University of Kentucky Football Media Conference
Friday, April 14, 2017
Mark Stoops
MARK STOOPS: It was a good spring. It was a good spring game, mainly because we stayed healthy.
A.J. (Rose) will be fine. Nothing serious there. It was more of a neck than a head injury. So that’s good. It was a neck strain. He’ll be fine. But what I liked most about the entire spring was we were very physical. We fundamentally needed to get better. You heard me talk about it a lot at certain positions. I felt like we made giant strides. Today, again, we were very basic on both sides of the ball. But it was relatively clean football. Physical, but kept guys healthy.
We got a lot of work in this spring. I was very proud of our players, their effort for a long time. We talked last summer about their capacity to handle more. Well, they took a lot of coaching for a long time. We have been in spring ball for six weeks with one week off for spring break. So to keep their attention for that long to be very disciplined, to come in and early in the morning, have lifts meetings on our off days and then practice Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday for five weeks, we got a lot of work in.
So I appreciate that effort by our players. We made some strides. We still have a ways to go in certain areas, but I like this team. There’s certainly fewer question marks coming out of spring than in years past. So, I feel like there’s a lot to build on. Our players need to — they need a little rest right now. We’re going to be in next week Monday and Tuesday finishing up with some meetings with those guys and some evaluations of their spring and before the coaches hit the road and go on the road recruiting.
So, after that, the players will get a little bit of time off. They need it. Then back to the grind, back to lifting and running, so they won’t get too much time off. But they put a lot of work in. Appreciate their effort and our coaches’ effort.
Q. When you say giant strides, which specific ones did you see?
MARK STOOPS: I just feel like there’s fewer questions across the board. I think that we made strides up front. I think we all know that – I talked about it – that we need to get better and fundamentally play better up front on the defensive line and we have improved a great deal there.
Q. Was tonight kind of an indicator of what Gunnar Hoak has done all spring?
MARK STOOPS: Yeah, it is. He’s been very poised. You see he’s effortless at times. And I just like the way he handles himself back there. He throws a very catchable football. He’s very accurate. The more experience he gets, the better he looks.
Q. Are you more happy that he did what he did against a starting defense or frustrated?
MARK STOOPS: No, I wasn’t at all frustrated with that part of it. We need to see some offense. We were very vanilla and we didn’t have the full group of ones over there and hardly did anything out of our third-down package.
But — so I thought it was a good game and I wanted to see — fans want to see the ball, you want to see a few points out there. So I felt good across the board.
Q. For people who will be overly excited about the spring game stats, you telling us you teed it up for him a little bit?
MARK STOOPS: I’m not saying I teed it up there a little bit, but it was about fundamentally putting them in bad situations and see who’s going to win.
Q. You say there were fewer questions coming out of spring. What questions do you still have that jump into your mind?
MARK STOOPS: Well, you’re constantly striving to get better across the board. We’re going to put the foot on the gas. After these guys get a little bit of rest, then we got to have a great summer now. It’s a new phase. They got to finish strong academically and then it’s a full steam ahead across the board. So, we have a lot of room for improvement.
Q. Jamin Davis and Boogie Watson had really active stat lines. What was your impression of them and was their play reflective of their spring?
MARK STOOPS: It was. We feel very good with Boogie. I feel like Jamar (Watson) really made, again, some strides. He’s a guy that, with reps, you could see he has the ability and he has a good understanding. You heard me talk many times about the nuances of that position, and I like where he’s at. I think he’s going to be a good player. Same thing with Jamin. You saw that on film when we recruited him; you saw him here. He’s a guy that takes the game very serious. He works at it, he’s gaining weight, he’s getting stronger, but he’s got the instincts to play linebacker.
Q. Along with Jamin, Clevan Thomas had a pretty good game. What does it say that these early enrollees aren’t afraid to go out there and make plays?
MARK STOOPS: That what’s we’re hunting. That’s what we’re looking for on the recruiting trail — the guys that can in and compete and are serious about their approach to the game and those guys are.
Q. Was the plan tonight to kind of ride Sihiem (King) on that first option because you know what you had?
MARK STOOPS: Yeah, we wanted (to get) AJ some reps as well in the second half with the ones but we didn’t get that opportunity so Sihiem had more carries.
Q. What happened with Jordan (Jones) and is that going to extend further into the season?
MARK STOOPS: No, we’ll handle it. He missed a meeting, so we’re not going to tolerate that.
Q. Special teams wasn’t live tonight. What’s your overall general feeling about special teams heading into the summer?
MARK STOOPS: Yeah, we’re building on it. We need to punt the ball better. Grant (McKinniss) needs to punt it better. He needs to continue to work. Austin (MacGinnins) missed a field goal tonight. Uncharacteristic of him. But our cover units and the guys have worked extremely hard and I like what Coach (Dean) Hood’s doing, so we’ll continue to work on it.
Q. Did you get everything you wanted from spring practice looking back?
MARK STOOPS: I feel like we got an awful lot out. I don’t know if we’re ever completely satisfied, but I feel good that we had long, physical practices because we stretched it out for so long. The downside of that is it’s a long time to keep their attention — to be practicing spring ball for six weeks and with only going three days a week. We have the option to go four days a week or five and get over shorter, but then they’re not getting as much in the off days. We have a lot of time to slow it down and have long meetings and get them in their and lift and that way you could have good physical practices when you’re not going back-to-back.
So, I feel like, again, I’m proud of our players and it was good physical practices. Fundamentally, we had more live plays this spring than we ever had. And we need that and we stayed healthy. That’s a testament to Coach (Corey) Edmond and Coach Mark Hill and what we’re doing in the weight room. And these guys are physical. They were able to handle a lot, and we need to do that; we need to play the game and we need to play it physically to get better. Defense needs live reps, because when you put it all together with the run game and the play action and the boots and so on, they just need to see it full speed. And I was pleased that had we got a lot of live reps this spring.
Q. Coming out of spring, do you feel like you have improved your depth a lot or a little?
MARK STOOPS: A little. I think in the spring it gets tough because you always want more depth, you don’t have everybody here. You don’t have your freshmen here that are going to contribute or at least be backups, so you’re always a little bit thin, but, yes, in general, I think we’re definitely better. We’re deeper than we have been.
Q. Who would you point to on defense that stood out?
MARK STOOPS: Point of attack. I mean, it’s about pad level, it’s about being disruptive up front and playing solid up front. You got to have some guys physically play the game the way it’s supposed to be played up front. It starts there.
Q. What do you want to see from Justin Rigg between now and when you get back to work in August?
MARK STOOPS: Just continue to improve like he’s going to do. You could see him — you see the ability that he has. He’s a natural tight end. He’s got to get stronger, and he’ll do that. He’ll work at it. But he’s a good football player.
Q. Does the touch sack setup sort of work against a guy like Stephen (Johnson)?
MARK STOOPS: Yeah, I think so. I think so. That’s the negative. We certainly aren’t going to turn the quarterbacks loose and go live with those guys. But there’s a comfort level that he knows he can sit back there and — but, yeah, he has the ability to ad lib and make plays and extend plays and he really didn’t have that time today.
Q. You mentioned Jamin and Boogie on defense as some of the young guys that stood out. Who kind of stood out to you at first glance?
MARK STOOPS: Looked like (Kordell) Looney had a few plays today. Looked better. Tobias (Gilliam) had a nice spring. Jordan Griffin. A few guys.
Q. You were happy with the defensive line going into the spring. Did you see any development or growth out of that group?
MARK STOOPS: They played — you know, it looked like we got some pressure tonight, uncharacteristic of the rest of the spring practices, but we — the good side is the defensive line was getting some pressure. The bad side was the offensive line was giving up some pressure today. Because I sit back there and that’s one of the reasons I stand back there and I could feel that pressure and that’s a good thing for the defense, but offensively we got to clean it up a little bit.
Q. Did you get what you wanted from them in terms of coming off the ball, coming off the snap?
MARK STOOPS: The O-line? D-line? The running backs? Yeah, they have been solid all spring. We really feel like we have got some guys that can play. You know you need to be deep at that position. So, with losing the guys that we lost, we need these guys to be players and fortunately for us they are.
Q. I would assume you were happy with the decision about the early signing day today?
MARK STOOPS: We’ll play by the rules that they give us. I was in favor of it, but I was probably the minority in our league about that. But the way it was packaged, I think there was some give and take. And I don’t know if anybody’s completely happy with all the rule changes, but it is what it is.
Q. Are you satisfied with the nose guard position?
MARK STOOPS: We’re getting better. I think we’re getting better. We need to have a long, hard summer. We need some guys to really get in really good shape and work hard and be ready to come back out next fall and play better. I feel like — so I don’t know if I answered that, but we grew, we got better, we are better, but we need to continue to push.
Offensive coordinator Eddie Gran
On Gunnar Hoak’s play …
“His confidence has gotten better as the spring went on and played pretty efficiently tonight. I didn’t think we were efficient with the first group. We could’ve been better there, but at the end of the day I thought execution was OK. It wasn’t great but nobody got hurt. thank goodness A.J. Rose is OK. So I was proud of the way they finished.”
On Sihiem King’s performance …
“He’s been performing like that all spring. He was very productive, and we didn’t do a lot of stuff now. We’ve got some stuff from him, and I think you’re going to be able to see him evolve. We still have to get him to go north and south. The 7-yard line stuff and losing five is unacceptable. But he’s a hard runner and protective of the ball, and that was really good to see. That’s what I wanted to get out of him today.”
On A.J. Rose’s status after the injury …
“A.J. was supposed to play with the ones tonight; that’s what I wanted to see. I really wanted to just start handing it to him and Sihiem and see what they could do. But you can see AJ. You can see the three plays that he had. He’s explosive and he’s really got a chance. I felt bad for him because he was very disappointed, but the young man has a chance. He’s come light-years from where he was last year to this year.”
On the expectations of Rose going forward …
“I want to see him continue to grow. I want his maturity level to continue to develop and for him to be a sponge and continue to learn the offense better. He made a big jump, but he’s not near where we need him to be. And he needs to learn how to react when having a setback like tonight. He’s great now; he was just upset. But I just want to see him improve that way.”
Defensive Coordinator Matt House
On his opinion on the defense …
“I think those guys up front – we didn’t start the first drive the way we wanted to with the blue team – and I think they started to answer the ball up front. And it all starts up there. If you’re going to have a good defense, you have to have the mentality up there, and I thought they did a better job as the scrimmage went on.”
On the two-hand touch sacks and if it takes away from what Stephen (Johnson) is able to do to some defenses …
“Sure it is. No question. That’s the one thing – you want to take care of your quarterback, but in a real game, who knows if those are sacks? Because you still have to make a play on a really good quarterback, and as we all know, Stephen is a great athlete. But the thing that I like to see is guys were getting off blocks and they were applying pressure and you saw the pocket collapse.”
On calling the shots on defense …
“It felt good. It’s my first time doing it here, but it’s not my first time doing it. It’s really my fourth year in that spot, so it was good, but it was fun.”
On questions moving forward …
“I think we just have to keep going. Our depth needs to continue to improve. We need to continue to develop more depth in the secondary, more depth up front, and I think it’s a process. But I agree with Coach (Stoops) that we have a solid nucleus and have guys in the right spots.”
UK Student-Athletes
#18 Clevan Thomas Jr., WR, Fr.
On how he felt the game was …
“It was fast, but it was fun. I really enjoyed it. You know, I should be in high school right now, but to be here with dudes that are like three years older than me, two years older than me, it was fun. I messed up. I dropped a pass. Dropped a touchdown. But for the most part, I think I did well, but I’ve got some work to do.”
On what he was looking forward to most tonight …
“I was thinking about this day the whole spring. You know, I worked hard the whole spring. I did things, but today is where it counts, where I can show everybody, ‘Hey I’m not just — they just threw me a number.’ I’m here. I can handle the number, so today was a good day for me.”
On the difficulty in training for six weeks leading up to the game …
“It was very hard, especially for me because I came from high school and a school where it got to me a little bit. I had to bust real hard and try to manage my time with studying the plays and studying for class. It was very hard but I ended up getting the flow and I ended up doing very well.”
#8 Derrick Baity, CB, Jr.
On how he feels they’ve improved through the spring …
“I think we really improved as a team offensively and defensively, so as a whole I think we’ve really improved and we want to be better. We had a better spring than last spring. We’re looking for improvement for the season.”
On what he likes most about the team now…
“I think we’re more cordial with each other. We know we’re smarter. The game is getting – slowing down – we’re getting real smart. The offense is competing. The defense knows we’re competing. We know when we can make the play on the offense and on the ball. We’re just being smart, not hurting each other and stuff like that.”
On how he feels working with defensive coordinator Matt House …
“Coach House is a man of particulars, so he’s really hitting on particulars. Our big word for the defense is strain. You can’t coach effort, so that’s all we’re bringing is effort.”
#12 Gunnar Hoak, QB, RS Fr.
On how much he was looking forward to this game …
“You look forward to it all spring. Everyone does. You look forward to coming out here and competing with everyone, and it’s a game atmosphere.”
On his natural, effortless poise in the pocket …
“I would say that staying in the pocket and getting the ball out is one of my strengths. Something I need to work on that Stephen (Johnson) does well is getting outside of the pocket and hitting that speed.”
On the difference between last year’s spring game to this year’s …
“Definitely different than last year. Started for the white team, so it was a lot different than last year, coming in at the very end and getting those last few plays. It’s fun out there. Everyone has fun.”
On how he felt he played …
“I thought I did well. I have to keep getting better through May and come back in June, lift hard, and get ready for camp.”
#22 Sihiem King, RB, Jr.
On having to watch from the sidelines last year …
“Of course it was hard. Just being a competitor it’s always going to be hard. You want to be on the field, you want to take the field, want to just grind. It’ll always be hard when you feel like you ain’t repping, like you’ve been overlooked. But I’m past that. Just keep going, keep pushing, make the best out of everything I get.”
On how exciting it is to be back out in front of the crowd …
“Yeah, I mean, it’s real fun. Exciting, encouraging. It just makes you want to make plays in front of those people out there. They’re so great. They’re so into it.”
On how confident the running backs are …
“I say we’re real confident. We push each other. We all work hard, go hard in all of our drills. We boost each other and motivate each other to be great every day. If that comes from doing every drill full speed, finishing full speed, finishing every run full speed. Even though it’s a busted play, you still gotta finish that run like 10 yards down the field even though it’s a busted play. We just hold each other accountable.”
#45 Jaylin Bannerman, LB, RS Fr.
On the spring game being a big motivator heading into the summer …
“Yeah, this was a big wake-up call. I’ve got a lot of work to do. In the summer, I’ve gotta come back as strong as I can.”
On what is motivating him …
“I feel like I could have done a lot of things better. In my opinion, I don’t think I did that good, so I think I’ve got a lot of more work to do.”
On guys he is getting advice from …
“Yeah, I’m getting advice from everyone in my group. They are all fantastic players. You can learn a lot from everyone.”
#15 Stephen Johnson, QB, Sr.
On his interception …
“Like I said, I think I just got too greedy today. Obviously on that route, I would’ve either — that was my last read. It wasn’t open. I would have thrown the ball away or just tuck it and ran. I tried to force something that wasn’t there. It was an interception.”
On co-offensive coordinator Darin Hinshaw saying he was being greedy …
“He is absolutely right; I was greedy today. The throws that I was trying to make today, I wasn’t trying to do the entire spring. So, I mean, I tried to do a little bit too much. Some throws I was overthrowing guys. I mean, those are the easy passes for me to make during practice. I can say I got a little bit too greedy today. Now I have to come back this summer and stay as consistent as I can.”
On if not having a great spring game will be good for his focus in the offseason …
“I mean, I don’t think my focus will waver in any way. I wish I played a lot better than I did today, but, I mean, I just have to come back and really just buckle down with more I guess.”
#26 Benny Snell Jr., RB, So.
On the toughness of playing in this game …
“Yeah, I felt like it was harder for me because, you know, I enjoy carrying the ball. I was about to run out and Coach (Eddie) Gran be like, ‘No, stay back, stay back,’ and I’d be like, ‘Uh, no I don’t like that.’ That’s the thing that I don’t look forward to. But, you know it’s better when, like I said, the drive is going and I get to carry the ball to show more what I can do.”
On more or less work …
“I’d probably say enough work, but we got some good work in. We just grew as a team that I could tell over the whole spring in general and a lot of guys got to show what they could do in this game too so I just feel over all it was good for everybody.”
On Sihiem King …
“Si-fi, he’s a real exclusive guy, real loose. He’s good at making people miss. You know, the one thing with Si is he can make anybody miss, but the one thing that we always just work on with him is I just try to just get him up field right away because, you know, it be like third down, third and two, and he got to get them first downs. He will bounce a lot and break a lot and he’ll get it eventually, but, you know, I just try to get him to make one cut right away. But his vision and how exclusive he is he is very special.”
#88 Charles Walker, WR, Jr.
On this game tonight …
“It just felt good to get out there. Me and Steve (Johnson) built up a chemistry this spring as I did with all the quarterbacks, you know. It’s just really good to get out there and play in front of the Big Blue Nation. They’re the best. Just a good spring, good ending and I’m happy with the receivers and how we grew and everything, so it’s been good.”
On his role as an upperclassman …
“With being a senior, you know, it’s my last year and there’s what, four of us in the room, so we’ve just kind of stepped it up a little bit and bee more accountable and disciplined players when needed. We’re not perfect – we mess up sometimes – but I definitely think we’ve gotten more mature and older, and it shows on the field.”
On getting time early in your college career …
“You definitely just adjust to the speed of it all. I remember one of my first games freshman year just, everything was 10 times faster than it was in high school, and just being able to have that year on special teams just to adjust to everything definitely helped me out.”
