Kentucky hoped to maintain consistency on offense when it hired Shannon Dawson as its new offensive coordinator in December to replace former OC and new Troy head coach Neal Brown.

Dawson, a former Air Raid quarterback and OC at West Virginia, has experience both playing in and coaching an Air Raid offense, which allows him and Kentucky’s offensive weapons to pick up where they left off after Brown’s two seasons in Lexington.

That continuity on offense was a big reason head coach Mark Stoops made Dawson the job offer, but it’s far from the only reason. Actually, it’s a player who played for both Stoops and Dawson at two different schools (neither of which was UK) who gave Dawson the best endorsement of all.

In an recent article written by Kyle Tucker of the Louisville Courier-Journal, Tucker spoke to former Florida State and West Virginia quarterback Clint Trickett, who is now serving as an offensive assistant at East Mississippi Community College.

Trickett began his career at FSU in 2010 while Stoops was serving as the team’s defensive coordinator. He eventually transferred to West Virginia in 2013 and spent two years playing under Dawson, who served as the Mountaineers’ OC in both seasons.

Needless to say, the kid knows UK’s new coordinator fairly well, and the fact that he had a prior relationship with Stoops from their days at FSU opened up a pathway for Kentucky’s head coach to gain some insight on his new offensive mind.

Stoops admitted to Tucker he called Trickett and picked his brain about Dawson and what he might be able to add to the Wildcats program. Trickett followed with as strong an endorsement as a former player can give, especially one who is now beginning his own coaching career.

“I was like, ‘I love the guy. He’s done a great job with us. The kids love him. Not only do they love him, they listen to him and they respond to him and respect him,'” Trickett told the Courier-Journal. “And sure enough, I walked into Coach Dawson’s office five minutes later and he gets the job. I’m not saying it’s because of me, but hopefully down the road, Coach Dawson can pay me back for that.”

Not only did Trickett admit he gave his endorsement to Stoops, an endorsement that clearly played some role in Dawson’s hire, but he went as far as to say he’s begun modeling his coaching style after Dawson’s as he begins a new chapter in his football life.

“The main thing is it was effective,” he told Tucker of Dawson’s coaching style. “The way he talked to us and coached us up, it’s effective. And I liked playing for him. Maybe at other times I didn’t have the joy of playing the game when I was playing for other coaches. But with him, it put everything in perspective and it was effective. If you can enjoy playing the game and be good doing it, that’s exactly what you want.”

Kentucky quarterback Patrick Towles, who started all 12 games for UK last year and will now forge a new relationship with Dawson as he aims to keep his job as a redshirt junior, echoed those sentiments during the spring practice season, calling Dawson “a super, super positive guy.”

Kentucky’s offense is still stocked primarily with young, developing pieces, as opposed to last year’s veteran-led West Virginia offense. As a result, Dawson’s positivity may be the perfect fit for Kentucky’s offense as it aims to take the Air Raid to a new gear in 2015.

Stoops seems pleased with his hire thus far, adding much of the same sentiment as Trickett and Towles regarding Dawson’s attitude at the helm of a young offense still learning its way in the SEC.

“I think our players are enjoying it,” Stoops said. “In some ways, maybe (Dawson) eliminated a little bit of thinking, a little bit of pressure off certain guys.”

We’ll see just how nice of a fit Dawson is on Kentucky’s staff when the Wildcats open their 2015 season in September. Until then, there’s reason to believe the UK offense will soar to new heights this fall. The hope is that as the offense soars, so too will the win total, elevating Kentucky back to bowl season for the first time since 2010.

Trickett seemed to agree as he wrapped up his interview with Tucker.

“They’re primed to have a good year,” he said. “There’s no doubt about it.”