Kentucky Offense Taking Inspiration from Pros
When Kentucky head football coach Mark Stoops was in need of a new offensive coordinator, he wanted to stay with the same system, or something very similar, to what Liam Coen ran with the Cats last season. Stoops did that by hiring former San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello.
While Scangarello comes from the Mike and Kyle Shanahan/Sean McVey coaching tree that Coen did, there will be differences in the product on the field this fall. Working with 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, as well as new Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, who was the offensive coordinator in San Francisco last season, Scangarello was part of a group that liked to keep opponents on their toes.
“I thought we did as good as anyone in the league,” Scangarello said. “Whether you want to be like the Atlanta Falcons in ’16 and have Matt Ryan be the MVP or you want to grind it out like we did the last few years and put people in pressure in the run game and take care of the football, it has the flexibility to do that based on your personnel and what you have.”
Having a returning quarterback like Will Levis will allow the UK offensive staff to do even more things within the frame of the offense.
“When you’ve got a guy like Will, it opens up some doors,” Scangarello said. “You can be versatile. You can put pressure on teams because you can have more pass/run, athletic quarterback type things you can do with a guy.”
Those things existed in the 49ers offense and would have been used if first-round draft choice Trey Lance had seen the field.
“Yes, there were definitely things we explored that we would never do with a guy like Jimmy Garoppolo,” Scangarello said. “Being in the pistol, things we had done in the past that didn’t really fit until Trey showed up. We’re always evolving. All the fly motions and the Deebo (Samuel) run packages, those were products of guys getting hurt. Putting your best players in a position and having flexibility in your offense and that’s what we’ll do here as well.”
For the current Cats, being able to turn on film of NFL players, specifically the 49ers, has given them added confidence in what they are doing, despite the changes from last season.
Tight end Brenden Bates has seen time at multiple positions this spring, including fullback. He says that despite the similarities, the new offense is much different for himself and the other tight ends.
“It’s completely different,” Bates said. “The stuff coach Rich is introducing to this offense is a lot of (fullback Kyle) Juszczyk from the 49ers, his role, is very similar to what we’re doing now. It’s a way more versatile fullback than a traditional fullback.”
Watching film on the 49ers has given Bates new perspective on the tight end position as a whole.
“Before all of this, I was watching Tyler Higbee, (Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis) Kelce, those kind of guys,” Bates said. “But seeing (49ers tight end George) Kittle, that dude is the best tight end in the NFL and Juszczyk is, in my opinion, the best fullback in the NFL. So, watching film on them every day is incredible and I’m learning a lot, we all are, from their film and their technique.”
Wide receiver Tayvion Robinson, a transfer from Virginia Tech, had one name on the tip of his tongue when asked about the new UK offense and how it has evolved from the 49ers.
“Deebo Samuel,” Robinson said, without hesitation. “A lot of the stuff he did in San Fran was unbelievable, very impressive. I feel like we’ve done some of the stuff they’ve done in San Francisco with Debo.”
Scangarello has shown the ability to adapt to his personnel in the past. While he’s still getting to know his new team in Lexington, the players are already liking what the veteran coach is bringing to the table.
