How will this season affect Kentucky football recruiting? It can go one of two ways.

Kentucky football needs players. No surprise there. Every college team needs players. Some might need more than others. Some might have a more urgent need than others. Some might be in the middle of a disappointing season. At 3-6, Kentucky is among the some.

And yet, despite the current record, Mark Stoops and his staff appear to be recruiting at a respectable, if not high, level. Don’t take our word for it. Here we look to the people who actually follow such things — the gurus, or goo-roos, as the late C.M. Newton used to call them.

Rivals has UK’s current collection of 2025 football commitments ranked 18th in the country. On3 has Kentucky ranked 21st. The 247Sports site has Kentucky at No. 20 in its rankings.

According to Rivals, the Cats have commitments from eight four-star prospects, including defensive end Javeon Campbell, defensive back Martels Carter Jr., running back Marquise Davis, defensive tackle Kalen Edwards, wide receiver Ja’kayden Ferguson, defensive back Andrew Purcell, wide receiver Quintin Simmons and defensive end Cedric Works. Recruiting season is far from over — is it ever? — but that’s a good place to start.

So here’s the question I asked Stoops at his weekly press conference on Monday: When you’re having a disappointing season, what are you hearing from those commitments?

“The recruits have been really steady,” the coach said.

One possible reason: This is not Kentucky’s norm. Not of late. After all, UK is one of three long-standing SEC programs — Georgia and Alabama being the other two — that have been to eight consecutive bowl games. (Oklahoma, new to the SEC this year, has also been to eight straight bowl games.) There is a proven record here, even if this UK season has deviated from the norm.

“Going through a year like this, we’re not used to this,” Stoops said. “We’ve gone to a bowl game eight straight years. We want more than that, but to think that’s just simple to do — we could be down to two in the SEC that have done that after this year.

“It’s not as easy as it appears. Look at the great programs in this conference. To have a year off here or there, it happens. We want to stay away from that.”

Oklahoma has won seven national championships. The Sooners are 5-5 overall and 1-5 in their first year in the SEC. Florida has won three national championships. The Gators are 4-5 overall and 2-4 in the SEC. Auburn has won two national championships. The Tigers are 3-6 overall and 1-5 in the SEC, that victory coming against Kentucky at Kroger Field.

There are two things about recruiting during a so-called off year. It can wreck recruiting. Or it can actually help recruiting, the perception being that there are holes that young players might be immediately able to fill.

“I think that’s where the balance comes in with high school recruiting,” Stoops said. “We’re off to a terrific start. We have some really good players who I believe, some of them can come in and contribute and help. But as you know, the portal will be key, as well. Look at some of the teams and the transformation they’ve made from the portal.”

Look at South Carolina. The Gamecocks dipped to 5-7 in 2023. With the help of some key portal additions, Shane Beamer’s team is 6-3 overall, 4-3 in the league and ranked 23rd in the latest AP poll. Look at Vanderbilt. The Commodores were 0-8 in the SEC last season. With the help of some key portal additions, Clark Lea’s team is 6-4 overall and 3-3 in the league this season — with a win over then-No. 1 Alabama.

“Look at history in this league,” Stoops said. “Look at some teams that hadn’t gone to a bowl game and the way they’ve bounced back and done some very good things. I think opportunity is important to portal players. I’ve just got to make sure I get out and continue to try to fundraise and raise some money to put a roster together.”

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