Mark Stoops has never been quite sure of what to expect at spring practice. There are times his team looks good and times it’s clear just how work he and his staff have ahead of them. There are times when the defense has its way and others when the offense is more effective.The one thing he has come to expect, however, is a general upward trend with the spring game just a week and a half away.”I don’t know if there’s anything that just jumps out at me, but just seeing better plays,” Stoops said. “We’re not interested in one side winning the drill because the other side is totally inept. You’re seeing some good football, more good football now on both sides.”After Wednesday’s practice was encouraged as Stoops has sounded since practice began. He’s always found more positives than negatives, but that balance is shifting more and more in the right direction.It was another indoor practice – UK’s seventh in nine sessions this spring. With temperatures climbing into the 50s in the afternoon, Stoops fielded questions about why the Wildcats worked indoors once again. “The field’s real cold in the morning,” Stoops said. “We can’t go in there when they’re frosted. So by the time we get out and start our walkthroughs, get it going, the fields are still frozen.”It’s not that it presents a problem – because Stoops has said repeatedly that UK gets done what it needs to in the Nutter Field House – but cold morning temperatures are another reason why Stoops will move fall practices to the afternoon. The primary reason is so that players will have ample time to rest.”I think we can all act like they’re going to go to bed at 9 or 10 o’clock like we need them to,” Stoops said, “but to get them up very early in the morning all season long on that grind, when you’re going every single day for a whole season, I don’t know how much sleep they’re getting.”But for the remainder of the spring, the Cats will stick to the morning. For the latest on UK’s such practice, check out video interviews with Stoops and defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot below.Stoops

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