University of Kentucky Football Media Conference
Saturday, November 9 2019
Mark Stoops
Tennessee – 17, Kentucky – 13
MARK STOOPS: This is an extremely difficult loss for our team. I really appreciate our team’s effort and their attitude and their preparation and their fight. A very good football game. Two teams playing extremely hard, very hungry for a victory and comes down to a goal line stand. And our players fought extremely hard. You come up a yard short and it’s very, very difficult, tough pill to swallow, but again I appreciate our team, I love their fight and their desire and their competitiveness to win. We’ve all got to find a way to make up those yards and do a better job. Defensively, I felt we played extremely well the majority of the night. It comes down to some 50/50 balls. We knew that going into it. We talked about that being their strength and that hurt us tonight. You take away some of those 50/50 catches, with some very, very talented receivers, and you play a pretty solid game. Offensively, again, we did some really good things, ripped off some big runs and big chunks and just getting into the end zone is obviously, we’ve got to find a way to get the ball in the end zone and that’s the bottom line. Again, you make that yard, you make a couple plays, you get the ball in the end zone and it’s a much different situation, much different locker room. But it didn’t happen and we’ve got to regroup and get back to work and I’m sure this team will.
Q. In short yardage it’s been a problem off and on at times throughout the year. Is there anything you can do the rest of the way to correct those things?
MARK STOOPS: Yeah, it has been from time to time. We’re looking at all options. We have gone to the perimeter, we have gone right at them, so tried a bit of everything. When you get one dimensional it gets hard. Tennessee, their strength defensively has been up front and they have been covering well. Their secondary is playing well. So it make it tough and we did miss some short yardage plays today, certainly the one at the end there.
Q. It looked like you were going to call a timeout right before that last play, why didn’t you?
MARK STOOPS: Because I was listening to our guys in the box and what the look was and whether we liked it or not. And also looking at the play clock. So once we felt like we had a look, I let it go. I prefer to keep the three timeouts in desperation there at the end if we get the stop on third and five you have a chance to try to block the punt or get a return and get the ball back and in desperation mode there at the end. So preferred to keep the timeout, but it was more based on the look we were getting defensively and whether we had a chance to get that ball to the perimeter. I thought Lynn played a really good play, I’ll never argue with Lynn taking it right there and he stretched it to the perimeter. We’ll probably look at it and feel like if he would have pitched it would have been a foot race to the pylon and probably had a chance. But I’m not going to argue with that kid and the way he has a chance to pull the ball down and try to drive it in there and get the one yard. Credit them for a nice stop.
Q. Looked like he came off limping there, how is he?
MARK STOOPS: I think he’ll be all right. He’s rolled that ankle a little bit two games in a row.
Q. Ahmad (Wagner) has been a big target for him just in those desperate situations. Was he unable to play?
MARK STOOPS: Yeah, he wasn’t able to play. And the same with Bryce Oliver, Bryce got hurt late in the week, that hurt us as well, two big guys, big targets. But they weren’t able to play.
Q. Was Sawyer (Smith) available and was there any thought of maybe making the switch?
MARK STOOPS: Yeah, he was available. So, I mean, we always think about it, we discuss it, but we were riding with Lynn and we got the ball down there with a heck of a drive there at the end and it really wasn’t intentional it’s just who we are, being very methodical right now and having to get tough yards. But with that you take that, whatever it was, five, six-minute drive, and make them use up timeouts and you punch that in right there and you feel pretty good about your chances.
Q. (Having a PAT blocked early in the game that changed chance for game-tying field goal at end).
MARK STOOPS: Yeah, it’s, it bothers me. We’ve got to continue to look at it and look at options and get better.
Q. In the second half it seemed like (Tennessee quarterback Jarrett) Guarantano looked like he had time to throw, you had trouble getting the pass rush on him. Did they make an adjustment there?
MARK STOOPS: Well, no, he had some time on mixed downs because of the way we were playing and what we were playing up front, trying to put some doubles on these guys on the receivers. Doesn’t let our guys play on an edge as much, so it’s a little bit scheme there and then later we finally did and got the ball on the ground and didn’t get that bounce either. When we got the sack-strip fumble, but they got it back, I think that led to a punt, but it still killed us on field position there, not getting that fumble.
Q. Aside from Guarantano how hard was it to go against all those receivers like Jennings and everyone else that they have out there?
MARK STOOPS: Yeah, Callaway and Jennings, they’re really good players, they’re big, strong guys and it seemed like they came down with about every one of the 50/50 balls. You take that out and, again, I mean you can’t, but I felt like the defense was really playing hard and we had a good plan and we got to win some one-on-ones.
Q. (Rushing yards and time of possession advantage)
MARK STOOPS: Again, we played pretty solid, when you run 71 plays compared to 45 and rush for 300 yards, it’s, you know, you generally you like your chances. Came up a yard short.
Q. Seemed like at the end of the first half you guys seem like you were driving, but you were kind of comfortable letting the clock kind of dwindle down.
MARK STOOPS: The clock really had nothing to do with it, we just stalled the drive. I mean we’re not built right now, I mean, you know, to get in a great two-minute situation and throw the ball all over the yard. So you saw the Missouri game, right? Yeah, so just had to pick our spots and try the best we can. We’re not built, we’re not overly explosive right now, we’re pretty one-dimensional, I think everybody knows that and we’re trying the best we can and in certain situations in games it’s a weakness for us, not so much a strength. So you’ve got to make sure you play to your strengths and give yourself an opportunity to win the game. And I realize we’re not perfect and can do a lot of things better and different and you know in hindsight would I change some things, certain calls? Of course. But it was frustrating, our guys did, again, they moved the ball very well, controlled the clock, had some explosive runs, puts a lot of pressure on them. The way we were running the ball and controlling the game, we’ve just got to get the ball in the end zone. We came up a little bit short in just, just outside of the red zone area as well, seems like a lots of drives stalled, went for it quite a few times on fourth, the ball, we stalled on whatever, 30, 33, 34, 40, a lot of drives stalled in there. Got to get the confidence back in the kicking game where we can make some long field goals and have an opportunity to win that way too. So that’s not helping us.
Q. With RB Chris Rodriguez…
MARK STOOPS: I think all those guys had some good explosive runs. All of them have an opportunity to create some big plays. Chris had obviously 6.8 per carry, he was the guy today, but Kavosiey (Smoke) was averaging 7.2, so each week you can see whoever gets some explosives. But A.J. (Rose) had some explosive runs as well, so the mixture there has been good and we got into some 21 personnel sets there today where we were using a couple of them at a time and had some new wrinkles in there that created some explosive runs for us as well.
Q. Three games left, how do you make sure those one or two yards at the goal line doesn’t deflate you?
MARK STOOPS: It can’t. It can’t. That’s what I talked to the team about. I appreciate their effort and preparation and there’s going to be frustration and they’ve got to control that, because it’s hard, these guys invest a lot. When you invest what we invest it’s going to hurt. So we’ve got to handle that as best you can and try to keep the frustration to yourself and regroup and then go look at the film and go look at the things and the areas where we all can do things better. And that’s the only way can you handle it.
ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
FOOTBALL
NOV. 11, 2019
KROGER FIELD – LEXINGTON, KY.
Kentucky Student-Athletes
#24, Christopher Rodriguez Jr., RB
On what was working that allowed the football to be run 300 plus yards …
“I mean, just Coach calling the plays, calling out what he saw. Lynn (Bowden Jr.) had some good carries, (Asim Rose) had some good carries, so I don’t know.”
On moving forward …
“We just have to keep our heads up. On to the next game, because we have another game next week. We can’t stay down because there’s another game.”
#3, Jordan Griffin, S
On stopping opposing receivers …
“They were 50-50 balls. I feel like we did a good job up until the point of attack, of course. Those balls could have went either way, you know. Those were some amazing catches. We just have to finish stronger and finish better at the point of attack on the ball. The 50-50 balls are just the name of the game. You win some, you lose some. You make a play sometimes, and sometimes you don’t make a play. I think today was just one of those moments. We were right there, and we had a chance and just couldn’t execute.”
On avoiding similar mistakes in upcoming games …
“We just have to keep fighting and keep going. Start looking at the points we can control and figure out how to improve that. Once we get in and look at the film it will get better, but we just have to take it one step at a time and keep moving forward. No need to look back.”
On Kentucky’s defensive performance …
“We had some mistakes in the backfield, some communication errors. It’s kind of hard to deal with so late in the season, so that’s kind of frustrating. You know, we can deal with 50-50 balls. That’s just the name of the game. Now all I can say is, you’ll see.”
#91, Calvin Taylor Jr., DE
On being a yard or two away from the win …
“Super tough. We don’t do moral victories, so it’s just a tough one. In this league, there are all types of tough games that you just have to take to the chin, and when it comes down to a yard, it sucks. But we just didn’t get it.”
On his leadership role …
“We just have to take tonight and try again next time. Everybody has their own process on how they deal with losses, but we’re going to start fresh next week. Now our focus is on (Vanderbilt), and it’s that simple.”
On recording two strip sacks with no recoveries …
“Sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way. I saw it hit the ground, but it went forward instead of backwards, so it’s just the luck of the draw I guess. I’m patient, so I know the time will come.”
Tennessee Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt & Student-Athletes
Jeremy Pruitt, Head Coach
On opening statement …
“I can’t say enough about how proud I am of the resiliency that everybody that was on this trip who found a way to win the game. We did way too many things that dug ourselves a hole. We made a lot of mistakes on how we were going to handle the quarterback on the edge. There were a few things that Kentucky did that we never seen before. Too many basic fundamental plays that we didn’t play very well for whatever reason, and you can’t do that. Missed too many tackles. So if you look at it defensively, the first drive they go down, and we have three times on third down and they convert. They get a short field after we drop a punt, and they run split zone and we don’t play the play. We’re down 13-0, we block a kick. It was important there that our offense moved the ball. We move the ball down there, and we’re moving the ball well, and get the ball around the 15-yard line, we get a late hit on offense. Moved the ball back, had several times there in the first half that we didn’t throw the ball exactly where we needed to at the quarterback position. If you’re not working the correct side of the field, it’s hard to have success. So we made a change at halftime, obviously it was better there. Second half, we start on offense, get a really good drive there. We have to score twice because we go out there and cover up the tight end. It’s pretty simple, all you have to do is ask the official if I’m off and he’ll tell you where to get. It’s not like we were rushing the play. So, we end up having to score twice there.”
On being able to respond when things don’t go your way …
“We had a really good week of practice. I liked the way we warmed up. Just watching our guys, I felt like we were fixing to play really well. We made mental mistakes, and you can’t do that. We gave them extra opportunities. As the game went, we cut down on our mental mistakes. We didn’t really change our calls, we played a little better. I think our guys are growing up. If you work as hard as we work, you want to take advantage of the opportunities you get.”
On UK playing with wide receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. at quarterback …
“I think it says a lot about what kind of coaches are on Kentucky’s staff. Eddie Gran’s been in this business for a long time, the offensive coordinator there. He’s done a really good job, and the offense has grown each week for what they’re doing.
On Kentucky’s first-half performance …
“You know, against us tonight they got us in a little bit of a bind because they kept getting in 12 personnel and opening it up. So all of a sudden we’ve got big guys here on the field thinking they’re going to be in condensed traditional formations, and they’ve got us spread out all over the field. So we didn’t have the right people, and then they ran the same runs that they would run out of their 11 personnel, so we didn’t have the right fits in there in the first half. So we played a little more nickel in the second half so they wouldn’t put our guys in some unorthodox positions.”
On linebacker Daniel Bituli’s performance …
“Daniel is smart, he’s tough, he’s dependable, he loves Tennessee, he’s a great teammate, he’s a great leader. You want everybody on your team to be like Daniel Bituli. I can’t find one characteristic that’s not great about him. The way he practices, the way he carries himself, goes about his business, works hard to prepare. He’s a phenomenal leader and a great young man.”
On Tennessee’s first three-game win streak since 2016 …
“Well, from the reality of it, it means we’re 5-5, which is exactly where we were this time last year. We didn’t finish the way we wanted to finish, they know that. We’re going to enjoy this win tonight. We’re going to go back to Knoxville, try to get some guys healed up a little bit, focus on academics for a couple of days and start getting ready for Missouri, and work on fundamentals for us. I’m happy for these guys. They’ve been tremendous leaders. I’m glad to see them have some success.”
#18, Nigel Warrior, DB
On the final fourth down stop …
“Oh, that’s crazy. I’m glad you asked that. I had the edge and something was telling me that to not to take the pitch, do not quarterback, take the pitching back like before the play something in me was telling me to take the pitch, don’t take the quarterback, take the pitch, thankfully my guys came in and did what they were supposed to do and gave enough time to come tackle the quarterback”
On the interception being called back …
“First they got to buy me some new feet because I keep stepping out of bounds. But first of all, I’m thankful for the ball to come my way, for me to even make plays. You know I can’t really be mad, those are my mistakes. Might just have to sharpen up my tools and pay attention where I’m at and make plays.”
On the first three-game win streak since 2016 …
“Feels good, especially as a senior. I’m thankful for my teammates, young guys, guys my age, I’m thankful for everybody because we all are pouring our heart out to even go out there and play football. This game showed us a lot about who we are, what are capable to do. I’m thankful. I love my guys.”
#1, Marquez Callaway, WR
On switching quarterbacks at the half …
“I don’t think it changed anything. (Jarrett Guarantano) has played a lot of football here, so he’s a little older than a lot of these dudes, the other quarterbacks. He’s a veteran guy, he knows what he’s doing. We expect him to make those kinds of throws, so he just came in and played the game. I don’t expect anything less than that.”
On his touchdown in the third quarter …
“It was supposed to be a slow-go, a slant-and-go, but it converts when they come up and press, so I thought he was going to do a press down. I did a bad job of getting off the line on that, but Jarrett (Guarantano) still trusted me and made the throw, and I tried my best to make the catch.”
#35, Daniel Bituli, LB
On coming back from a first-half deficit …
“They were just throwing their best at us, things that we hadn’t seen. Kentucky has a great team, they’re a great (Southeastern Conference) team. We knew they would come out here and perform the right way, and they did that the first half. We just went in on the sideline, adjusted to their plays, and because of that we got the opportunity to score.”
On taking possession at the end of the fourth quarter …
“We wanted to keep them out the end zone. At the end of the day, they can block the field as much as they want, but they have to score points. We knew how much they wanted to get in the end zone to win the game, and as long as we stop them from getting in there, it will help us win the game.”
On coming back from a 13-point deficit …
“I’m very proud. We all played our part. The defense was struggling, and the offense came in and preformed the right way and put points on the board, and that motivated us to go out there and play harder for them. Because of them, we did that.”
