Kentucky Wildcats football coach Mark Stoops made some bold comments about Georgia football using Name, Image, and Likeness to add some a level of talent that the Wildcats don’t have.
Georgia dominated Kentucky 51-13 in a deflating Week 6 loss for the Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky entered the game 5-0 and as the No. 20 team in the country. Georgia was coming off a few close games and looked like a team Kentucky had a chance to compete with entering the game. The gap between Georgia and Kentucky is as wide as it has ever been.
Buy Bulldogs TicketsMark Stoops mentioned one way that the Wildcats can begin to compete with the top teams in the SEC on the UK Healthcare Mark Stoops Show.
I just encourage them to donate more because that’s what those teams are doing. I can promise you Georgia, they bought some pretty good players.
You’re allowed to these days. We could use some help. That’s what they look like, you know what I mean, when you have 85 of them. I encourage anybody that’s disgruntled to pony up some more.
Georgia football coach Kirby Smart and defensive lineman Zion Logue were asked to comment about Stoops’ bold words.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart responds to Mark Stoops
Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart avoided talking about Mark Stoops’ comments about Georgia. Smart knows that it is important for coaches to try to raise money for their programs and thinks that Stoops was doing just that.
No reaction. Much to do about nothing really. I think Mark is trying to garner interest in money from his fan base for his collective and we’re all trying to do the same in terms of trying to get money for our collective. Mark and I talked about NIL pregame, and we talked about it in our meeting. I’m not biting on that.
Georgia is not the biggest offenders of buying players in the SEC. Texas A&M’s recruiting approach has been widely criticized.
Georgia DL Zion Logue's response to Stoops
There are plenty of #takes about what Mark Stoops said.
I've yet to hear or see one better than Zion Logue's https://t.co/3IxkDsNuQI pic.twitter.com/hT35tWqKnv
— Connor Riley (@Kconnorriley) October 11, 2023
What Aaron Murray thinks of Stoops' comments
Mark Stoops wants a new roster 😱
We discuss➡️ https://t.co/Yz8fHI8lrU pic.twitter.com/0vl0bGJgYV
— Aaron Murray (@aaronmurray11) October 10, 2023
247Sports' Josh Pate weighs in
Couldn’t even pretend to be worked up over Mark Stoops’ NIL comments. Non-issue. pic.twitter.com/VawkW6l65L
— Josh Pate (@LateKickJosh) October 11, 2023
Kentucky generally has reasonable expectations for football. Mark Stoops knows that it would be very tough for the Wildcats to consistently compete with Georgia football without having the same amount of resources as the Bulldogs.
The reversed happens for Georgia basketball. Georgia basketball certainly does not get as much Name, Image, and Likeness funding as Kentucky basketball.
Why does Kentucky football have low expectations?
.@UKFootball under Mark Stoops 📈@UKCoachStoops | @UKAthletics pic.twitter.com/T5YeyvO7pf
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) October 7, 2023
The Wildcats have not had much historic success or resources in football. Mark Stoops is one of the best coaches in Kentucky football history.
Video: Stoops' full comments
"Fans have that right…I just encourage them to donate more, because that’s what those teams are doing. I can promise you Georgia, they bought some pretty good players. You’re allowed to these days. We could use some help." – Kentucky HC Mark Stoops on his radio show. 👀 #cfb… pic.twitter.com/SbLVH2jO7u
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) October 10, 2023
Stoops has never beat Georgia
Mark Stoops is 0-10 against Georgia, being outscored by an average of 33.3 – 12.7.
Kentucky has only scored 2 TDs and averaged 5.5 points per game in its last 4 meetings with Georgia.
— Brandon Zimmerman (@BZSEC) October 2, 2023
Stoops is now 0-11 and the average score is even more in Georgia’s favor.
