Mark Stoops Monday Press Conference (Sept. 4)

Mark Stoops News Conference
Post-Ball State, Pre-Eastern Kentucky
Sept. 4, 2023 

Opening Statement…
“Much like a lot of times, you don’t really have a true indicator until you go watch the film and get a good feel for what was transpiring on Saturday afternoon. I will say that the biggest thing, the biggest compliment, that I can say for our team is they were definitely ready to play in the game emotionally. I thought physically we were ready to play the game. We tried to do a lot of things that we had talked about: impose our will, start fast, be physical. Our team, I give them credit, they did a lot of that. You can see [that] with the disruption, the tackles for loss, the sacks, up front on both sides, even offensively. Some of the issues were identifying and making calls and we need to clean some things up with protection, but there wasn’t a lot just flat getting beat, maybe a little bit of trying to do too much; once or twice sliding down, coming out late and misidentifying once. I thought our guys played physical on both sides of the ball. We played really mentally — they were ready to play.

“What we did not play was very clean. I felt that Saturday, and that was true with watching the film. The little details in all the things that we talk about, it’s a fundamental game. We played hard, we played physical, we were not always fundamentally sound and that will bite us eventually. Those are things we have to work on.  I tried like heck to preach that in Game One, because in Game One, they have been training for so long and putting in all that hard work, [so] they want everything to happen immediately, instead of doing their job and doing it fundamentally sound and doing all the things they have been coached to do. We get out there and they mean well and want to do too much and want to do a lot and want to help and make an impact, but therefore fundamentally suffer sometimes. That was evident on both sides. Just like I felt Saturday, some of the third down conversions were a bit frustrating.

“The way the game played out, offensively — we had 11 plays in the second half until that last three minutes and that’s why I just wanted to run a few plays to, if nothing else, get out guys in shape, practice and play, and get some game reps under our belt. That felt frustrating Saturday and it was frustrating. It’s twofold. It’s really good, I compliment our team on scoring on offense, defense and special teams. That’s something that we’ll always take, but you put that in with long drives—we start the second half and get a beautiful drive, I believe we started with a stop, took a little time, get a long drive touchdown, then we’re giving up yardage and then we get the kickoff return [for a touchdown], then give up a long drive and that felt frustrating, and it was. There were long stretches in this game where our offense did not touch the ball, with the defensive score and the kickoff return and with us not converting on third down. It felt frustrating. It was frustrating. And there are things in there that we have to get cleaned up.

“Again, I think we were physical—I liked the offensive line play. There was improvement. You could see they were finishing blocks. They were playing physical. They were trying to run the ball downhill. I thought we did that. We didn’t have a lot of plays; therefore, you’re not getting a lot of touches. You have playmakers out there that are not getting a lot of touches, we didn’t have enough plays. You can spread that around for whose fault that was. Offensively, we didn’t convert. We had some really good field position at the end of the first half. That felt frustrating because we did not convert on some of that. With the possession time and [Ball State] moving the ball and keeping the ball away from us for various reasons, that felt frustrating. It’s a reason that we didn’t get as many touches to as many people as we like to. We have to work on that.

“Bottom line is that it comes down to the details, being more detailed, being more focused and executing at a higher level. If we can keep the same intensity, keep working on the physicality, being more detailed, and execute better in critical moments, we can get some things fixed.

“Again, I love our team’s attitude and effort and I expect us to have a great week in preparation this week. I’m looking forward to playing EKU. We’ve got guys on their staff. I know [EKU Head Coach] Walt [Wells] well; he spent time with me here. He’s done a remarkable job at EKU. I believe he’s coach of the year the last two years there. He did a heck of a job a year ago. [I’m] Really impressed by their quarterback. They played at a high level a year ago. I know they didn’t get off to the start that they wanted to this past week. There were a variety of reasons for that, mainly they got down so quick and got out of the game they typically play, but they generally play everybody very good. They had a heck of a year a year ago. Maxwell [Smith] is on their staff as the quarterbacks coach and CJ [Conrad] is the tight end coach and Walt spending time here, they know us very well. They do a very good job and they have a very good, tough team. I know them and the competitive nature of their staff and their team and their players, and they probably were not real pleased with the way they played in the opener at times. I’m sure they are going to want to come in here and improve like we want to improve and play extremely hard and play very well in their home state, right down the road from them. We’re looking forward to that. We know it will be a great challenge. Once again, just like anybody we’re playing, we need focus on ourselves. We need to improve this week. We need to coach harder in more detail. We need to execute better in critical moments.”

On how to fine tune third-down offense to increase time of possession…
“Again, just the things I just said — the details. You can’t have misidentification. You can’t get beat. You can’t have bad throws. You can’t have drops. You can spread it around; it’s not on any one area. The bottom line is precise execution, and we need to improve in that area.”

On Kenneth Horsey’s absence on the depth chart…
“The good news is that it will not be season ending at this point. He will be out for a couple weeks, I think, at least.”

On what else the offense did well…
“Overall, it was an improvement. I thought the guys played very physical. They wanted to play physical. I thought we targeted things the right way in the run game, even maybe on real efficient runs we have to clean up and get better. Our targets were better. We mis-ID’d some things in pass pro[tection] and we have to do a better job there. Part of that is overanalyzing, just make a call and live with it. It got us thinking too much. We’ll get them straightened out but I thought they played with really good effort and were playing physical. When we did things right, we were very efficient. I want to say [we averaged] seven yards a play. Very efficient in the things we were doing, we just have to [execute], those critical moments once again.”

On how Dylan Ray played after watching film…
“He played good. He played about like we thought he would. I had a lot of confidence in him going into it and I was impressed with the way he played.”

On how Jager Burton played after watching film…
“A lot of good and some things that just can’t happen. We expect consistency out of him. There’s a young man, in a new position, it’s a lot going on. Even with him making a lot of the protections [calls], ID’ing things, and then snapping, and then playing well. You put it all together, there’s a lot on his plate. I thought he handled it good, but we expect him to get better as we go along.”

On the difficulty of replicating the center position in practice…
“Yeah, I think that’s very true in a lot of ways. Dylan Ray, to your point, hadn’t had a lot of game snaps and goes in there for his first game and really did some good things. Jager’s had some experience, but it’s different at center. Experience matters and he’ll get more comfortable as we go. He battles, he works hard, and he’s very bright, so he’ll get it done.

On how the defensive line held up in the second half…
“The third and longs were very manageable for them [Ball State]. If you look early, I want to say on the long drive they got early, we had two penalties. I don’t think that was the drive, but we had two that helped them. I know we started with a defensive holding, then we gave them five yards and shortened it. Later in the game, there were a lot of manageable third downs. A lot of third-and-four, third-and-five and so you’re getting the ball out quick. They were spacing us out and getting rid of the ball. One, we were pressed on man [coverage] and got beat on that, some others we were in coverage in manageable situations, so the ball is coming. It’s not like they’re sitting back there forever and letting the D-line get home. One of the pressures we brought, when you’re doing that now the ball is coming out quick. That’s an easy read and quick read and so it’s not like you have time, it’s grab and throw. They converted that. We have to be more efficient. Once again, the devil’s in the details. The little things, the push in our zones, the matching things up properly. One time we left the back alone when we had everything covered.  We were inches away from sacks on some of these, too; it was quick. We have to be more precise and we could have had a couple more.”

On how you handle the stress of preaching ‘playing clean’ in practice and then it not necessarily coming to fruition…
“We have to teach better. We have to teach off this. Our team had great effort. I love that. They wanted to be physical, they wanted to be dominant, they wanted to impose their will on both sides. I thought our guys came out ready to play. But with that, with the hype, it’s maturity, it’s us coaching. Whether you simplify things, which I know we didn’t overdo it in this game. We just have to do a better job of teaching and the players have to be coachable. They have to understand that because they mean well.”

On Liam Coen’s return to the UK sideline…
“I don’t know this, he and I haven’t talked about this, but I would imagine that’s probably what puts some of the pressure on. I’m sure he, much like the players, much like myself, I came out of there obviously frustrated. That first game, you want to do so well and he’s coming back and he wants to do well. Heck, we had a good plan. We need to be better in certain areas, a little more precise. Again, not putting the blame on any one area or any one group. There’s just a lot of things we can do better. The quarterback can put the ball in a better spot at times, the receivers can flatten their route and be more precise on their route running, or we can ID things better. We have a lot of things to improve on.”

On Liam Coen saying the interception was a bad play call…
“You know him, he’s like that, like all of us. As coaches we’re going to be harder on ourselves than any of you can be. The play call was fine. There were guys open. I could question the decision on what guy we threw it to. There were guys, it was all slants, there were guys open.”

On Darrion Henry-Young being on the depth chart this week…
“He’s been consistently getting better and working, and I like that about him. He’s just gone to work and taken the coaching and Anwar [coach Anwar Stewart] does a really good job fundamentally and that D-line group in general has been collectively pretty good for each other and challenging each other and just trying to improve and play hard and I think he’s doing that.”

On Kahlil Saunders’ performance against Ball State…
“It was and he’s a big dude and he’s long and he can run. You saw that on one of the plays when he went flat down the sideline.  Actually, in camp he did that, chasing down a quarterback, he was running and just tweaked his hamstring. That took him out for a little bit in camp, but this week he ran down the line and he was moving. He gives us some twitch in that length and he’s getting better. Just keep on worrying about himself and fundamentally getting better and good things will happen.”

On Trevin Wallace’s contribution against Ball State…
“I think that’s a really good combination with D-Jack [D’Eryk Jackson] and Trevin. D-Jack is very anchored and in control of the middle when calls and adjustments and the comfort zone with those two playing [with] each other. Trevin will wow you with the athleticism and played a really good game. When Brad [defensive coordinator Brad White] brought him several times, you feel his impact on pressures. He’s a big dude that’s got some pop to him. He’s impactful, when we pressure, he can obviously run like heck. I want to say he ran, on our GPS don’t quote me exactly, I want to it was the second-fastest time on the whole game. It was like 21-something miles an hour. 21 point something.  That’s moving for a dude that’s 240 pounds. He can run. There was a couple things he drifted, just eye violation a little bit, but played a really good game. Played extremely hard and was sideline to sideline and I think D-Jack did some good things as well.”

On the cornerbacks after watching the film…
“Things we need to do better. We need to play stronger and fight through the ball. The long one that I was talking about, that they converted down the sideline, we got to play through the ball better, do things we’re taught to do, be more competitive at the top of the route. We got beat in another man [coverage] concept where we were, we were not strong enough at the top of the route. We didn’t finish through it, and anticipate things, and understand down and distance. I thought they did some good things at times. Thought early, Maxwell [Hairston], it felt like a first-time starter, and he’s going to get better and better. Again, those game reps early, were like a lot of guys early in the season, and he’ll improve.

“They did some good things, then played very tough at times as well. I thought Dru [Phillips] really pulled the pin and was physical on some and doing his job. He’s an experienced player, he can play some nickel, can play corner and doing some good things. Alex’s hit, being physical there, was really good to see. And the discipline of really hitting him with the shoulder and not his head, and not targeting the head, was good. So, there were some really good things in there as well. I felt frustrated afterwards, and I’m still … We’ll be very demanding this week.  To my point, we have to teach better, execute better, be more precise. If we stay with that same intensity, same physicality, good things will happen. There were a lot of discipline things in that game as well. A lot of things that the guys were coached to do and played very well at times. We just need to play good all the time.”

On your relationship with EKU head coach Walt Wells…
“I think it is unique, Walt and I have a really good, strong relationship. We’re both extremely busy running our jobs, and so it’s not like we get to spend as much time socially as we used to. When he was here, obviously he was a guy I talked to quite a bit, the role that he was in and the experience that he had, I just got to visit with him a bunch. We became good friends and, try to catch up here and there. We had lunch, I want to say one time in the off-season with a couple of mutual friends. We always enjoy seeing each other. And then I saw him at the Heart Ball, when I introduced him there.

“He’s just a really good person. I think he’s a really good coach. He does a great job in recruiting and a lot of experience in coaching. It’s evident, I want to say, wasn’t he coach of the year the last two years in that league? He’s done a really good job and they played really good a year ago. We watched them a lot in the offseason.  I don’t think this first game, was an indication of who they will be as the season goes on.”

On if Walt Wells’ heart attack made you any more introspective in your own life…
“Well, I think I always pay attention to that, being what happened to my father. When that happened to Walt, very scary moment, obviously. For us as coaches, we all have to watch that. I mean, we could talk about it until we are blue in the face, but we’re going to do what we do.”

On seeing CJ Conrad and Maxwell Smith on the other side of the ball…
“I’ll enjoy seeing those guys, but the focus will be there on all sides. They’re competitors, believe me, you ask them and I know they love UK and have strong relationships on this staff, but I expect them to want to go in there and try to rip our eyeballs out. And our team’s going to go out there and try to play hard and play physical and win.

“We want to play every play. That’s just it. I will say that our guys, they played hard start to finish [against Ball State]. We just need to be better as I mentioned 20 times in here today. But, if we continue to play hard, and get more detailed, that’s what we want to do. We did play hard Saturday. Again, I just wanted to run plays at the end of the game. We have 11 plays to that point offensively in the second half. We got to get in shape. We got to get better. Our operation was not clean Saturday with the first time Devin [Leary] reading it off the wristband. We weren’t overly complicated. The guys had a really good plan, but the operation, needs to smooth and get smoother.”

On if he was aware of EKU’s and Youngstown State’s tradition of football back in the days of Division I-AA…
“I was because I had gone to some Youngstown State games early. My uncle Bob coached with coach (Jim) Tressel and my Uncle Bob goes by Super Bob. We got Bob Stoops and then my uncle is Super Bob. He always likes to talk about he has more national championships than any of us, so he doesn’t let me live it down. So, of course, I know about Youngstown State and EKU.”

On playing the EKU quarterback Parker McKinney…
“I think it’s going to be another good challenge. He does very good job, very much like Devin did Saturday. Devin did a nice job in the pocket of eluding pressure and buying time. Retreating sometimes and getting off a fantastic throw that that drew a flag that led to seven points. That’s a big difference there. Instead of a sack and taking a longer field goal, he retreated and made a great throw, we got a PI [pass interference] and ended up scoring. There’s a big difference and I think EKU is the same way. He [McKinney] does a very good job being savvy in the pocket and extending plays and making plays. Again, watching all their film from last year, they have been very efficient. So, I expect them to make great improvement between week one and week two.  For them, I’m sure they’re looking at it like ‘Oh wow, that totally got out of hand because of the score.’ Went quick early and didn’t let them operate their normal offensive plan.”

DeAndre Square challenged Trevin Wallace to get on the captain’s list.  How important it is that your most talented players are also taking on a leadership role…
“I think it’s important, and I’ve always wanted to be authentic because I always wanted to be a player-led team, but I also just don’t want it to be a popularity contest. And so, we dove into it. I mentioned beforehand, and I don’t want to get too much in the weeds on it, but I voted for captains more indepth than I have before of just checking a box. Much like we do our evaluations, and our players do self-evaluations and peer evaluations, and they have to answer some detailed questions and give some answers on people and let them think about different things instead of talent or popularity or anything else. We did that this year and I got a lot more feedback. But what was interesting is it was right in line with who our captains were.”

On if you ever thought you’d be picking apart a 30-point win…
“I hope so. I need to, I always feel that way. I think you’re at a point, you always have to keep things in perspective and keep an even keel. I talk that to the team all the time. I think everybody understands a big win is a big win. A tough loss is a tough loss, but in general, for us, you really have to approach everything the same and always be demanding with our team.

“As a coach, you do have to approach things differently. People are different, teams are different, when you’re teaching, and for us it’s teaching and coaching, you have to have the right pulse and push them the right way. I believe this team can take hard coaching and respond the right way. We always want to be demanding, but never demeaning. I expect that with our players with one another as well, to keep each other accountable and be very demanding of what we expect, but not demean.”

On Ty Bryant…
“Ty’s been really solid. I really have been impressed overall with Ty, just the way he approaches it. He did come in early [enrolled in January]; I like the way he’s progressing. I like the way he approaches the game. I like the way he’s very serious about it. He takes pride in it. He’s getting better. He’s instinctual. He helps us on special teams. He’s our fourth safety, and so he will play, and I have confidence in him. He just has to continue to stay the course. He’s doing good things and, if every freshman approached every workout and every practice and everything, the way he does, then, they’d be further along and he’s done a good job.”

On Jeremy Flax’s and Courtland Ford’s performances against Ball State…
“When Jeremy was in there, I love [how he] really tried to play physical, and he really improved, and he had a good game. And Courtland, we had been rotating. They’re even, they could both play equally.

Courtland one time, he didn’t mis-ID, he tried to do too much.  He came down and was helping, and then somebody came late and gave up a pressure. When you’re in the moment, sometimes you’re unsure until you watch the film exactly what happened. You could almost understand it, you don’t just see it a little quicker. But Cortland did some good things as well. He passed some things off. He was physical. He did a nice job on a twist that shouldn’t be routine, that he made look routine and Eli [Cox] one time missed one, and he’s been around, you know what I mean? He’ll get that fixed quickly and easily. And so Courtland did some good things, but there was a pressure or two. And at the time, we felt like we were driving the ball with Flaxie and so we stayed with it. But they’re both starters. They’re both interchangeable and playing well.”