Football Cats Getting No Respect from Preseason Yearbooks

By Ed Peak

It's time to dig into the college football magazines for 2025. All three main yearbooks are on newsstands — Athlon, Lindy's and Phil Steele's football bible.

Kentucky football is, well Kentucky football. After a tough season a year ago, the Wildcats aren't getting any respect this season from the yearbooks. Coach Mark Stoops, now in his 13th season with a 67-73 record, and his Wildcats were picked to finish only ahead of Mississippi State in the 16-team Southeastern Conference.

No Kentucky player was selected to the All-SEC first team offense or defense. On top of more negativity, Stoops lost his main recruiting guru, Vince Morrow, to rival Louisville.

The Wildcats have eight home games that includes Texas, Tennessee and Florida. Road contests include South Carolina, Georgia, Auburn and Vanderbilt.

The Battle of the Bluegrass will be in Louisville.

The only good thing about this season is no one expects much from this team. Last season's four wins look like a lot.

The quarterback might be seventh-year transfer Zach Calzada. Offensively, the Cats ranked 114th, allowing 330.4 yards per game.

Guard Jalen Farmer and tight end Josh Kattus are the only returning offensive starters. Transfers are expected at several positions. Defensively, only JQ Hardaway and Ty Bryant return in the secondary.

It's hard to see Stoops going anywhere with a $40 million buyout. His salary is over $6 million. I don't think he will walk away from that.

Ed Peak is a longtime sportswriter from Louisville.