It’s football preseason, but it’s also national campaign season, so it’s idea time. It’s time for crazy, impossible promises that nobody could ever possibly keep. The good news is that they aren’t coming from Donald or Hillary, they’re coming from me.

And I’m talking football. Task one: making Kentucky football great again.

I heard the snickers. “Again?” you may be saying. And yes, it is worth noting that I’m 35, and Kentucky hasn’t posted a winning SEC record in my lifetime. But there is some success to consider — most notably a few years in the late 1940s and early 1950s when Bear Bryant had UK in the national picture, and a few years in the 1970s when Fran Curci bent enough rules to work UK back there again.

There have been other brief bursts of mild success — a run in the 1980s when UK went from a winless season to back-to-back Hall of Fame Bowl appearances under Jerry Claiborne (1983-84), the first three years of Hal Mumme’s ill-fated Air Raid (1997-99), Rich Brooks’s bowl-bound final four seasons (2006-09).

How can UK get back at least to being very good, and maybe someday great? Don’t tell Mitch Barnhart that it’s spelled out here, but are a few tips and tricks follow.

1. Lock down the state in recruiting

Kentucky is a lousy recruiting base. But it’s been even worse since UK has failed to keep top recruits at home, losing them to national powers (linebacker Lamar Dawson to USC, running back Damien Harris to Alabama) or to Louisville (less in recent years, but Louisville’s 2000s run to glory was fueled by in-state studs like QB Brian Brohm or RB Michael Bush).

This is demonstrable at the moment with all-world OT Jedrick Wills, who is from Lexington. Recent scuttlebutt has suggested that Wills, a 4-star prospect, is leaning toward Alabama.

Whether they have to beg, steal, or rob, Kentucky can’t let the top talent get out of the state. They’ve kept quarterbacks — Andre Woodson, Patrick Towles, Drew Barker, etc.,

And they had a good run in 2015, keeping home in-state stud linemen Landon Young and Drake Jackson, and linebacker Kash Daniel, who Michigan tried to steal away in the last hour. They need several more years in that pattern. One common denominator of UK’s upticks was owning the in-state talent.

2. Win the war of attrition — or at least, don’t get killed in it

College football at its root is a game of attrition. There’s a reason 85 guys are on scholarship to fulfill 11 spots at a time.

Injuries, suspensions, transfers, it happens to everybody. But it hurts a team like Kentucky much more than a team like Alabama.

For instance, Kentucky’s defensive line begins 2016 in shambles. Why? Attrition. Senior defensive end Jason Hatcher was kicked off the team after being arrested and charged with trafficking marijuana. Junior defensive tackle Regie Meant left the team for unknown, unspecified reasons. Javon Provitt, a 2015 recruit, never made it to campus.

These issues hurt everybody, but Kentucky’s depth is so razor-thin that these issues can become crippling. UK basically has to have all of its available defensive linemen stay healthy and play over their heads. And that’s a tall order of business to begin a season.

3. Excel in special teams

Kentucky will face a talent deficit frequently on offense and defense. One way to close that talent gap is by owning special teams. In recent years, when UK has had special teams studs making big plays — Derek Abney, Keenan Burton, Derrick Locke, Randall Cobb, Tim Masthay — things tend to roll much smoother for UK.

The Stoops years have ranged from mediocre to putrid on special teams. Errors like having eight players on the field to return a punt last year against Auburn simply can’t afford to happen. UK needs to shine on special teams, and can’t afford to play as badly as it has in recent years.

4. Give a coach time

This isn’t a political statement and isn’t intended to suggest that Mark Stoops is the right guy for UK football.

What is absolutely clear is that a rotation door isn’t helping anybody.

It’s not an accident that the best programs tend to be those with the most continuity. Too many times in recent years, UK has ended up with situations like that of quarterback Jared Lorenzen, who played for three head coaches (and offensive coordinators) in four seasons.

The example of Virginia Tech often comes to mind. Tech didn’t improve overnight with Frank Beamer — who had four losing seasons in his first six years, including years five and six. No, much of the success followed the point when fans of most teams would’ve driven off Beamer. But Tech stuck with him, and ended up striking gold.

Since Hal Mumme took over in 1997, only one Kentucky coach — Brooks — has spent more than four seasons on the sidelines. Stoops is entering his fourth season.

Maybe Stoops is that guy for UK. And maybe he isn’t. But either way, UK needs to find the rebuilder and give him the time to finish the job.

5. Quit blaming basketball

There is an alleged culture war in UK athletics. Because of how wildly successful UK basketball is, some naysayers are convinced that UK football can’t do the same.

Nonsense. Florida and Ohio State have shown in recent years that you can be in the top tier of both sports at the same time. It is definitely possible.

There will always be some jealousy from the UK football program toward their basketball brethren. But Kentucky football plays to a mostly full house week in and week out despite the fact that it’s been 39 years since a winning SEC season.

The Brooks and Mumme eras long ago proved that if you build it, Kentucky fans will come. And basketball be darned, they’ll be as intense as any fans anywhere. So quit hiding behind basketball, UK fans. But also quit complaining about it. You can be terrible at basketball and great at football. Or terrible at both. Or great at both.