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Can a fan base impact recruiting?
If you ask Kentucky wide receivers coach Tommy Mainord, he'll tell you that he's seen it happen.
Mainord, who spent the last couple of years at Texas Tech, told Kentucky Wildcats TV, "I knew there was excitement (at UK), but I didn't know the level until I got to the office and felt it. You can't imagine when you're recruiting a kid out of high school and his twitter account jumps a thousand people in 2 hours because the fans found out who he was."
"It is overwhelming to me and it really brings a new excitement that I didn't know we had to myself because I know what it's doing for recruiting. We can only do so much. When they feel the Big Blue Nation out there doing that... I can't tell you how many letters I write, how many phone calls I make, or how hard I work, the fans can pour so much into it that we can't see. It's awesome to see."
Kentucky currently holds the 8th best recruiting class in the nation, according to 247Sports. The Wildcats have five 4-star commitments and thirteen 3-stars.
Mainord says, "I think this is a perfect storm. No one is doing it (Air Raid) in the SEC East, right now. I think taking this offense and combine that with the hottest defensive coordinator in the country that you just hired as your head coach, I think it's the perfect storm. With the way recruiting is going, I think it's a special time for the University of Kentucky."
What about Stoops?
Mainord says, "He's very personable. You can tell that from Day 1 and the reputation that he had as being a family man. A lot of people mention about our young staff. I've got two children; he does, too. What a great opportunity to come in and raise your family in an environment where you've got other people around you that want to do the same thing. You'd be surprised how many coaches in the business are the complete opposite."
One has to imagine that athletic directors are taking notice of the importance of a new head coach being able to rally a fan base.
If you ask Kentucky wide receivers coach Tommy Mainord, he'll tell you that he's seen it happen.
Mainord, who spent the last couple of years at Texas Tech, told Kentucky Wildcats TV, "I knew there was excitement (at UK), but I didn't know the level until I got to the office and felt it. You can't imagine when you're recruiting a kid out of high school and his twitter account jumps a thousand people in 2 hours because the fans found out who he was."
"It is overwhelming to me and it really brings a new excitement that I didn't know we had to myself because I know what it's doing for recruiting. We can only do so much. When they feel the Big Blue Nation out there doing that... I can't tell you how many letters I write, how many phone calls I make, or how hard I work, the fans can pour so much into it that we can't see. It's awesome to see."
Kentucky currently holds the 8th best recruiting class in the nation, according to 247Sports. The Wildcats have five 4-star commitments and thirteen 3-stars.
Mainord says, "I think this is a perfect storm. No one is doing it (Air Raid) in the SEC East, right now. I think taking this offense and combine that with the hottest defensive coordinator in the country that you just hired as your head coach, I think it's the perfect storm. With the way recruiting is going, I think it's a special time for the University of Kentucky."
What about Stoops?
Mainord says, "He's very personable. You can tell that from Day 1 and the reputation that he had as being a family man. A lot of people mention about our young staff. I've got two children; he does, too. What a great opportunity to come in and raise your family in an environment where you've got other people around you that want to do the same thing. You'd be surprised how many coaches in the business are the complete opposite."
One has to imagine that athletic directors are taking notice of the importance of a new head coach being able to rally a fan base.
