The way Mark Stoops view it, the same people that note the impressive job he’s done in Lexington in recent years were probably some of the same people that questioned whether he was the right man to lead the Kentucky football program during his first few years on the job.

Either way, while any praise can be used to help the Kentucky program, Stoops doesn’t give much consideration to what’s being written about him or his program by the national media.

Over the weekend, Stoops was asked how he reacts to seeing his name mentioned among college football’s best coaches.

“You want your program to be recognized for the growth that you have and the improvements that you’ve made, over the years and really that’s what’s important. It’s just, the brand and the national recognition of your program not so much individually,” Stoops said during his most recent media availability.

Stoops went on to suggest that his program is underrated seemingly every offseason and if they surrendered to those expectations, there wouldn’t have been much success achieved in Lexington in recent seasons.

“It’s just like the preseason rankings and things. If we listen to that we wouldn’t have done the things we’ve been doing,” Stoops added. “So we’re really concentrating on ourselves and constantly trying to grow the program and certainly some of that helps – again from a program standpoint. The individual things really don’t put any stock in that whatsoever.

“I just continue to, you know what I’m doing, go to work and grow this program and get better each and every day. That really is the mentality, without it being too much of a cliche, but it’s bringing a lunch pail, go to work, get the program better. Because if you’re down and out, nobody’s gonna feel sorry for you. When things are going good, you better keep things in check and constantly try to improve, so we always try to keep an even keel perspective around here.”