Coach Mark Stoops
Press Conference
Opening StatementI thought overall it was a good day. Really appreciate the folks that came out and to you guys for -- you were probably up in the pressbox staying warm, but appreciate the fans and you all coming out. Looked pretty iffy there this morning; about a half hour before we went out the snow was coming down sideways, but pleased with the scrimmage.
We were basic on both sides of the ball, but it still, it's a fundamental game. It was nice to see Will (Levis) be efficient. We all know how talented he is and the arm talent, but it was nice to see some of the receivers step up and make plays for him, and I thought all the quarterbacks did a nice job, and between the tight ends, the backs, Chris (Rodriguez Jr.) made a really nice catch to score I think it was on a 3rd down, which was a really nice play.
I saw Brenden Bates have a really nice catch in a competitive situation, Dane Key stepped up, Will looked good, so overall there was some nice playmaking going on out there.
Defensively I thought it was, again, Coach White was relatively basic, which is what we want to see in the spring, just basic, fundamental, good football, and I thought they did some good things. We stayed relatively healthy, so overall productive.
A little different, we get to come back and have a couple more practices, which is different for me. It's the first time since I've been head coach here, but that's okay. You get to maybe learn some things from this spring game and take it next week and clean up a few more things and get thoroughly prepared for the spring as far as teaching some of the players what we expect from them when they have to do it by themselves because there's a period there in the summer when we're not allowed to be with them when they've got to go out and take care of business by themselves and throw and all that, so we will come back with a few practices next week and wrap things up.
But all good today.
Q. Jordan Lovett made a couple plays out there, made a bunch of tackles. What do you like about his game?
MARK STOOPS: Yeah, he's a very athletic guy. I have high expectations for him. These kind of situations really help him because it's time for him to get very serious about the game and continue to really study and get quality reps out there, you know, because he has the ability and we need him to step up and be a player for us.
I think he needs to continue to mature and continue to approach the game in a serious nature, and if he does that, then he'll make some really big strides before next fall.
Q. Michael Drennen II was very involved there. Is he making the progression you want to see from a guy that came in pretty touted?
MARK STOOPS: Yeah, he definitely is. You can see he's talented out of the backfield. He's making some really difficult runs, as well, and showing some toughness. We have some options back there, but Michael is certainly doing some good things.
Q. Blocking and tackling you don't always get to see throughout the spring. As a defensive coach did you approve of the tackling?It was definitely sloppy out there. It's a fine line there with going how many days completely live and getting that work in, and again, I think -- now, there was definitely some sloppy play out there at times. I've got to see exactly who it was and where it came from. But I know there were some missed tackles and position on the football was poor, and that's something that always really bothers me, whether it's in the spring or whether it's early in the season, just basic fundamental position on the ball, containing the football and making good tackles with good leverage, and certainly there was some sloppy play going on out there today.
Q. This was the first time the fans have gotten to see Rich Scangarello's offense. What would you have to say about how you liked the offense today?
MARK STOOPS: You know, when it's all said and done, we're very excited about where we're going. Again, we were relatively basic today, but there's quite a bit of carryover that you can see, some nuances. You probably aren't used to seeing a fullback back there sometimes, so that's a little different, but really you're just moving the tight end around when you're playing with 12 personnel and how you move them and what you do with them and create different looks. But there's a lot we can do that way, but we're excited about where we're heading with the offense.
Q. Any particular position group you were impressed with or any position group that needs work?
MARK STOOPS: Well, I think one thing was good to see is I thought the receiver group in general, seemed like they made some pretty difficult catches. They may have dropped a few, but overall pleased with that group.
Q. What's kind of impressed you the most with Dane? Obviously he had a drop early but he showed maturity by making a couple good plays after that.
MARK STOOPS: Yeah, he has a really good feel for the game. For a guy that could be playing spring sports in high school right now, he's very mature in his approach. He's been very consistent. With young guys you have a tendency to see them have some ups and some downs, and of course that will be the case with him, but he's more consistent than most younger people I've seen.
I like the way he approaches it, he's very mature, and he also has a very good feel for it. The talent is there, but there's also some things that -- the understanding of the game that you can tell very early that he has that.
Q. Anything going on with D'Eryk Jackson?
MARK STOOPS: D'Eryk has been off and on with a couple nagging injuries. Not major, but he has not been completely healthy.
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