USA Today jumps on the UK football bandwagon

Another day, another article from the national media about the new era in UK football. Today, it’s USA Today’s Paul Myerberg profiling the rising excitement in the UK football fanbase, starting with the new guy in charge, Mark Stoops: “First-year coach Mark Stoops has given the Wildcats’ moribund football program new life, rapidly remaking Kentucky from an SEC doormat into one of the trendy programs in the Southeast.”

Myerberg compared Kentucky’s rise to Vanderbilt’s under James Franklin in 2011:

“It’s easy to draw parallels between Stoops’ position at Kentucky with James Franklin’s move to Vanderbilt in 2011. Both are high-energy coaches inheriting a program desperate for a spark; both had immediate success on the recruiting trail; both immediately altered the program’s mindset heading into their first series of spring drills. Like Franklin, Stoops has also ratcheted up expectations for his debut campaign. Could Stoops’ follow in Franklin’s footsteps and lead Kentucky to a bowl berth in 2013? As he’ll soon find out, reversing a losing mentality is just the start — there’s also Florida, South Carolina and Georgia to worry about.”

He also tackles the defensive schemes the Cats will use and the position battles at quarterback and offensive line. Good stuff here, go check it out.

[USA TODAY: Kentucky excited for football? New coach makes the difference]