Hello HOB. I'll be following along with the CMS Show again tonight and sharing all the noteworthy bits for those of you who may not be able to listen along live. Show starts at 6 ET. Stay tuned...
* Stoops says the team sees what it can be with consistent effort, preparation, able to compete with a great team like Georgia. Time to close strong. Says he's never shied away from talking about how important the Governor's Cup is, both to his team and to the fans. It means a lot.
* Caller asks about seeing more heavy sets. Stoops says they're almost always in 12 on every series. Loves the way Kattus has come on, played with juice, fearless. "A very good player."
* Asked what Levis has to do to cut down on turnovers... Stoops says it's not all on him. Team needs to play better around him. Some of those are due to protection, some due to routes, injuries, etc., etc. Will won't make excuses, though, and will be the first to tell you he needs to be better. Nobody cares about winning and preparing to win more than him. "I wouldn't trade that guy for anybody. I'm glad he's on our team this week." Also noted the arm strength on those deep balls into the wind in the 4Q. Really impressive.
* On limiting sacks... Guys really strained, played hard. Good plan to chip and protect Levis. Nice to be able to play a team that good and protect him that well. Will Levis was appreciative of their effort, said it was the least amount he's been hit all year. Feels really good, physically, right now.
* Caller asks why they haven't taken more deep shots like they did at the end of the UGA game... Stoops says they have, but the protection has been an issue on some of those, and coverage has been an issue at times where Will has to check it down to someone else, "but I can promise you it's not from lack of trying to get the ball down the field."
* Really happy with Dinkins' progress on the DL. Has put himself in a position to help them moving forward. A kid who gets a lot of extra lifting and coaching in. "He didn't blame anyone for lack of playing time, he went to work." Justin Rogers has also been much more active, working hard. Stoops loves that whole group. "Good juice around the building, at practice. They're all feeding off that."
* On support from the administration on NIL... Definitely thinks it's there. It's a hard thing to navigate. Doesn't fault Mitch for being thorough and making sure UK was doing things the right way. "It's just a different world. Absolutely insane what's going on." Added, "Do you have any idea how many people are going after our young players? We have some of the best freshmen around. It's like a free-for-all.... It's mass chaos. And there's nobody really to report. I'm not singling anyone out. I'm tired of people telling me it's this school or that school and I'm singling people out. I'm not. But it's happening... It's a crazy world... I don't know how you stop that. With free access to transfer and NIL, it's 100% free agency."
* Caller decides to take a shot at Stoops, asks if he feels fortunate to work in an industry that rewards underperformance with big raises. Stoops handled it well, kind of humored the guy by saying he does feel fortunate to work in this field.
* Stoops says the team sees what it can be with consistent effort, preparation, able to compete with a great team like Georgia. Time to close strong. Says he's never shied away from talking about how important the Governor's Cup is, both to his team and to the fans. It means a lot.
* Caller asks about seeing more heavy sets. Stoops says they're almost always in 12 on every series. Loves the way Kattus has come on, played with juice, fearless. "A very good player."
* Asked what Levis has to do to cut down on turnovers... Stoops says it's not all on him. Team needs to play better around him. Some of those are due to protection, some due to routes, injuries, etc., etc. Will won't make excuses, though, and will be the first to tell you he needs to be better. Nobody cares about winning and preparing to win more than him. "I wouldn't trade that guy for anybody. I'm glad he's on our team this week." Also noted the arm strength on those deep balls into the wind in the 4Q. Really impressive.
* On limiting sacks... Guys really strained, played hard. Good plan to chip and protect Levis. Nice to be able to play a team that good and protect him that well. Will Levis was appreciative of their effort, said it was the least amount he's been hit all year. Feels really good, physically, right now.
* Caller asks why they haven't taken more deep shots like they did at the end of the UGA game... Stoops says they have, but the protection has been an issue on some of those, and coverage has been an issue at times where Will has to check it down to someone else, "but I can promise you it's not from lack of trying to get the ball down the field."
* Really happy with Dinkins' progress on the DL. Has put himself in a position to help them moving forward. A kid who gets a lot of extra lifting and coaching in. "He didn't blame anyone for lack of playing time, he went to work." Justin Rogers has also been much more active, working hard. Stoops loves that whole group. "Good juice around the building, at practice. They're all feeding off that."
* On support from the administration on NIL... Definitely thinks it's there. It's a hard thing to navigate. Doesn't fault Mitch for being thorough and making sure UK was doing things the right way. "It's just a different world. Absolutely insane what's going on." Added, "Do you have any idea how many people are going after our young players? We have some of the best freshmen around. It's like a free-for-all.... It's mass chaos. And there's nobody really to report. I'm not singling anyone out. I'm tired of people telling me it's this school or that school and I'm singling people out. I'm not. But it's happening... It's a crazy world... I don't know how you stop that. With free access to transfer and NIL, it's 100% free agency."
* Caller decides to take a shot at Stoops, asks if he feels fortunate to work in an industry that rewards underperformance with big raises. Stoops handled it well, kind of humored the guy by saying he does feel fortunate to work in this field.
