill battle he was set to face when taking over the program in November 2012.
There were times of adversity — plenty of them, actually — but Mitch Barnhart and the UK Athletics remained patient and let Stoops build from the ground up. It started with facility upgrades and selling hopes and dreams to recruits with no tangible evidence of success.