Mark Stoops has resurrected the Kentucky program into one of the more respected jobs in the country. That was evident this week in the wake of the Southern Cal job coming open and college football reporters and analysts ranking the top jobs in the nation.

Kentucky was consistently mentioned in a favorable light. Stoops was asked about that discussion on Wednesday on the SEC coaches media teleconference.

“I guess I take that as a compliment, because when I got here, I can guarantee it was a bottom-10 job.” Stoops said. “I can’t read people’s minds on how they interpret it. … I’ve said it since Day 1, when I talked about taking it to national prominence when I got here, people laughed at me. But we’re on our way. We’re taking steps, building blocks. It’s not easy. … We have no intention of slowing down.”

The Wildcats are coming off a big win over Missouri last week, and will play host to Chattanooga this week in a game set for noon ET on SEC Network+/ESPN+.