Challenge in openers: Trying to do 'too much' Stoops warns
Mark Stoops worked with receiver Tae Tae Crumes during a recent UK football practice. (Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated)
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
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@JDrumUK
Even amid a coaching career that spans 31 years, Mark Stoops admitted Monday that he still gets anxious as a new season approaches.
That excitement is often elevated for players, the Kentucky head coach added, which can lead to mistakes in the season opener.
"The biggest thing is, early in the season, players want to do too much," said Stoops, whose Wildcats will face Louisiana Monroe on Saturday in a Noon ET kickoff at Kroger Field. "They want every play's a touchdown or every play's a stop or a sack or whatever, and you fundamentally sometimes lose sight of things."
Openers have been a bit of a challenge for Stoops since he arrived at UK in 2013. The Cats are 5-3 in Week 1 games under his leadership, including a 29-13 loss to Auburn last year in the pandemic-altered 10-game SEC schedule, but even the so-called "cupcakes" have occasionally left a bitter taste.
Kentucky infamously lost to Western Kentucky, 35-26 at Nashville, in Stoops' first game as a head coach. In 2015, the Cats eked out a 40-33 win over UL Lafayette. The following season, UK opened with a 44-35 loss to Southern Miss in which it blew a 25-point first-half lead.
And in 2018 and 2019, MAC opponents Central Michigan and Toledo each pushed the Cats well into the second half before succumbing.
Moral of the story? The Cats may be big favorites on paper going into Saturday's matchup against Terry Bowden's Warhawks, but it doesn't mean much without execution.
Stoops shared an example of the opening-week challenges from one of his son's recent games.
"I noticed that, with the high school, it's the same way. You want the end result right now," he said. "It was interesting. It just brought it to my attention right there, that it's truly about fundamentally doing the things necessary to take care of your responsibility. Players always want to do too much, too early, and that can be a problem.
"To execute, it takes all 11 on every play, and sometimes early on, it's not from a lack of want-to. You just have to be very disciplined and do the things necessary and count on and trust the people next to you to do their job."
One position group, in particular, can offer an indication of whether your team is playing assignment football, Stoops noted.
"I always look at D-Linemen early," he said. "They all want to go make the big play, but you have to take care of your primary responsibility first and then go make plays."
Another area of concern -- although also one of great optimism entering the season -- is junior quarterback Will Levis. The Penn State transfer with a much-hyped strong right arm could enter Game 1 pressing to make a strong first impression.
"Absolutely, Stoops said of those concerns, "but I have confidence in him. Again, he's mature, really coached well."
While those "too much" concerns will always linger, Stoops likes the demeanor of his team as it enters the 2021 season.
"I just like the way they've been approaching the entire camp," he said, "really focusing on each day and the process, trying to get better each and every day. I know that's boring, but you can't just have that end result... It's one play, one possession at a time."
