Stoops: I’m glad the first two years didn’t kill me

Mark Stoops, the Kentucky head coach, spoke at SEC Media Days.

Here are some of the best quotes.

ON THE EARLY YEARS

“Really glad the first two years trying to build this program didn’t kill me.”

AND NOW?

“And as we move forward, we’ve worked extremely hard to make Kentucky relevant in the SEC East. As we move into this third year, we really feel like we put ourselves in a position to do just that.”

ON EXPECTATIONS

“We embrace the expectations. I think most of our fan base knows where we had to come from. They expect to see a blue collar, hard working, fun football team out there. That’s what we intend to deliver. As I said earlier, I think confidence grows with the work that you put in and the players that you become. But our fan base is terrific.”

ON BASKETBALL FANS

“Basketball does nothing but help us. That atmosphere they set, Coach Cal, what he does to help me and help our program, the recruiting, just the environment of that arena. We may bring a prospect in for the first time and bring them to a game, and they see our fan base. Believe me, our fan base goes well beyond the basketball team. They support all of our programs, and they are very supportive of our football team. It’s our job to continue to build this program to put a quality team on the field and to compete at a high level, and that’s what we intend to do.”

ON STARTING 5-1 TO NOT MAKING A BOWL

“Win or lose, as we go in to address our team, whether it’s on Sunday or Monday, it’s about that week. But it does mount on you.”

ON RECRUITING OHIO

“The quality of football that is in Ohio, it makes sense. So southern Ohio is a no-brainer. As you move to central and northern Ohio, it just makes sense. That’s where I grew up. I still have quite a few contacts, and, again, I believe in the football there. It’s very tough. We all know and respect and know the talent that is in the SEC footprint and in the South. It’s also extremely difficult to recruit in these areas. We will do that. We’ll continue to do that and try to grab players from the South. We have a good mixture of that, but Ohio is very important to us for all those reasons.”