Mark Stoops Press Conference
KENTUCKY FOOTBALL NEWS CONFERENCE
MARK STOOPS PRE-SOUTH CAROLINA
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2020
JOE CRAFT FOOTBALL TRAINING CENTER – LEXINGTON , KY.
Opening statement …
“I want to start by thanking our seniors. This is the last game they’ll get to play at home and hopefully we’ll send them off the right way. They’ve been very instrumental in helping us win a lot of football games over the past several years. Obviously, this year has been very frustrating and has not gone the way we’ve wanted it to. It’s been very well documented how it’s been very different and how unsettling it is and disappointing so hopefully we can finish up the right way. Last week was a lot like the week we before. We did some really good things and played extremely hard for a while. We did not execute in critical moments and did not play a good second half. That needs to be addressed and we gotta work extremely hard this week to make sure we play a complete game, finish and play two halves of quality football so hopefully we will build on that and get better and move into the future the right way. We are looking forward to this game and again I want to say we much really respect appreciate our seniors. Also, I need to say it’s different getting ready for South Carolina not having Will (Muschamp) on the opposing sideline. I really have a lot of respect for Will and the work he’s done and just the competitor that he is. It won’t be the same competing without him being over there as well.”
On what UK and South Carolina both have done to play every game during COVID …
“Well, you mentioned the word luck. I’d say it’s just a matter of circumstance. It’s very different. In hindsight, the teams that really, I don’t want to use the word exposed, but that kinda used the word immunity and got a lot of guys that contracted it a lot early, were able to overcome it. We were really, really good for a long, long time and then it hit us. It hit us at a very bad time. When you’re already pretty thin and beat up at the end and you’re playing two of the top 5 or 6 ranked teams in the country, that’s not when you want to be thin. It’s just circumstance. It’s just what it is. It’s strange and I know we worked extremely hard to keep our players safe and worked to adhere to the protocols that were in place. It’s hitting us. I see other teams cancelling the day of and a player here and a player there. We have 26-27 people in this building who have it right now but we’re still competing and we’re playing by the rules. Again, we’re not gonna duck anybody and we’re gonna play. That’s the way I’ve always been. That’s the way we’re gonna do it.”
On OLB J.J. Weaver’s injury …
“He’s got a serious lower leg injury and he’ll be out for quite some time. We’re extremely disappointed for J.J. and he was arguably playing just as good as anybody on our team so it’s disappointing. J.J. is in good spirits. He will return and he will overcome this injury that many people have. He’ll get back. Our docs will do a great job. He’ll rehab extremely hard and he’ll be back. It’ll take some time but he’ll come back at full strength. It is disappointing to see a young man play so hard, so physical, so talented and it’s very disappointing.”
On DB Kelvin Joseph’s play and being immature at times …
“I have to continue to do the best I can. It is not, as you know, it’s not the way we want to represent ourselves at times with the penalties and the undisciplined plays. Kelvin is a competitor. He understands once you talk to him and get him on the side and talk to him. He’s very competitive in games but some of it is absolutely unacceptable. You know, like the one play on Saturday, there’s just no excuses. You can’t have it, it’s totally unacceptable and it will be addressed. It won’t happen again for a long time I can promise you that. Kelvin is still relatively new to our culture and the way we do things, and we will continue to teach him and that’s our job, to coach, teach and bring guys along. So, we will continue to work on that.”
On the team’s struggles right now …
“It’s hard to put into words. I don’t really want to get into specific words or details on how difficult it is because people will say it is an excuse. I think you and I personally know about it and I know it’s been definitely one of the most trying times. Certainly, one of the most trying coaching experiences of my life and I’ve been through some tough ones. But again, I don’t really want that to be the headline because it’s about the players. I am paid to do this job, I can accept it, I can shoulder it, I’ll be fine. I do care about our players and I do care about their mental and physical well-being. It’s been very trying on them.”
On the players’ resilience during season …
“It says a lot because we haven’t had one player opt out, not one player quit. We have had players not play to the standard that they expect of themselves, that we expect out of them. That’s coaching, that’s us getting through it, it’s us dealing with circumstances. Some people deal with better than others. But I still love each and every one of them. They have really fought, and I think it does say a lot about us because it’s really easy to look around the country. It’s really easy to just say I give, I submit, I quit and look for a rock to hide under but no one’s doing that here and we aren’t going to do that. I appreciate that and I respect our players and it says a lot about them. We are playing hard. We need to coach better and we need to execute better at moments. But I do love this team.”
On getting TE Justin Rigg back …
“Hopefully we will get Justin Rigg back. It’s good to get (Brenden) Bates back out there. And then last week obviously getting Keaton (Upshaw) back out there, he was playing very good football. And you are right on that, 12-personnel is a big part of our offense. We do have a good chance to get Justin back this week so that will help.”
On if any of the seniors indicated if they are going to use the free year and come back, and on the three senior offensive linemen (Landon Young, Drake Jackson, Luke Fortner) and what they’ve meant to the program …
“The seniors, we will have discussions next week. I’m waiting till the season’s over and we’ll talk with some of the seniors. I’ve had brief conversations with some of them and we’ll address all that next week. Luke Fortner, Drake Jackson, Landon Young, and Darian Kinnard, I hope Darian comes back for another year, but those three guys and Darian, they’ve been rock solid for many years and have meant an awful lot to the program. You cannot ask for better young men than the three guys you just mentioned there and again with Darian, just incredible people, great leaders, work extremely hard on that field every day, and have come to play every day for a long time so very appreciative of them.”
On DB Vito Tisdale playing some at linebacker …
“He should have been listed at Sam because he plays that position, you see him in there. We call that a ‘medium personnel’, so it’s our base personnel calls with a defensive back in there. He’s been doing that, he can do that, he can run any call, any call we have, just with a defensive back rather than an outside backer, so he’s been doing that but with the injury with J.J., we can move Boogie (Watson) back over to Jack and play Jordan Wright and Vito (Tisdale) at the Sam/nickel.”
On if any players have talked to him about opting out and if not, why they haven’t…
“I don’t know. I hope it’s the long work that we’ve done with the culture with our program. I hope it’s because of the obligation they have for each other. No, I haven’t had to ask anybody to come back or try to talk them into it. I would never do that if that’s what they wanted to do. I would shake their hand and thank them and move them on their way. There’s nothing you can do. Listen, I understand. There’s good reasons. I’m not criticizing anybody. I’m proud of the fact that nobody on our team has done that but that’s not to say that people don’t have their reasons and they’re valid and good. Each individual, each person must do what’s right for them. I think it does say a lot for our program and our team that we haven’t had anybody. And I have certainly haven’t had to sell anybody on staying. I wouldn’t do that.”
On TE Keaton Upshaw and the plan for upgrading the passing game for the future …
“There is no denying that we need to improve. I appreciate Keaton and all of our players. I am going to tell you, even our receivers, they have not received the football as much as they would like, but quite a few of those guys I really have a lot of respect for as they are battling, working hard and trying to improve, get open and get the ball. I really appreciate those guys. We do need to get better. There is no denying that. Some of the football that we have put out there is unacceptable and that is my job as the head coach to look at that, address it and improve. I don’t want to get into specifics. There is no time for pointing fingers and doing all of that right now. I have to continue to move the program forward and there is no doubt in my mind that I have to continue to look at all things and improve and get better and I will certainly do that after this week.”
On QB Terry Wilson’s legacy …
“I think it should be that he did everything he could for this program. He is a young man that helped us win 10 games, there is no taking that away from him. I am talking about him and him being our starting quarterback as a sophomore. I think he is a guy that laid it all out on the line for his team each and every week. None of us are perfect and that is a hard position to play. He came back from a very serious injury and he gave it everything he had. I greatly appreciate that. There is frustrations at times at every one of our positions and at quarterback, you have a bull’s-eye on you. All eyes are on the quarterback each and every down and I think he has handled that very well and I appreciate that from him.”
On South Carolina’s RB Kevin Harris and QB Luke Doty …
“I see a guy that is very talented, obviously. He is a young player that they want to get some snaps and get some reps and you can see the talent in there. With Harris, he’s one of the top two-three-four backs in this conference and you know that is saying a lot. He is hard to get down. He runs exceptionally hard. They do a really good job blocking. I really respect the way they put a hat-on-a-hat and run very physical. They block physically and he runs tough as well.”
On if winning the final game of the year could build momentum …
“I think you address it each and every week. This is the last week, that is the situation. I have talked about it before but each situation and each week is different. What you are talking about is a fact that it is our last game of the year and it is important. It is important for our seniors to go out the right way. Our motivation is different each and every week, but certainly that is a part of it. You certainly want to end the right way. Each and every year you can go back and look at what it is – a play here and a play there and a game here and a game there. Sometimes it can totally change the outlook of a season. The margin for error this year playing 10 conference games, you can see the toll that it has taken on many of the programs in the SEC. It is difficult. Anybody that was crying for more conference games better take a hard look at what happened this year to the league. It is important to go out with a win and as I also mention all year, each week we hit the reset button and it is extremely important to try to go 1-0 that week. It is a big game for many reasons.”
On what areas he is encouraged by …
“I think it is the effort is the big thing. We are not 100 percent, believe me. There are some guys that you need to look at this film and need to evaluate themselves to see if it that’s everything they have. We are not perfect, but there are a lot of guys that are. In a difficult situation and a trying season, I see a lot of great effort. I still see a lot of great leadership and that still makes me proud.”
On if the team will play in a bowl if they get the opportunity …
“I am not sure. I really haven’t addressed that yet. I need to visit with our team. I think the biggest thing would be the mindset of our team and to make sure they would be all in and would want to do that. I certainly would want to and I think our staff would and administration. There are going to be a lot of teams playing in bowl games with three or four wins. We need to win this game, that is for sure. But I will address that next week and it will really be the temperature of our football team. I don’t want to go in there half-hearted. I want to go in with an all-in mentality and ready to play and compete.”
On the conversation between him, Coach Gran and Coach Marrow on the sideline Saturday …
“We had a discussion at that point in time but animated, hot or hostile, absolutely not. Intense maybe, but no, that was a very good discussion there. We talked about a couple of things and ultimately I said do what you want and do what your gut (tells you), what you have practiced and what your instincts tell you and he did. Eddie called it and we scored. I try to stay out of that as much as I can. I have some input but I try to leave that up to Eddie and the offensive staff.”
On the second-half breakdowns and what he sees on tape …
“I think a big piece of it is not complimenting each other. One thing that I get a lot of compliments from other coaches, or other coaches point out to me, how well our team generally compliments each other with our style, the way we’ve played the last couple of years. This year, it hasn’t been on point. Sometimes in the second half it is a great example of that and that is something that I need to address and we need to get better. That’s on me. When you are playing the teams that we’ve played the last two weeks, you’ve got to be on point. You’ve got to be perfect. Whether it be offensively, sometimes it’s some of our best players but it is like one play then maybe two of three plays later it is another player for just one play. Ultimately, it comes down to me and getting everybody to play together and compliment each other as a team. We are not dynamic enough on any one side to just take over a game. We need to play well together and we haven’t done that. That’s up to me to go back and find the right recipe to help us win games because obviously this year it did not work. That is on me as the head coach.”
