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  • Vince Marrow, Coaching and Community

    By: LARRY VAUGHT

    LEXINGTON — Growing up in Ohio, the football schools almost everyone knew about were Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan. So when Kentucky recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow was offered a spot on the Michigan staff during the offseason, he had to think about.

    “I thought with the way I recruit Ohio, we could do some real damage at Michigan,” said Marrow. “I knew we could challenge Ohio State. We can challenge Ohio State at Kentucky, but we don’t beat them on a lot of Ohio kids. But going to Michigan with that rivalry like it has been, I knew we could beat them.

    “But then when I really thought about it, I realized most people just don’t know the talent we have at Kentucky and where we are going. I was thinking I did not want to be on the other end (at Michigan) and then see (UK coach Mark) Stoops do all that stuff I know he will.

    “The other part is the community. My daughter plays sports and we are part of this community. When I started thinking about wanting to leave this place, it wasn’t hard to know what to do. This is a great place. Great administration. Some throw that out, but we have a great administration and I just didn’t want to do. I really love it here and Stoops is a great guy. So why leave?”

    Marrow didn’t leave and now he’s excited about what lies ahead for UK during the 2015 season and beyond. He’s once again helped put together a stellar 2016 recruiting class already that is ranked among the nation’s top 20 currently.

    Marrow shared insights on a variety of subjects during a recent interview.

    Question: What have you enjoyed most about your time in Kentucky?
    Marrow: “At first it was the football part with coach Stoops but as I got settled and got to really see people and how they were, it was great. They play a big part in bringing recruits here from Ohio. Recruits don’t know what to expect and then they see what the atmosphere is like. Parents go out and meet fans freely.

    “So I liked the coaching part first and then the community. These are really good people. Coach Stoops says I am like the mayor of Lexington. My daughter plays travel softball and her team won the World Series in South Carolina. My oldest daughter graduated and played basketball at Dunbar. Stoops is a family guy and if it is important, he allows us to do stuff when our kids play. Not every coach is like that. (Oklahoma coach) Bob Stoops, his brother, is the same way. They grind, but they want you to be there for your kids.”

    Question: Has Mark Stoops changed from knowing him as a child until today?
    Marrow: The only thing that has changed is that he is a head coach and is making more money. He is same guy I knew in high school and why we get players here. What you see is what you get. He can be a disciplinarian but kids know and at the end of day he will be in your corner.
    “We come from a blue-collar town with steel mills. We played sports and went to church. We thought about being professional athletes.
    growing up we come bluecollar town,s tell mills, played sports and went to church, we thought about being professional athletes. What made him want to coach was his dad and the job he did coaching. He went into coaching before me. But I knew after I finished playing pro ball that I wanted to coach, too.”

    “I don’t think any of the Stoops brothers thought they would be head coaches. But I think when they got there, they knew what kind of guys to hire — guys with the same backgrounds, same beliefs. We have all the same beliefs.”

    Question: What makes you an effective recruiter?
    Marrow: “I am a product of where we grew up in Youngstown (Ohio), a steel mill city. You have got to have a little charisma but also a little favor with God. People have got to know you are real. Coaches know we are straight up. We don’t lie. If Stoops offers, he is not going to pull a scholarship away from a kid like some schools do. We are kind of like Kentucky people, and that’s why we relate so well to folks in this state.

    “I never really thought Kentucky was similar to Ohio until I got here. But both have hard working people who believe in what we do. Like LeBron (James), we don’t want anything given to us. I know his mom and the stuff he does. People appreciate blue collar, and that is us. Just let us earn it is my philosophy.”

    Question: What progress have you seen in three years in upgrading UK’s talent and way UK is perceived nationally?
    Marrow: “I think nationally it has changed a lot. I know a lot of people. I am not taking shots but a lot of people nationally know Kentucky now. Visiting coaches and scouts say they see a different type of kid here now. It’s a different vibe. We want to earn more and our kids are working hard. They look good in the weight room. They look like kids we had when I was at Nebraska.

    “There has been a culture change under Stoops in the weight room and a culture change when we recruit. We are not going for mid-level guys. We go against the big guys. We have brought in kids from great programs with great work ethics. They are not used to slacking off. We do thorough research when we evaluate a guy. It’s kind of like the NFL philosophy. We are not just taking athletes. We are recruiting families. We want to know what the kid is doing off the field. Definitely the culture has changed here, and it had to change.”

    Question: What do you expect from tight ends C.J. Conrad, Darryl Long and Greg Hart, a Nebraska transfer hoping to be eligible, this season?
    Marrow: “I played the position at the highest level and know what a complete tight end looks like. C.J. is definitely everything I thought he was. I think some of our other guys did not know until they saw him in spring ball. Long is another guy in the 6-5 range who can play and if Hart can play, we have three really good tight ends.

    “I wish Jordan Aumiller (who was a senior in Marrow’s first season at UK) could have been here three years. He got coached by us for a year and this kid had everything. He was kind of short changed before we got here. If we had two or three years with that kid, he was exactly what you wanted. Both of these guys are like that.

    “Jordan is helping me coach and every day I tell him to stay in coaching. He knows what we want and he can relate to guys. He is a smart kid. If I ever took a (head) job, there is no doubt he is the guy I would hire as tight end coach. That’s why I want him to stay in coaching. He has knowledge, he knows the game, he has learned from me. I can let him teach now because he knows exactly what I want.”

    Question: What impact does the Commonwealth Stadium renovation have on the program?
    Marrow: “When we first took the job we signed some high profile guys and people were like why would they go there with no crowds. People were negative recruiting against us. Then we had 54,000 at the spring game. We have got one of the top facilities in the country. Now with the new stuff we are building, you walk into that stadium and it has the look of Raymond James Stadium (in Tampa where the NFL Bucs play) but the north side looks like the LSU stadium. It captivates you.

    “When it is done, it will be unreal. The kids think the facilities are good now and they are. But just wait until the new stuff is done. It will be crazy and we will have one of the top five facilities in the country. That means a lot both to kids and their families. It gets the attention of both. Brand new stadium, brand new indoor facility. All stuff that Stoops hand picked that we wanted.

    “Basketball is going to be basketball. They actually help us immensely. When we take guys to basketball games, it is almost 100 percent that we can get them. The coaches have been good to us. That’s my secret weapon. I get guys to basketball games and when I show their parents all these crazy fans that can come to football games, they are impressed.

    “But then a lot of guys came to our South Carolina game last year and it was just pandaemonium after we won and that blew a lot of people away. Whether you were from Florida, Ohio or Kentucky, it was just great.”

    Question: Who has been the toughest recruit for you to convince to come to Kentucky?
    Marrow: “I would say Darius West tied with Mike Edwards. Those guys had everybody wanting them and everybody was negative recruiting. They were high stars. I had to sell them on trust and believing in me and Stoops. It was a process going on and on. When we got those two, especially West, coach Stoops was very excited.

    “Nationally, I would say the hardest was Matt Elam. He could have gone anywhere in the country. Alabama, Ohio State, everybody wanted him. He didn’t tell us anything. Coach Stoops might have known he was coming before the announcement, but we (the rest of the staff) didn’t. Same with (quarterback) Drew (Barker). You just have to grind and keep the faith.”
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