Mark Stoops Press Conference
Mark Stoops News Conference
Post-Bye Week, Pre-Texas
Kroger Field Media Room
October 13, 2025
Opening statement…
“We had a really good, productive bye week. We needed to get some guys healthy and needed to get better and I feel like we got a lot of work done last week, got guys healthy, got a little head start on Texas. So, looking forward to another great challenge here this week. Glad to be back home. Should be a great crowd and a great environment, beautiful night.
“We know what you’re getting with Texas. It’s a very good football team, very well coached, ton of respect for Coach Sark (Steve Sarkisian). I’ve known him for a long time. We’ve gone against each other all the way back to the days out west when I was at Arizona, and he was at USC and I’ve always have a ton of respect for him and the way he calls plays.
“Texas is Texas. It’s a typical team. They’re very, very good at every level. Good on offense, defense, special teams. Had a couple of tough games this year, like most of us have, and they responded with a very big win in a big rivalry this past week. So they’re playing very well and it’ll be another great challenge for us.”
On what makes Texas so good, particularly on defense…
“Their defense is good, they’re big, physical, I think also, you see examples of them being very good tacklers in space. Last week at this press conference we were talking about that, some of the playmakers that you’re gonna face in the SEC, and in space and you see them really showing up in their secondary, in the second level, making plays in space very well, along with being big and physical.”
On what you see in Arch Manning…
“Arch is, you see a very, very good football player, each and every game more comfortable. A guy that just really will wow you with certain plays. You know, simple things. You watch this last game and I want to say it was a four-point game and they were backed up. Oklahoma got great pressure on him. Evades the pressure and throws the strike. He did that time and time again. Then on the first touchdown pass in the pocket, didn’t move, had a good, clean pocket, delivers a touchdown pass. He’s one of those guys that can make all the throws, in rhythm and on time, or buying time because he’s a good athlete, he throws very good on the run.”
On how to get the most out of a bye week…
“One thing is, for us, with not having a game Saturday, we pushed back our heavy practice to Wednesday, just one more day. Even more so than with the first bye, doing more good against good, just to get the intensity level up and play football at a higher level and help our young quarterback go against good talent, seeing all the different looks. We did quite a bit of that. We did 1s vs. 1s, 2s vs. 2s, 3s vs. 3s. We’re just trying to develop all the guys on our team and let them see reps at a higher speed.”
On if you got some guys healthy last week…
“I do. I do. I think this week DJ (Waller) has been chomping at the bit, out there practicing, dressed, and dressed for the last game. He’s been very close but he should have a full week this week. Seth (McGowan) will be close as well.”
On Cutter Boley getting more comfortable with the offense…
“Yeah, again, he’s going to get better, his comfort level with the offense – us playing better around him, giving him some time, all those things together. We have to have a good plan for him and make sure he’s comfortable and can execute the things we are asking him to do.”
On if execution or schemes are the bigger issue on defense…
“I think we always look at all that and there’s a combination of everything. There are things we constantly try to balance with are we doing too much because we have to be able to execute those things against all the offense that you see now. You see so much. That’s where that balance comes in. For us, just taking a good look at ourselves through the bye. I’m not going to tell you exactly what we’re going to do but we have to look at all those things, all the coaching pieces and what can we do better, how can we put our players in better position. Sometimes when it is just flat-out execution, we have repped this, you have to be able to carry over things, right? Offense is presented differently all the time. For our defense and with our football IQ, you have to be able to retain a lot.”
On self-scouting on defense, do you throw things away, what do you keep…
“I think it’s fair to say there are pieces to all that, maybe we’ll hold on some of this, but we have to be able to execute a certain amount as well. When I say that, I don’t just say it, I mean it, when we say we are all in it together, we have to make sure we find ways to put them in successful positions and players have to be able to retain things and focus at a very high level as well.”
On your reaction the preseason hype around Arch Manning – “He’s going to be the Heisman winner, the No. 1 pick” and even he said, “I haven’t done anything yet.” …
“It is what it is. I can’t speak for Arch but he didn’t ask for any of that. Everything that I could see, and hearing from him, he’s just a young man putting his head down, trying to get better. And I think a lot of that is unfair, and it is what it is. He understands that, I don’t need to tell him anything that he hasn’t heard from his famous uncles and father and all that, but, you know, he’s just a young man getting better with every rep, and you can see the confidence in him, and why wouldn’t he be confident, he’s a very good football player.”
On if Cameron Miller has backed up his performance at Georgia in practice this week…
“He has, I think you’ve seen it, and we’ve talked about it. We’re trying to get that rotation, and the best rotation we can at receiver to give us the best opportunity to move forward. He’s certainly a guy that has to be in that rotation and get some reps, and hopefully we’ll be able to get him a football some.”
On what you liked about Cameron Miller during the recruiting process…
“He’s a great young man. He has a great personality. He’s very much the same every day. And in practice, when he got those opportunities, he made plays and he’s a guy when he is covered, if the quarterback gives him a good opportunity he comes down with the football more times than not. He got here late (in the summer), and so with all freshmen as you’re trying to piece everything together at that point about how much offense, how much defense, and all that, when you’re young, it’s really hard to stay on top of all that. So it’s just stuff we have to balance. ”
On if any other young guy stuck out to you in practice this past week…
“I think Cam (Miller) is a guy. I think DJ (Miller) is a guy that we have to continue to look at. They have to do their part as well. They have to be consistent and bring an edge and an attitude to practice every day so we trust them. So, we’ll continue working on it.”
On how Cutter Boley is improving…
“I think he has much more confidence. He’s a very confident young man. He’s a young player and he’s going to get better with every rep and every game. Again, that’s not lip service, he knows that and he feels that. He feels the confidence with each practice, there’s no question. I saw Cutter over the weekend and he knows he got better last week and we have to carry that forward. We’re playing a very talented, a very good team, and very good defensive team, but we have to control the things we can control. He has a very good presence about him. He has a lot of confidence. He knows with hard work, he’ll see results.”
On what you have seen from Shiyazh Pete…
“He’s been a bit up and down as well. I think in his second SEC game it was better than the first and that’s what you would expect. He’s one of those guys that’s pretty steady. He doesn’t show much emotion that way or anything like that. He won’t get down. He’ll just work hard and get better.”
On how close Montavin Quisenberry is…
“He’s another one that, again, there’s a rotation of those receivers and trying to get game reps is difficult. That’s why practice and competing, as I mentioned, at this point in the season, it’s our last bye to take some days and really work with all of those guys, you have to take a look. We want to win, and so we’re trying to find the best options we can to win right now. And if he can help us, he will, but again, terrific young man. I love having him on the team. He’s going to be a very good player and if he can help us, we’ll get him in there.”
On what you would say your team identity is right now…
“I think the biggest thing, what I love about them is they do have very much of a steady mindset. They’re working hard every day. I think it’s a hard-working group. You know what we want our football teams to look like, what I want them to look like each and every year. I feel like this team is very united, working extremely hard and very much passionate about getting better each and every day. And if we stay that way then we’ll see the results eventually.”
On if you have seen the progress on offense…
“I do. I feel like we work hard to try to not so much look at a plan or what looks good on a grease board, but what we can execute, and we can have some success. And I do feel like we’re getting better. I know some people will pull up stats or numbers or whatever and throw them right back in my face, but I know what goes on in the building. I know the guys are working hard and trying to put a good plan together to help us achieve our goal of winning some games.”
On Jaden Smith and Nasir Addison returning from injury…
“Jaden should be back. I’m not sure about Nasir.”
On if you watched football Saturday and if anything caught your eye…
“A little bit, I got a chance to watch some. Always entertaining (laughter from media).”
On your reaction to athletic directors pulling the trigger on head coaches quicker and quicker…
“Just like you, just sitting back and watching. Some of it’s surprising, some of it’s not. It is what it is.”
On CJ Works…
“Yeah, CJ is one of those guys that has gotten more and more reps and is making the most of it. He’s a guy that definitely can help us, has helped us, and has bright future. Again, it starts with his mentality, with his attitude, he’s just a very coachable young man. He takes the coaching every day. He likes being coached hard and you can see it paying off for him.”
On being back home at Kroger Field…
“It’s exciting to be back home. It’s been a long time. It should be a beautiful night, it’s been gorgeous weather out there. I know we’ve got a sold out stadium and play a very good football team in Texas, so it should be a great environment and hopefully we’ll produce and play the best game we have all year.”
