Stoops Owning Mistakes, Excited for Next Step
Sunday was a generally terrible day for Mark Stoops.
Forced to relive the particulars of an excruciating loss to Florida in film review, misery had company in the Joe Craft Football Training Facility as the Kentucky coaching staff began to turn the page to Eastern Michigan.
“It was a long 24 hours, that’s for sure,” Stoops said.
The time came with self-reflection for Stoops, which was probably the most difficult thing. He had to continually face the reality that had he done one or two things just a little differently, UK very well might have won and moved to 4-0.
“There’s thing that we all can do better, starting with myself, that hurt, that we have to accept responsibility for, that we have to do better,” Stoops said. “It starts with me.”
Stoops was frank in taking responsibility for mistakes made on Saturday, namely the two uncovered Gator receivers who scored touchdowns. Though in 30 years of coaching football he has never had a team fall victim to that mistake, he’s adjusting by assigning two people on his staff to watch the perimeter of the field every play.
That adjustment is proof that Stoops and the Cats are done wallowing. As of Monday, it’s time to begin looking to a matchup with Eastern Michigan at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Kroger Field.
“We’ll be excited to get back on the field and begin our preparations and put this game behind us because we really don’t have time to sit and dwell on it,” Stoops said.
The good news on that front is Stoops’ message to his team when the Cats gathered for the first time on Monday really isn’t all that different from the one he delivered last week after an emotional win at South Carolina.
“Much like we do each and every week, get right back at it,” Stoops said. “We cannot enjoy the wins too long and you can’t dwell on the losses. We’re here because we all cover this and we’re here in Lexington, Ky. But take a good look around the country. Fifty percent of us lose every week. Take a good look at the SEC. There’s a lot of those guys are good friends of mine. And believe me, it’s brutal. And we’re not alone, but it is where it is. I accept that; I embrace it and I enjoy it. I can’t wait to get back to work today. And I’m sure the team’s going to be the same way.”
He’s confident in that because he’s been with his team all spring and throughout camp. He’s confident in that because he saw the same attitude the Cats’ immediate reaction to defeat.
“I saw frustration and guys wanted it so bad that there’s frustration in there,” Stoops said. “And then I saw the guys regroup and become player-led. The leadership came from the players. That’s great to see. That’s growth. None of us are perfect, but there’s a lot of guys. The guys you would normally think with Courtney (Love) is a guy that automatically stands out. I think all of the guys, Nick (Haynes) is always a great leader. Stephen (Johnson). The nice thing is you’re seeing more and more of them.”
