Mark Stoops Press Conference
UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
FOOTBALL PRE-UT MARTIN NEWS CONFERENCE
MONDAY, NOV. 18, 2019
KROGER FIELD MEDIA ROOM – LEXINGTON, KY.
Kentucky Head Coach Mark Stoops
Opening Statement …
“As I mentioned postgame, very pleased with our team and thought it was a group effort. I felt like our coaches did a great job of getting the team prepared and ready to go on the road. Really happy with the way the team responded last week and the preparation, went out and played that way. Played a complete game, so very proud of their effort. Today, is much the same. Get back to us and get back to having a great week of preparation and continuing to work and improve and just to see how good we can be and how much we can improve. Looking to play a clean football game this weekend.”
On if the men’s basketball team losing to Evansville last week will help keep his team focused this week …
“I don’t use those type of comparisons, but we will talk about us and our prep and getting ready to go. I can remember back, was it Austin Peay, we had to beat to go to our first game bowl game and it was a real struggle? Back whenever that was, three years ago, four years ago, I remember just being a very aggravating game. It’s about us and the way we play and we keep the same mentality we had a week ago then we will be OK. It is about us and our prep and the way we play. I will say, UT Martin, they’re a good football team. Defensively, they present some problems. They are very different than anybody we play and can be very multiple and do some things that are kind of unique. In that regard, it will be very different for us. When you play a team like that, they can create some negative plays because they are very much kind of all over. We will have to be very detailed in what we are doing.”
On playing against teams that have nothing to lose …
“It is a big game for them. (UT Martin is) 7-4 and this is their last game of the year. You are playing a team that is coming in here with nothing to lose, it is their last game and they are going to throw caution to the wind and take some gambles and some shots and again, they are good, they’re well-coached, and present some problems. They are unique in certain ways.”
On what he liked about some of the younger guys that played late against Vanderbilt …
“I thought those guys did some good things. You saw the athleticism and you saw some inexperience. You saw some guys really pop. You look at JJ (Weaver) and you look at the things he’s doing. Not only you look at his athletic ability but I like, with JJ, is fundamentally the way he plays. You can tell he is taking the coaching and getting better every day and using this redshirt to help him and help his future. When he gets in there, it’s not just running around, just relying on athleticism, he’s doing what he’s coached to do and that is good to see.”
On what his message to the players will be about UT Martin …
“Again, it’s about us right now and our preparation and seeing how good we can be. We’re interested in playing good this week but also interested in continuing to grow as a program and organization to get better. That’s always the message with us. I don’t care if we are playing a team where we are a favorite or if we’re an underdog, there’s no difference. It’s about respecting the game and respecting the preparation and challenging ourselves. If you look at last week, the game played out a lot like we talked about last week, is not letting that loss (to Tennessee) defeat us and affect our mentality. We went down 14-3 and I was very proud of our team, and their response, and they were coached to do that all week and they responded that way. This week, it’s about us and our preparation and how good we can be and being very detailed in our prep and our mindset.”
On the importance of getting to a bowl for the extra practice …
“It’s always important. We do have a young football team so practice is important. Each year, I’s a little bit different in the way we go about the practice, so it will be very helpful.”
On how good it was to get the receivers some catches on Saturday …
“Yeah, very much so. Josh (Ali) and Clevan (Thomas) and all those guys, Ahmad (Wagner) was back out there, very good. They are all playing extremely hard and very unselfish. That is hard to do for them because they are out there having to block a lot and do some very unselfish things all the time. They are embracing that and that is a sign of a good football team and a very unselfish team. So, very proud of those guys and it was great to see them get some catches and we will continue to try to get them the ball and improve our game any way we can. We’ll try to continue to get them the ball.”
On Lynn Bowden playing basketball …
“I joked about that last week, but we have a couple big games here left, so let’s focus on that and then we will let Lynn go practice a little bit, see what he can do. Let me say this, I always tease Cal, but I am not feeling sorry for him (laughter). He has a lot of good players. He and I joke and go back and forth, but believe me, he is going to be just fine we all know that. He has a good basketball team and a lot of good players.”
On no “or” listed before Sawyer Smith on the depth chart …
“I didn’t think I was fooling you anymore (laughter). My message was, we were hollering down the hall ‘no changes, no changes’ because there wasn’t much to talk about. And I said, well we might as well drop the ‘or’ because I don’t think we are fooling them anymore.”
On how much it means that the team is one win away from a bowl game …
“Well, again, it is not time to look at big picture things. But if you just look at the season, I am proud of the coaches and proud of the team. Because it is too easy to fold and adversity faces every team. How you deal with it and how you overcome it and go about your business, again, that’s most important to us, is our preparation and our mindset, and what we are doing.”
On when he moved Bowden to QB and if the team bought in …
“That is a good question that I didn’t notice anything. That’s one thing about our team – I don’t want to overuse this word, I was going to say they don’t flinch, but I was tired of using that word – but they’re not worried about it. They go about their business. What we ask them to do, they do and I love and appreciate that about them. They have input at times and we hear them and try to hear our players and do as much as we can together, but ultimately they are very good about that. They are very unselfish and if that is the plan then let’s roll with it and let’s go. I think over time they have really embraced that and they see the change. If Sawyer went back in there or Walker (Wood) or whoever, they would embrace that as well.”
On Marquan McCall’s personality and impact on the field…
“Marquan, you know, he’s very fun to be around. Love guys like that with their mentality, their energy. He’s a very good football player, explosive. We have to make sure that he understands the difference of that energy and getting amped up to play, and then going out there and executing. Because, he made some mental mistakes that are unexcuseable. Too many. We understand nobody is perfect, but you can’t go out there and play the way we expect him to play, with all those reps that he has had, and as talented as he is. But that’s where the discipline comes in. It may not have hurt us in that last game, but it will if he doesn’t get some things corrected. I love him, I love his personality, love his energy, but I’m going to get afraid him today because it’s too many mental mistakes and that’s unacceptable.”
On Chris Rodriguez’s role…
“Well, it’s a great example if you look at him, and there’s others, but talking about that progression, and keep on sowing those seeds, keep on working, keep on doing the right things, and eventually you’re going to have your opportunity and an opportunity to prove it. He did that, he’s been doing that. But it goes back to his practice habits to be honest with you. He has been extremely disciplined, and again, he made a critical mistake Saturday that could’ve cost us late in that game, they (could have) made a blowout become close. He missed a blitz pickup, that’s inexcusable. But he’s doing some really good things and he is practicing extremely hard and he is becoming more detailed and that’s where he’s taken to coaching. You see that with coaching experienced guys. You know, we have confidence in all of our coaches, but Coach (Eddie) Gran does such a good job of coaching those guys and being hard on them and being disciplined with them and it is paying off, and again, you see that with a guy like JJ. It’s not just relying on athletic ability for a young kid. It’s fundamentally trying to do the things he is coached to do with ability. You keep on doing that and the sky is the limit for certain people. We have a lot of good, talented players, but you have to be coachable and do the things we’re asking you to do. We’re interested in winning every game. We’re also interested in growth and how the program is growing.”
On how the coaching staff has adapted to changing the offense during the season…
“It’s been extremely impressive, and I greatly appreciate them and that’s where you have a guy like Coach Gran who’s a seasoned veteran, it pays off. Because he has been around a long time and again, I understand that and I don’t need to sit up here and defend him, you know the offensive coordinators across the country walk around with the biggest bullseye on their chest 24/7. It’s just easy to second guess as a coordinator every play, every game. Pros, high school, college, there’s people criticizing offensive coordinators everywhere. But you see him being the veteran he is and adapting to the players that we have, and I greatly appreciate that and they’ve all done a great job on offense.”
On coaches everywhere adapting to all the changes, injuries, transfers, etc. that you see at quarterback this season…
“It does seem to be that way this year, maybe more so than others. I don’t know, I don’t have all that data in front of me, but it does seem like it, that there’s been a lot of transition and a lot of change in quarterback this year with injuries, the (transfer) portal, different reasons. But we are focused on ours. Our change and our adversity, and again, just going back to that, I just appreciate our coaches being able to adapt and finding ways to win the ball. I’m not sitting here and saying that everybody is perfect an everything is hunky-dory; we all know we try to improve each and every week. As I mentioned, after a few difficult losses, we are trying to find those plays and those yards and critical moments to win close games. But we do feel like we’ve put our team in position to win a lot of football games this year. Sometimes they’ve gone our way, sometimes they didn’t. But we’re going to continue to do that.”
On Lynn Bowden playing a big role and keeping him healthy if face of potential injuries…
“You know, it really does not, because if you play this game timid, that’s when injuries will happen. Unfortunately, they are a part of our game and they are going to happen no matter what. Am I considerate of those things? I am all the time on how I practice, how much, that fine line of being physical but not hurting the guys. It is constantly on my mind with the preparation, the way we handle the program, to try to protect these young men as best we can. But when it comes to game plan, when it comes to playing the game, when it comes to calling plays, no. We’re going to do what we gotta do and we gotta be aggressive. When there is a time to bring a person out of the game or leave him in there, that’s tough on us all, all the time. But you can’t be timid. You can’t be scared that injuries are going to happen. It’s part of the game and if you play that way or coach that way, you’re certainly opening yourself up to have some injury.”
On how the secondary has improved this season despite the inexperience…
“You have to give Coach Clink (Steve Clinkscale) and Coach Hood, Coach White, all the defensive coaches, I think they’ve done a really good job. I’m proud of the work they’ve done, they’ve had to coach hard, they’ve had to teach, and anticipate issues as best they can. I think it’s a combination of just playing good defense, the coaches have (done) well, the players competing, I think it’s an overall group effort. We have to continue to build on that, continue to grow, continue to develop young players, so they’ve ready for these opportunities.”
On if the secondary has played more aggressively as the players have gained more repetitions…
“I think it’s fair to say. I think any player, as their preparation improves, their confidence improves, usually you can see that on Saturdays.”
On who graded best in the offensive line vs. Vanderbilt…
“That’s tough. We feel like, across the board, we just gave it to the offense. You have to acknowledge Lynn but in general the offense played really good, all those guys did a good job, were very physical across the board. Relatively clean, the one procedure against Landon (Young) jumps out at you because it was at a tough moment. It was after the strip fumble. But outside of that it was clean. I think Logan’s play was an effort play. It wasn’t a selfish play, it was an effort play. He was trying hard. I understand that call, I turned it in for clarification because there is that rule this year on the blindside. It was not late. So, if anything, it would be hitting a defenseless player or blindside player but it wasn’t late or after the whistle. Landon had one hold that he had the young man blocked, he didn’t need to torque him at the end but relatively clean across the board in the offensive line.”
On getting Walker Wood into his first game…
“Very, very pleased for him. He deserves it. It’s hard for all these players, we have a bunch of players on our team, 105, 110 players and they all work hard and they all want their opportunity. When you’re in a situation when you’re trying to win every game, every possession is so close, every play is so important, it’s not as easy as just throwing guys out there when you feel like it’s not your best option. Fortunately we had a lead and it was real important for me to get him in there, just get him some reps, let him throw it a few times, see what he can do. He made a really good decision, he was getting blitzed, he was backed up, he got rid of the football, on the smash he hit the out cut, the hitch, made a good throw there, that got brought for the hold (penalty). It was really important. I have a lot of respect for Walker and I think everybody in our organization does, so it was really important to see him play. I’d love to see him some more.”
On the team’s identity and confidence…
“I think they’re different, in my opinion. We’re different. Confidence comes from preparation and doing what you’re supposed to do. I’m not a big false confidence guy. I want us to earn that. You earn it by being prepared and putting the work in. Identity, to us, is just continuing to build our culture and what we want to be. That can change, as you’ve seen this year. We went from being very balanced and trying to be very diverse offensively to having to adapt to what we have to do right now to win games. We’re always going to have that blue-collar mentality and that work ethic.”
On changing the travel routine …
“Obviously because of there result, it worked. You like to see when things come to fruition that way and works out. So obviously, we felt liked during that prep, we liked it. Our players liked it. It was kind of refreshing to get out there and have a brief workout once we got down to Tennessee. Of course, having Wesley (Woodyard) come and give us a little pep talk at the end of that practice meant a lot to us and see him and hear some great words of wisdom from him being such a great player but more importantly such a great person and great leader talk to our team, it really meant a lot to us. I think it meant a lot to our team. I think he had little something to do with that, and I give him a big thanks.”
On former players still supporting the program has an effect on the team …
“It does. We’re all in this together. That’s how I feel. I don’t think you need to be a Coach Brooks guy or a Coach Stoops guy or an anybody. You’re a Kentucky Wildcat. That’s how I feel with all the ex-players. I embrace all of them and want them all to be a part of this. We appreciate them all coming back and seeing us.”
On Terry Wilson …
“Terry’s doing good. He was there. He wanted to go because he was feeling better off those crutches. Has a little bit better movement and can protect himself out on the sideline a little bit better. It was important for him to go and show that support for the team. It was great to bring him and have him apart of it and get around more. His rehab is going well.”
On Logan Stenberg and if he is getting singled out …
“No, I can’t say that. That’s part of who he is. He’s going to toe that line. But as I’ve said before I would rather say ‘woah’ than ‘gitty up’.
On how he attributes toughness to his success …
“I think it’s real important, because in this league if you get pushed around that breaks your will. You have to be physical, I said that in day one press conference. That’s just how I feel and what I believe. I know you need to be good in a lot of areas. Trust me. Take a look at our league and look as some of the great teams here this year. They’re very good in a lot of areas and we’re striving to do that. Without physicality, you have no chance. When you’re roster’s full like that on both sides, you have a lot of opportunity.”
On JJ Weaver …
“We’ve been planning that and talking about that with several of the guys. Even with Jared (Casey), we talked about playing Jared the way the game went Saturday. The way we got ahead so much and we were able to get quality snaps, we talked about playing Jared last week when the plan was not too. We’re mapping it out. The plan is to possibly play JJ this week but I need to have a conversation with him and to be honest with you I’m going to keep that between him and I. He doesn’t know about this yet. He’s a guy that we may reconsider. We won’t at this point in time, but we probably could have played him some more when you look at the way he’s progressed the past three or four weeks. So, we’re trying to be strategic in that and not be selfish or wasteful as well with the young man’s year.”
