Mark Stoops Monday Press Conference
Mark Stoops News Conference
Post-Tennessee, Pre-Missouri
October 31, 2022
Opening Statement…
“Really excited about this opportunity, to be honest with you. Any time you take a butt-kicking like that, and you get into work on Sunday, and that long bus ride home, get home late Saturday night, and Sunday is not fun. But we have to face the facts. We have to take a good look at ourselves, see the things, the areas that we’ve falling short, address them. We don’t hide from them. There are certainly issues. You have to credit Tennessee, as I mentioned after the game, that’s one heck of a football team. Very good. You have to play good in all three phases, you’ve got to piece it together, and you’ve got to make plays. You’ve got to make competitive plays. I felt like our team played with very good intensity in a lot of areas. Not completely, in a lot of areas I thought their competitive nature was very high. I thought they competed. I thought defensively they really competed and played on an edge. Certainly we made some mistakes but played with very good intensity. I thought offensively we tried to be physical. At times we were physical, the guys strained, we moved the ball at times. You’ve got to capitalize. You have to keep up. I mentioned it after the game, when you get drives, you have to make competitive catches, you have to convert when you’re in the red zone, you’ve got to try to keep pace, and hopefully that changes things. With a team like Tennessee, if you do not, and you turn it over, and you give them good field position, whether it be special teams or lack of efficiency offensively, it can get out of hand in a hurry. So there’s a lot of things, there’s no panic, we have to get back on track, and get back to work. We’ve done that before and if you compete in this league, you better get used to it. That’s not good, we will never except that, but we better get back on the horse here real quick, and get ready to compete and play Missouri.
“Each year you look at it, at the end of the year, there’s teams in our league, you have to look at it for some of us much like the NFL – there’s a lot of parity. There’s some elite teams in our league, on each side, the East and the West, and then there’s a lot of teams fighting. Missouri is one of those teams. I give Coach Drink (Eli Drinkwitz) a lot of credit, because they had a brutal loss a few games back, with the Auburn game, where they were essentially an inch from winning the game. The team could’ve went any which way, and they turn around and play an incredible game, play Georgia as good as anybody has played them and had a tough loss, and go to Florida and play incredibly well. You could take a few plays out of that one and they can win. Then they beat Vandy and beat South Carolina. They are playing extremely hard. He got those guys regrouped, and they could very easily be 5-3 just like us, and right in the middle of the pack with the rest of the SEC, so this is obviously a big game for us to not let one (loss) turn into two. I don’t think that will happen, we have some strong leadership on our team. We’ve already addressed it some, postgame, and we’ve got to get back to work today with our meetings and with practice, and get ready to go play a team in Missouri that I’m really impressed with. I think they’re playing extremely hard. Coach (Drinkwitz) has done a really good job of getting that team playing at a high level, and doing some really good things. And much like us, after a tough loss or bad beats, you can go either way, and they’ve responded the right way and I expect our team to do the same.”
On the injuries that occurred in the Tennessee game and an injury update on DeAndre Square…
“Everybody should be day-to-day. With DeAndre, it’s doubtful. But you don’t know, put some medicine in there, ice it up, and maybe. But chances are, he’s not going to play. DeAndre is a great leader. He’ll still have a great impact, and Trevin (Wallace) will step up and play well.”
On if the loss to Tennessee was embarrassing…
“You’re not going to get a headline out of me, saying that. You can say whatever you want. I’m not going to use that word. I’m not pleased. “
On an injury update on Jeremy Flax …
“We’ll see. He’s day-to-day. He should be out there today or tomorrow.”
On the state of the offense, after watching the film, where progress has been made and if you’re confident in the system…
“Obviously you’re not very pleased with that result. That’s hard to say after a game like that because, once again, I’m smart enough not to get a headline out of me, with acting like I’m pleased with that performance, because I’m clearly not. Nobody should be. So, you have to always look at things, and evaluate things, and see the good and the bad, and where you’re falling short. What else (are) you going to do ? There’s nothing drastic. You certainly better look at it, you better address it, and you better get it fixed or you’re not going to last. But again, we’ve been through it. There’s some areas where everybody can do better. We can certainly coach better. We can put them in better position. Guys can step up and make plays, personnel, you name it, injury, but there’s enough blame to go around. We are constantly evaluating, constantly looking at things, and striving to do better.”
On the good things that you saw in the Tennessee game, such as D’Eryk Jackson…
“D’Eryk (Jackson) played well. It’s hard. You’re not going to be perfect but did a lot of good things. I thought the competitiveness with a talented team, being put in bad positions at times, stepping up, holding (them) to a field goal, miss a field goal, doing things and grinding out some tough stops. But there were some breakdowns that I’ve already went through, I don’t need to throw darts at any particular player or anything like that, but there were some things that are inexcusable against a team like that, on both sides and on special teams, all three phases. But there was a lot of guys straining and competing against some very good players, and stepping up and doing some good things. That’s just a piece of it. It’s easy to be a punching bag when you lose like that, and take those shots. But for our team, I am going to take the good and show them and watch it. There’s things in there that we did well.”
On if the Tennessee home crowd affected Kentucky…
“I think you see that in every SEC game. When you’re on the road there’s going to be some. To say that it didn’t have any effect is not true. You’ve got to be able to handle it and overcome it. I don’t think it was the end-all, be-all, but certainly a tough environment. At times we handled it very well, (but) that wasn’t why we were so inefficient, let’s put it that way.”
On what you see from Missouri defensively…
“I really think they’re playing extremely hard. They always have some guys up front that are disruptive and play very physical. Their structure is good, and they’re mixing it up. They’re playing very good as a team. Just look at them early on after a very tough beat with the Auburn (game) and then playing some really good games and coming up short, you can still see the progress. You see them grinding and playing hard. Again that’s a credit to Coach Drink(witz), because that’s not easy, believe me. I know what we’re going to get when we go up there. We’re going to get a team that’s fired up and coached well and ready to play and compete. We’re all scrapping. Like I said, there’s some elite teams on both sides, East and West. There’s a whole bunch of teams that are in there trying to compete for victories.”
On if Will Levis forced some plays at Tennessee because of the pressure of being behind…
“It was. It was tough because, they got some pressure on him, we got behind, there was some reads in there that, yeah, he was trying to force things and make things happen. Even when some of the run or pass options that we had, after we ran them several times — the look was to give it, and he’s forcing it, but it’s not all on him. I think it’s the situation we were in and we certainly need to do a better job putting him and all of our players in a better position. We all share in that and players have to step up and make plays. We talked about going into it that we were going to have some one-on-ones and you have to go make them, and we came up short and the game got out of hand.”
On if you thought about taking Will Levis out of the Tennessee game toward the end…
“I addressed it after the game. I think you saw that, we handed the ball off. So, there was no reasons for an operation to get a fumble, you know what I mean? He’s plenty worn but we handed the ball off.”
On how Will Levis’ mindset is after the loss at Tennessee…
“He’s ready to go. He’ll be ready to go. He already addressed it after the game. He didn’t point fingers, he knows he can play better, he knows the unit can play better, he knows the team can play better. That’s the type of leadership we’re looking for.”
On what you have seen from Trevin Wallace…
“We’ve always been high on him. Just athletic and he’s been getting reps for years and ready to go. He’s had a really strong leader and player he’s splitting time with in front of him (DeAndre Square). He’s very physical and athletic and he’s getting more and more experience.”
On if you have thought about simplifying the game plan…
“Yes. It’s a fair criticism and things we have to look at and why and where and where we’re spending our time and all of those things we have to look, put our players in a position to be more successful. That’s on us as well.”
On if the 4th-and-1 play in the first quarter was the point at which the Tennessee game may have gotten away from Kentucky…
“That wasn’t, there’s many other plays. As I tell the team and I’ll tell you, there’s many, many plays in the game and sometimes it’s not the obvious. That’s not an obvious one, so I’m not criticizing the question, but I tell the team the same thing, you don’t know what one play can change the outcome of a game. I think at that point in time it was a low scoring game, maybe 13 or 7-6 or something to that effect, but very difficult to stop it anyway, fourth and six inches (to go). But it’s fair, you know how fast they go, and we were trying to give them the signal and they’re looking and by the time they turned and yeah, I don’t think we were in great shape.”
On some early offensive drives that clicked and had some offensive momentum, when you study the video, what good things can you take out of that to show the team…
“That’s just it. You know going into that game that we talked about, we have to sustain drives and score when we get those opportunities. Again, our approach. We didn’t make the plays. We had a third down that we had the opportunity to get to the 30 (yard line), maybe the 20, maybe score, I don’t know. There was definitely one safety back there that could have cleaned it up but you have an opportunity to try to make him miss and then the next possession the interception. Again, you just simply can’t do that against Tennessee. You have to score when you have opportunities. That’s where I realize, I’m a defensive coach, points matter, if you constantly give them possessions and good field position against Tennessee, nobody’s going to hold up.”
On the extra point that got blocked and punting…
“It was too much penetration on the field goal. I thought it (the kick) could’ve been higher and a quicker op, but a lot of times it’s close, we’re very close on four, five kicks a game, we’re a fraction off. You’re counting on just a little slower operation and a little bit of a low kick, we’ve gotten a few that way, too. On the punt, it was just not good enough. There was no excuse. It was simply not good enough. We have got to do a better job and we will.”
On if the players can move on from the Tennessee game better than the coaches can…
“We have to, there’s no if, ands, or buts. You have to put it behind you. We always address that and look at things and self-evaluate and try to get better, win or lose. That’s not going to change. There are different approaches and I will talk to the team about that, there are NFL bad beats, SEC bad beats. What, do you just fold the tent? You just give up after some tough losses? There’s five teams in the SEC with a better record than us, and there is some elite, I mean elite, good as anybody else in the country. Our players understand that nobody is going to give us anything, nobody is going to feel sorry for us, you’ve got to get back to work that’s the only way around it. After the two losses going into Mississippi State, our team responded, but we have to go play well because this team’s playing well (Missouri) and they bounced back from some tough losses and really have done a good job and we have to respond to that. The last time we went up there (2020) I didn’t like our approach and we got our butts kicked, and so we’re playing an early game, we got back late Saturday, but so what, it is what it is. The situation is what it is, so we’re going to pick it up, we’re going to work, we’re going to punch the clock this week, and I was telling Susan (Lax) walking over here, I feel surprisingly freaking jacked up and great. Why? Because you have to be. You have to be. Yeah, I felt like crap all night Saturday night and all day Sunday, but today I’m freaking jacked up, ready to go.”
(Stoops interrupts next question)
“I have to say, I have to give Dr. (Eli) Capilouto part of that. I was exhausted and tired and worked all day (Sunday), didn’t sleep and late last night I think Doc was coming in from out of town, and stopped in my office about nine o’clock. I was in there half-dreary and he was like, ‘I just want to pick (you up), you know what I mean, just pat you, just say get back in the fight,’ and I appreciate that.”
On what that means to you…
“It means a lot. You know, just like I was hitting a little wall, give me some more coffee (laughter), get me some more. It does because, as the leader of this football team, you’ve got to set the tone. I’m fortunate to have great leaders in the administration to help me and pick me up that way. We’re all in this together, so it meant a lot.”
On Missouri’s wide receiver Dominic Lovett…
“I see a very good player, just a sophomore and making plays, and explosive. I think they do a nice job of being creative of finding ways to make sure they’re going to get their touches. So, you could see him and Luther Burden continuing to be guys that are playmakers.”
On Missouri quarterback Brady Cook improving each week…
“Yeah, he really is. I thought that he’s really doing a nice job, and I think Eli (Drinkwitz) and their staff does a nice job of kind of doing what they do, but they give you a lot to look at — a lot of eye candy and different things, and then they execute. It’s a very evenly matched game. You sit there and look at them defensively and us, we’re neck and neck, offensively we both are dead (even) the same, 23, basically 24 points a game. It’s definitely a game that is important to both of us.”
On what it takes to enter the elite tier in the SEC…
“You just keep on grinding, keep on chopping that tree, and that’s what it is and you try to put it together. People don’t just magically at the end of the year say, ‘Wow that was just a great (season).’ You string together days. You have good days all the time, and eventually you’re going to have good weeks and you look at the end of it and say, ‘Yeah, that was a good year.’ For all of us, including them obviously, it’s day to day. Fans and people can look at it differently because you have that ability to do that. For the rest of us, for them it’s the next challenge and for us it’s the next challenge, win or lose.”
On which areas you have seen the most improvement this season…
“I think again, I think you know me better than to set me up for a punching bag and a punchline. There’s obviously inconsistencies that aren’t good enough and I’m not pleased with it. So, you’re not going to get me to say that today, but it’s not all a wash either. There’s some good and there’s some bad, and we’ve been inconsistent and I own that. I have to accept that. We didn’t play good enough.”
On Octavious Oxendine’s improvement this season…
“I think he’s playing really had, he needs to get his weight back up and his strength, but he’s playing really hard and gives us everything he has. He’s quick, with the lower weight he’s quick, but I’d like to see him get that strength back up.”
On what Mitch Barnhart has said to you recently…
“Yeah, absolutely, Mitch is always there. I don’t need an ‘atta boy,’ it’s different. He didn’t say ‘atta boy’ he just came over to look me in the eye and say, ‘Let’s go.’ Nobody’s happy with that. Mitch is not happy with that, I’m not happy with that, Dr. Capilouto is not, but that doesn’t mean we’re not all in the same corner.”
You mentioned coffee, what’s your brand of coffee?
“This is just straight right here (laughter), strong. That machine I just hit (the button), strong. No sugar.”
(indecipherable) … what you’re saying to Matt Ruffolo when he comes off the field …
“Absolutely. Our team is good that way and we have been for years. That doesn’t mean we’re perfect. That doesn’t mean players and coaches and people don’t have emotions. Emotions run hot and high. They should, we’re all competitors. At the end of the day, our team knows that we’re a team and we’re going to be unified. That doesn’t mean that there’s not accountability, there needs to be accountability, and our players need to continue to step up that accountability. We have some really good leaders and we have some really young players, (which is) a little different. Our leaders need to lead and need to push the accountability as well. I try a lot of things, obviously it fails sometimes, in the motivation and the prep and things, but I put a lot of time into it. Ultimately right now, our players have to lead.”
On your thoughts on how JuTahn McClain has played recently…
“I was really pleased with JuTahn, he’s running really tough. When you see Chris (Rodriguez Jr.) and some of those runs and then the other backs get in, you can’t help but step it up. JuTahn has always been a competitor and we believed in him. He has always been one of those guys that really strains to do things right. He’s not perfect, none of us are, but he tries to be and that’s a good quality.”
On motivation tactics not always working, such as the South Carolina game…
“You’ve covered the sport, you understand I would hope, there’s not a lot of teams that are going to play on point every game. I’d like to see one. You have to be good enough to coach better and overcome it when you don’t. We weren’t that night. No excuses. I didn’t do my job and others didn’t as well. Again, I just said it three different ways, were all in it together. Nobody’s going to point fingers, but you’ve got to accept it and understand it and it is what it is. I can’t think back to that exactly and put any one finger on it.”
On your message to the fans that are panicking a little bit…
“I did ask Tony (Neely) and Susan (Lax) on the way over here, because I’ve been in my hole working. I asked, ‘what’s going on’ and they give me a little ‘this or that’ just to make sure I know what you guys are going to hit me with (laughter). I understand not being happy and frustration, that’s fans, that’s good fans. There are some passionate fan bases and we just saw one too, and they haven’t always been happy. And ours hasn’t always been happy, there’s going to be good and there’s going to be bad. Again, much like the players, we’re all in this together, we accept that, we own it. We still need them. Anybody that’s going to jump off that quick, frustration, yes, but just come back and cheer again. You can throw darts at me after the next one. Just keep on being fans. I appreciate them, they’ve been awesome this year and I’ve never shied away from it, the criticism that comes with the territory. I’d be condescending if I said I liked it because I want to win. It doesn’t deter me. I know what it is. Nobody needs to be harder on us than us.”
On your message of, “We are not going to flinch,” delivered to fans 10 years ago…
“Without a doubt, you know that. That’s a staple. You can tell them, I’m going to tell my team. We’re not going to be fazed, we’ve got to get right back at it this weekend and I understand that. Fans are having their coffee and reading your articles and I don’t read them, I’m sure there is criticism, I don’t take offense to that. That’s your job. It’s not good enough. What more can I (say)? I’ve been hit on the chin many times, believe me. I accept it and I’ll come right back.”
On message to offensive skill position recruits…
“They know our system; they’ve seen it and they’ve seen it be successful. They’ve seen us get guys touches on the ball. We fell short, we’re not good enough right now in certain areas and part of that is on us. We have to look at that and make sure we get that fixed. There’s not many of us who haven’t gone through that.”
On what makes Tennessee’s offense so good after seeing it up close…
“The scheme is very good; the tempo is good. The splits create space and their quarterback is making very good decisions. Obviously, they have some playmakers. You put it all together and they’re playing at a very high clip. That’s what does aggravate you some because some of the things we were doing were really good, some of it … there’s a couple of plays that, it’s like, why? Was it the tempo? Was it the distraction? You look at it on the tape and you’re like ‘What the heck?’ Not that it’s easy, again not being like that because it’s not, but If you just put it all together it’s a lot on the guys, the constant force and pressure.”
On if you make one little mistake against Tennessee, how they capitalize on it…
“Without a doubt, especially when you have a quarterback that’s making really good reads. He puts the ball where he needs to, he’s accurate on deep throws and he can hurt you, he’s pulling it down quick and just making those — extending drives until they get to the next series with little scrambles and yards and making quick, good decisions.”
