Kentucky coach Mark Stoops jokes about Nick Saban recruiting him to Michigan State

Kentucky coach Mark Stoops has the unenviable task of trying to prepare for Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide this week.

During his Monday press conference, though, Stoops shared a light-hearted story about a time when Saban didn’t get his way — the time when Saban, then a defensive backs coach at Michigan State, was trying to recruit Stoops to play for the Spartans:

Stoops now joking about when Saban was the DB coach at Michigan State and recruited Stoops to MSU

— Kernel Sports (@KYKernelSports) September 26, 2016

Stoops said he cancelled recruiting visit to Michigan State and "phone call (to Saban) did not go very well."

— Vaughts' Views (@vaughtsviews) September 26, 2016

Stoops also told a story that showed just how focused Saban is on football all the time:

Mark Stoops tells the story of his uncle Bob talking X’s and O’s with Saban once back in the day. The bar got robbed and they didn’t know.

— Jen Smith (@jenheraldleader) September 26, 2016

Stoops’s Wildcats, fresh off a win against South Carolina, will travel to Tuscaloosa to take on Saban’s No. 1 Crimson Tide on Saturday at 6 p.m. Central time. The game can be seen on ESPN.