Kentucky Football Postgame Quotes
Kentucky vs. Louisville
Kroger Field – Lexington, Ky.
Nov. 25, 2017
Kentucky Head Coach Mark Stoops
MARK STOOPS: Not a very good feeling from the opening possession through the end of the game. Not a very good effort on any of our parts. I thought our team really, all year, had pretty disciplined focus and habits throughout the year, and I didn’t do a good enough job preparing ourselves for this game and this rivalry.
We did not play very good, we did not coach very good, and we certainly did not play with the discipline and the character that this team has. That’s not acceptable. That’s not okay, and I was very disappointed in that, and that needs to be addressed and improved. So that’s probably the biggest disappointment.
The game also kind of speaks for itself. They really beat us in every phase from the start to the finish and there are certainly things we all could do better.
Q. Why was Jordan Jones still in the game after multiple situations, personal fouls, he’s arguing with coaches?
MARK STOOPS: Jordan is an extremely emotional player, and there’s times when it gets the best of him, and I need to do a better job of working with him and holding him accountable and holding his feet to the fire on that. He is definitely an emotional guy. He needs to control that better. I’ve got to coach it better.
I didn’t think — I thought the second one definitely — I don’t know. I just think there was some — it wasn’t as blatant — you know what I mean? It was wrong. It was selfish. I need to talk to him. We need to do a better job of coaching him, but it wasn’t, I guess, blatant. That one was close when the whistle was blown there on the second one.
Very frustrating for our players, frustrating for us as coaches that whole situation. Believe me, it bothers me to the core, and I don’t want us to represent this university that way at times.
You know, I don’t want to get into any excuse or why or anything like that. Obviously, the game got very chippy early, and I didn’t even see how that started on our sideline down at the goal line. I don’t know how or what started that. I really don’t. But I really felt like the emotions really got out of hand very quickly there.
Q. (Question was inaudible) On Nick Haynes tweet last night …
MARK STOOPS: I went down, and I was notified of that. I obviously went down and talked with Nick about that. I’ll keep it between Nick and I. He could answer for himself, but I was disappointed in that as well, because we had just had probably one of the best team meetings I had been a part of to be honest with you. We’ve got a really good group of seniors, and we had a really good, emotional meeting. There were a lot of good vibes in that room.
But, again, Nick, I’ll let him answer if he wants. But he and I talked about it and put it to bed last night. He was emotional as well. He was rubbed the wrong way after curfew by one of our younger coaches, and we’ll just leave it at that.
Q. Do you expect him to stick around with the team through the bowl game?
MARK STOOPS: I do. But we’ll see where he’s at and what his health is and what’s best for him.
Q. Are you surprised that this defense has not taken steps forward, more steps?
MARK STOOPS: Yeah, I do think so. I am surprised. I felt like we did at times this year, and we took steps back, and that is disappointing and that’s frustrating for me and for everyone in the program. I felt like we went into the year — I don’t think we would have gotten the seven victories had we not improved in certain areas and we did that. At times that’s gone away and it’s very hard for me to deal with. It’s frustrating, and the consistency is not what it needs to be, and that is bothering me.
Q. What kind of adjustments need to be made?
MARK STOOPS: Just our normal adjustments. We look at everything new, any new sets or new looks. Get our players dialed into those, and we did. I got some things fixed, and there are some things we didn’t. There are things you get fixed, and you didn’t, you know — you can’t bring that guy down. Couple times we’re scot free, and I told you that going into the week. Sometimes it’s awful. It’s really difficult if you’re completely free to a man because you’ve got a guy completely free on pressure, and escapes it and scrambles for 20 yards. That’s not drawn up. It just happens, and it creates, and you’ve got to give him a lot of credit for that. He’s a very talented football player.
Q. (Question was inaudible) On keeping momentum in the early signing period …
MARK STOOPS: I don’t think that will be an issue at all. We’ve got a solid class. We’ve been recruiting at a very high level. Guys are excited to come here. Most of the people we’re recruiting against that had some ups and downs as well. So I know how we feel. I know I’m not happy, and you’re probably not happy, and most of us aren’t. But it’s not like, you know — there’s going to be somebody who wins and loses in every game.
Q. Why were your guys unable to dial it back in emotionally after the scuffle on the sidelines?
MARK STOOPS: When did I? What did you say?
Q. Why were your guys unable to.
MARK STOOPS: Yeah, it took way too long for us to dial that back. Yeah, it did. Why, because the frustration was kicking in also because we weren’t stopping them. I think that’s part of it. That’s, again, not okay.
Q. (Question was inaudible) On having discipline in the program …
MARK STOOPS: Yeah, we talk about it so much. They’re all connected, you know? We talked about it all week about disciplined preparation, disciplined focus, and most importantly, disciplined execution. I could honestly say that I don’t think any of those things happened today for the most part, and that’s very frustrating.
I think our prep has been pretty solid, I would tell you that throughout the course of this year I think at times the disciplined focus that you need hasn’t been there. As you mentioned the last couple weeks, certainly disciplined execution has not been on the field, and that’s something that we’ve definitely got to address and get better. It is what it is, and that’s not okay with me. It’s very frustrating.
What stinks is it’s the last game of the year. This sits with you for a while, and that’s the thing that’s very difficult about losing the last game of the year. Fortunately, we do have a bowl game and we could get back on track. The players definitely need to get away from here for a minute and decompress. It is a long year. This is the first time we’ve gone through that since mid-July, and the way we grinded them up.
We’ve got work to do, and I’ve got work to do. I’m very excited about doing that. I’m very disappointed. I’m disappointed I let some people down and we didn’t play the way we had hoped. But I promise you, we’ll get right back at it, and the players need a little bit of time to get away and decompress and heal up, and get away from football for a week or however many days, and then get back at it.
Q. You said you had such a good team meeting, and then you take Nick and you talk to him privately. I’m assuming you guys thought you were ready to play. But with what happened to Nick and other guys knowing what was going on, did that affect you guys today?
MARK STOOPS: I don’t think so. I really don’t. I don’t know. I don’t think any of us like any distractions when you’re getting ready for a big game. But I can’t answer that honestly for 100 and however many people are in our organization. But I really don’t think it did. I just — I don’t think that’s the reason why this happened today though.
Q. (Question was inaudible) On Benny Snell …
MARK STOOPS: Yeah, it really does mean a lot. Even in there right now again, as I told the team, we’re going to stick together, and we’re not going to let this compound another issue. We can’t do that. That’s not okay. I tell them all the time. I own mine, you own yours. We’re in it together, but you can’t let it compound and get to be another problem, another issue, and we’re not going to let that happen and they’re not going to let that happen.
But Benny is a guy that’s also very emotional and plays so tough. That does get lost sometimes when you take a beating like that. I really appreciate Benny and the tough yards that he runs for. Again, I think we had a — as frustrating as it was, I think key moments again are in the middle of the second quarter, and we had a long drive that we needed. Obviously, we’re having a hard time stopping them. We have a long drive, miss the field goal. Then I also think when it was 24 — would have been 24-7, whatever it was, two minutes to go in the half, and we get the penalty, incomplete, incomplete, and we put it right back in his hands, that also is not where we needed to be. Because had we been able to just drive it there at the end of the half and get the ball to start the second half, that’s obviously where we need to make up some ground, even though it was still a tough first half. We could have kept it reasonably close, and a couple of those possessions really hurt.
Q. The unsportsmanlike penalties and the unnecessary roughness, do those bother you more than some defensive missed assignments?
MARK STOOPS: It does bother you, especially when you’re on the losing end and you lose because it’s not a good look. Rivalry games are heated, but there is still no excuse for some of that on either side. None of us want that as coaches. That’s not all right. Whether you win or lose, you still don’t want that going on. So it does bother you.
Q. (Question was inaudible) On how difficult it is to defend Lamar Jackson …
MARK STOOPS: I’d have to say so. I can’t recall defending anybody as talented as he is. Yeah, it’s tough. As we all know, they’re a good football team that’s well coached, but then it’s really difficult when things break down or you’ve got them covered or got them stopped, and he just absolutely makes you miss and gets bunches of yards. It’s heartbreaking, and it is frustrating, especially with them being our rival in a heated game. He can aggravate you.
But, you know, you’re right. I’m glad you brought that up because you have to recognize him as last year as the best player in college football, and this year, I imagine, he’ll be in New York as well, and he deserves to be there. He is a real talent. As I said, what’s very hard is you have to be so disciplined in your rushes, and then he stretches the field and still can distribute the ball. When it does break down and he gets those yards, that’s where it’s really crushing, and he’s done that for two years and some change.
Q. How banged up is Stephen Johnson?
MARK STOOPS: I can’t answer that exactly. I mean, going into the game he was okay. I mean, he was definitely, I’m sure, bruised and banged up a bit, but yeah.
Q. Stephen looked upset as he walked off the field for the last time. What has he meant to your program as a quarterback that kind of steadied the ship?
MARK STOOPS: Yeah, he’s meant a great deal. It’s tough for all of us to have that last game at home. For him to go out that way, it’s difficult on him because he’s done an awful lot. He’s really represented us the right way, and he has had great character and really has been a leader and a very calming force for us, and I really appreciate it.
He’ll bounce back and we’ll regroup. Like I said, this team needs to get away for a minute, heal up, and get back at it fortunately for one more opportunity.
Q. (Question was inaudible) On fan support …
MARK STOOPS: Well, I thank the fans for their support throughout the entire season. There’s always going to be ups and downs, and they’ve been there, and I really appreciate them. I’m definitely disappointed the way we played today. I definitely am. We will definitely be back, and we’ll continue to try our very best to do things the right way and represent this fan base the right way with our administration and our people.
We try to do things right. There were times today that I accept the responsibility that I’ve got to get some things corrected, and I will. But I do appreciate our team, by and large, for years trying to do things right, and we’re going to continue to try to do that.
Kentucky Football Postgame Quotes
Kentucky vs. Louisville
Kroger Field – Lexington, Ky.
Nov. 25, 2017
UK Student-Athletes
#26, Benny Snell, RB
On Louisville’s play overall…
“They executed on offense. Lamar (Jackson) did a great job. They did a great job moving down the field, staying with the ball. On my end, my line did a great job. Tight ends did a great job. We were more run positive than them, I feel. You can’t stop the run with us.”
On emotions in the game…
“It was a rivalry game. Everybody wanted to win. It definitely mattered to a lot of us. It’s a hard pill to take, but it is what it is.”
On emotions not taking over plays…
“Yes sir, you can see on my plays. No matter what the score is, I’m going hard.”
On Louisville’s high-scoring getting them down…
“Never. Like I said before, I will play 110 percent no matter what. If we’re losing by 100 or I’m hurt, whatever the case may be, I’m still going to run hard and do whatever I can for my team.”
#15, Steven Johnson, QB
On hurting after the loss…
“It definitely hurts, not only to lose, but to lose like that. They played really well. We have to tip our hats to Louisville. They came out here and played their game.”
On recovering after the game…
“It’s an emotional game. The rivalry with Louisville is a big one, obviously. Guys were really passionate about it. Sometimes they’ll get too passionate. You can’t fault them for that.
On Benny leaving the game effecting the outcome…
“I don’t know if it had too much of an effect. Obviously Benny is an incredible back. I mean, he’s just phenomenal. The way he runs, he’s so passionate with all of it. He did nine straight run plays forward, so obviously he’s getting hit every play. He’s pretty tired, so we have to commend him for that. But Sihiem (King) came in and I made one bad read where we probably could have scored on that one if I didn’t hold onto the ball.”
#88, Charles Walker, WR
On feeling thrown off after the altercation between the teams in the first quarter…
“Not really. It’s going to happen in a rivalry game. There’s 22 guys on the field that are competitors. When things go haywire, some people respond faster than others. I don’t think it threw us off, we just didn’t have our best game today, and to beat a good team like Louisville, you have to play your best.”
On losing in that fashion souring the season at all…
“You win and you lose some games. Wins and losses, we still have one more. The season is not over. Not the way some of the seniors wanted to go out, but you know, we didn’t bring our A-game and Louisville did. So, that’s what happens when one team doesn’t play to their capabilities. One game left, big bowl game. So we can finish the season with a win and that will be a successful season.”
On the last two games in the past and preparing for the bowl game…
“You have to get the taste out of your mouth and practice, so really the only way for me and most of the guys is to go out and practice like, not like nothing ever happened, but taking the feeling we have right now and use that as energy to practice. And once you get back on the field, that really helps getting the taste out of your mouth.”
#67, Landon Young, OL
On how tough this loss is…
“It’s pretty tough. This game means a lot to our team, and not just our team, but a lot to me. Being from Kentucky and Lexington in general, this is a big rivalry game. It’s something that I carry strong across my chest. You come from here, you want to own the state. So, really, losing this is hard. You got to bounce back.”
On Louisville controlling tempo…
“I don’t think that was a turning point because a lot of us still did have the mindset that we had to at least do it for our pride. When it got sort of big margin in between there, we still had to go out there and make that final drive just for our pride. That does sort of stink, you know. You go on a big long run all the way down the field and don’t get anything out of it, but again, that’s something that we have to work on as personnel.”
On lack of response from Kentucky…
“They did respond very well and it’s just one of those things. It happens. We just hate that it happens during this game and we would like to respond a lot better. I just feel like we sort of got down on ourselves. We didn’t bounce back and come back and get them like we have the rest of the season. That’s something that we need to improve on still to this day.”
#41, Josh Allen, LB
On feeling after this loss…
“I don’t really have words, but we have to get past it. We have to regroup and get right. This loss hurt.”
On responding after the fight in the first quarter…
“They were working the whole game and they didn’t stop. We just couldn’t get off the field, so they took advantage of all of that.”
On Lamar Jackson…
“I’m looking forward to playing him again. I want to see him throughout my years in college or even at the next level because I know he’s going to be a heck of a player at the next level. I’m looking forward to playing against him again, because I have to get my rematch. He’s a heck of a player. He’s a great player and he had a good team today. He can throw, he can run, he’s versatile and he showed it.”
On Kentucky’s defense controlling its emotions after the fight…
“We just didn’t bounce back. They did a good job of bouncing back and scoring. We thought we did so good when Lamar tried to hurdle, and then they scored so it just brought us down a bit and we just never regrouped from that.”
#51, Courtney Love, LB
On his feelings after the loss…
“Lamar Jackson is one heck of a player. He’s a resilient and tough player. We give those guys all the credit. We came out on the short end and it wasn’t something that we wanted to do, but they executed when we didn’t and that showed up a lot. There’s nothing good about this loss, but we have a few more weeks. We can get prepared for a bowl game and it’s just another opportunity for us. If this is the biggest adversity we face throughout our lives, that’s a blessing because we still have life and we woke up and we’re breathing. We have a great opportunity to be in the position that we’re in. I’m just thankful for this game and thankful for my team.”
On Jordan Jones…
“When things get going though, that’s when you really have to relax and just play the game. He’ll do that. Jordan’s a great player. It’s all out of emotion for him. He loves the game.”
On when the game got away…
“There’s really no moment, you just have to play the game. You have to keep playing. That’s what I want to keep stressing to the guys and to myself.”
On being too emotional as a team…
“I wouldn’t say that we were too emotional. Guys got frustrated, I got frustrated and we have to just stay composed.”
On Stephen’s Legacy…
“He will be remembered for changing the culture and giving all that he’s got. I think that’s something that our class has done well. We came out on the short end, but we still have the opportunity to win a bowl game and that’s awesome around here so I can’t wait to get started on that.”
Louisville Head Coach Bobby Petrino
Opening Statement …
“I’m very proud of our players. I’m very proud of our assistant coaches. They’ve done a great job the last three weeks, and really the past four weeks, because they come to work with a positive attitude and a great work ethic. We continue to improve in the month of November and I’m just happy the way we played. I thought our defense did a great job. He’s (Benny Snell) really a good running back. You know, he’s physical, he’s got a great balance. It took a lot of guys to hit him and tackle him, but our defense kept bringing and kept coming. We did a good job against our passing game, I thought that was a big difference for us. We had a great pass rush and we defended our passing game real well. Offensively, I really like the way we really executed. You know, we were able to run the ball. Lamar (Jackson) did a great job of throwing it, picking out the right guys, getting to the right matchups. We didn’t throw it as much as, you know, I would like, but we were very, very efficient at it, threw for touchdowns. And then our special teams did an excellent job. You know, we couldn’t kick the ball very far on the kickoffs, but our guys covered and they had a lot of fun doing it and that was great to see.”
On Dae Williams and Reggie Bonnafon getting off early…
“Yeah, I was really happy with the way Reggie ran the ball, and Lamar did a really nice job with being patient and reading it and, you know, not trying to force things. He had a couple really good runs and the one for the touchdown. And then Dae, you know, had the big physical run down the middle, which really helped us go get a touchdown before half. I really liked the way they both ran. We didn’t get Malik (Clark) off. He got a little injury and didn’t come back in the game. It’s nothing serious, just got kneed in the quad I think, but he’ll be back ready to go. But I thought our offensive line had a great game. You know, we knew they were going to do different things. They were going to move their front, they were going to bring different linebackers, and for the most part our offensive line was really tuned into it and opened up holes and protected the quarterback.”
On satisfaction of the win…
“Yeah, it’s really satisfying. I’m excited about it. I remember sitting in this room with my first game at the University of Louisville, so it’s pretty special. The kids did a great job.”
On the team being able to bounce back in the last three weeks…
“Yeah, I think it was great leadership from within the team. You know, you got guys that really care and our great competitors like Lamar Jackson, Lukayus McNeil, Jeremy, Christian, Jaylen Smith on offense. On defense, we were able to get Jaire (Alexander) back, and his energy and, you know, his confidence makes everybody out there better. And Stacy (Thomas) got back health and Stacy is a really good football player. Then I thought that our defense on line really picked up their play and their pass rush. (James) Hearns had a great month. You know, he couldn’t probably have a better month than he had in November of rushing the passer and causing turnovers. And our guys enjoyed it. They had a lot of fun out there and played together. I feel like we really grew and came together as a team.”
On Lamar surprising him in the game…
“You know what, he surprises me every day. You know, every day in practice he’ll do something or he’ll turn around and look at me and comment on his knowledge of the passing game and what he would like the receiver to do or what the corner did. It is just so much fun to watch how much he’s grown. The ultimate competitor. I don’t think I’ve ever been around someone that competes like he does and backs it up with confidence and is so humble. You know, he is the most humble guy. Even last week’s game, watching them at the Syracuse game, he was on the sideline cheering and encouraging every guy out there after he came off the field. So he’s just the greatest teammate and greatest kid in the world.”
On message when fights broke out …
“Yeah, you know, we talked to them about it last night. Obviously it’s not something I like to see. I was proud of our coaches being able to keep our guys on the sideline, although it’s not fun to see your team over there out-manned, out-numbered. But the right thing to do is keep our guys there and the officials did a good job. It was a hard game and intense game and I thought the officials took control of it and did a good job.”
On Lamar’s improvement over the season…
“Oh, definitely, definitely. To me, he is the best player that you’re ever going to see. His ability to throw the ball, run the ball – there is nobody that has been like him and there will be nobody for awhile before you see somebody that’s like him again.”
Louisville Student-Athletes
#8, Lamar Jackson, QB
On how much the game meant to him…
“It meant a lot. You know, I said it last week I was ready for them. Our whole team, we went out there and practiced. We were just executing a lot. We had perfect practices, I’ll say almost every day, and we just came out here and we showed it.”
On what he thinks about Bobby Petrino calling him the best player ever…
“It just makes me grind harder. If he looks at me that way, if my teammates look at me that way, I just gotta stay that way and own up to what he said.”
On how the Louisville running game helps him…
“Well, you know, I’ve been telling you guys since summer, Dae and Reggie are great running backs, even Malik Williams. But it just opens it up for me.”
On not having to punt the ball the entire game…
“That’s what our goal was throughout the year, not putting our punter out there and just driving the ball down the field, and we had a big one, you know, 99-yard drive. We’re always ready for that. We go on our preparation and we just executed. We did great today.”
#58, Jon Greenard, LB
On how well the Louisville defense played…
“We just executed the game plan. We just gotta attack them, stay relentless, keep hitting them. Just making sure they felt our presence there. They broke a couple runs here and there, but it was just a little missing your gaps and misalignment and stuff like that, but once we all got on one accord, we definitely showed them what our defense could do.”
On the improvement in the defense since Louisville played Wake Forest…
“We realized that game, that wasn’t us. That wasn’t our identity. You know, we looked at the film and it was just stuff here and there that we just did not, that’s not us. That’s not how we come out to play and we took it personally. Once they said these games are gonna be won up front these last couple games, we took that to heart. Once the defensive line gets it done, then that makes the secondary, their job a lot easier. And then once they get their job done, it makes the D-line’s job a lot easier.”
On how the success of the offense helped the defense…
“When our offense scores, like I said last week, they gotta play to us. They definitely gotta rush and get points on the board. So, they’re gonna sometimes get out of their element and they start passing the ball and that’s what we like to do, we like to rush the passer. They can run the ball here and there and get a couple yards in there, but you’re gonna have to pass the ball eventually and that’s when we made them pay.”
#7, Reggie Bonnafon, RB
On this being the team they expected to be after their play the last three weeks…
“It actually was. You know, we faced some adversity earlier this season, but with our leadership and guys sticking together and being a family, you know, things turned around. We are just going to continue to do that. Everybody loves each other on the team and we knew it was going to happen sooner or later. This wasn’t something that came by surprise.”
On being the RB this year after being a WR last year and QB the year before…
“It’s a matter of having more reps out there and how comfortable I get. The coaches trust me in certain positions to do things and I just want to go out there and execute and help my team.”
On having the trophy back home in their locker room…
“It feels real good. It was weird this whole season walking past the trophy cases and not seeing the governor’s cup in the case. To have it back there feels really good.”
On if there was a moment when they realized offensively that they could get anything they wanted against Kentucky’s defense…
“We had that mindset going into the game during pre-game warmups. We wanted to execute and that’s what we went out there and did.”
On if last year’s fumble held any meaning leading into this game today…
“It wasn’t too much of a difference really. It was just another opportunity to play and it just so happened to be our rival. We didn’t want to make that become a distraction this week, so we did what we normally do and we came out here and had fun.”
On how this game will influence how they remember this season…
“It will just cap it off. It will just show us that no matter what obstacles are thrown at you in life, no matter what’s goes on, as long as you stay focused and work hard things will turn around and pay off for you.”
On the brawl that happened in the first quarter…
“Energy is high. You know, guys want to win. I was on the sideline at the time, so I wasn’t involved in that, but it happens. I think we did a good job on the sidelines by not running out there and causing any more chaos. So, I think we handled it pretty well.”
