Hello HOB. I'll be following along with the HBC's weekly radio show and sharing the major talking points here on the HOB. Due to Mark Stoops being out of town for his mother's funeral, Vince Marrow is scheduled to sit in tonight with Tom Leach. Show starts at 6 ET. Stay tuned...
* Gotta have good leaders to push through these hard times, VM says. Have done it before. Thinks the guys will pick themselves up. Noted that strange things can happen in this sport. Just watched the Browns beat the Ravens yesterday.
* Team is banged up pretty bad right now, but a lot of these guys have pro aspirations, and when you make it to that level, you have to learn to play and perform even when you're hurting.
* Proud of the way Dane Key has performed. NFL scouts like what they're seeing. He's making himself some money.
* Thinks Pop Dumas-Johnson could be a big leader for this team, but he was hesitant when he first came in not to step on any toes. They want him to speak up and pull this defense together.
* Asked why recruiting is going well even though the team is struggling... Families come in to visit and see the environment, they like what they see and hear. They're actually flipping some guys from other schools lately, and may have another one this week ready to flip.
* NIL has been going really well of late, VM says. You can always do better, but the people are coming thru for them.
* Caller asks why these offenses and offensive coordinators are not working and whether the trajectory of the program is headed down... VM says Bush Hamdan is a really sharp guy. He knows what he's doing. It's one thing if you're getting your tail kicked, but it's always one little thing that seems to be causing their issues. Never just one guy or the same guy. Guarantees that he will get it turned around. We hear your concerns and we feel where you're coming from. We just ask to keep supporting us, give us a chance, and see what happens.
* Asked about Malachi Wood's performance in his first start... VM says for his first start, he held his own. Had some struggles as well, and that's what happens when you're thrown into the fire against good people. Auburn guy lined up over him was no joke.
* Caller asks where the physical ground game has gone... VM says it hurt a lot losing Chip Trayanum for so many games. Got him back, got hurt again. Likes the way the other backs are running, but Chip was a big, power back. They have a big, powerful guy committed right now. "Trust me, we will get back to that."
* Caller asks why he should feel good about the program moving forward... VM says pay attention to the recruiting they're doing, trust what the coaches have done in the past. "It just won't happen," he says about letting it fall apart. We've got talent. We need some more experience through the portal, but we have talent.
* Caller says Nick Saban used to always say the bench is a motivator but we don't seem to do that... VM says that's a fair question. Saban was definitely like that. But he says they won't play a guy if they have another who can do better. Just have to trust them that they know that.
* Asked why there aren't more touches for the tight ends, VM says there's a lot of things that have to happen in order to get those opportunities. They're chipping a lot right now to help the OTs. Jokes that Mrs. Stoops, rest her soul, used to always tell Mark that he needs to get the ball to the TEs.
* Caller suggests giving it to Deone Walker at the goal line... VM laughs and says please don't let him hear that. But he's athletic enough. He could do it.
* Asked how you keep your own guys happy during a rough season in the portal era... The whole administration works together at it. We don't really lose guys who are contributors. It's usually guys who aren't getting to play a lot who leave. But acknowledges that "we're playing a different game now." You just do you best to make sure the all-around culture is good, people they are around on a daily basis, from cooks to tutors and the whole staff. Assures people that Mark Stoops is a players' coach, and they love being here with him.
* On the redshirt rule, guys who could end up playing late in the season... This was one of the best classes we've ever recruited, and some of them haven't played a whole lot. You're going to see some of those guys down the stretch.
* Gotta have good leaders to push through these hard times, VM says. Have done it before. Thinks the guys will pick themselves up. Noted that strange things can happen in this sport. Just watched the Browns beat the Ravens yesterday.
* Team is banged up pretty bad right now, but a lot of these guys have pro aspirations, and when you make it to that level, you have to learn to play and perform even when you're hurting.
* Proud of the way Dane Key has performed. NFL scouts like what they're seeing. He's making himself some money.
* Thinks Pop Dumas-Johnson could be a big leader for this team, but he was hesitant when he first came in not to step on any toes. They want him to speak up and pull this defense together.
* Asked why recruiting is going well even though the team is struggling... Families come in to visit and see the environment, they like what they see and hear. They're actually flipping some guys from other schools lately, and may have another one this week ready to flip.
* NIL has been going really well of late, VM says. You can always do better, but the people are coming thru for them.
* Caller asks why these offenses and offensive coordinators are not working and whether the trajectory of the program is headed down... VM says Bush Hamdan is a really sharp guy. He knows what he's doing. It's one thing if you're getting your tail kicked, but it's always one little thing that seems to be causing their issues. Never just one guy or the same guy. Guarantees that he will get it turned around. We hear your concerns and we feel where you're coming from. We just ask to keep supporting us, give us a chance, and see what happens.
* Asked about Malachi Wood's performance in his first start... VM says for his first start, he held his own. Had some struggles as well, and that's what happens when you're thrown into the fire against good people. Auburn guy lined up over him was no joke.
* Caller asks where the physical ground game has gone... VM says it hurt a lot losing Chip Trayanum for so many games. Got him back, got hurt again. Likes the way the other backs are running, but Chip was a big, power back. They have a big, powerful guy committed right now. "Trust me, we will get back to that."
* Caller asks why he should feel good about the program moving forward... VM says pay attention to the recruiting they're doing, trust what the coaches have done in the past. "It just won't happen," he says about letting it fall apart. We've got talent. We need some more experience through the portal, but we have talent.
* Caller says Nick Saban used to always say the bench is a motivator but we don't seem to do that... VM says that's a fair question. Saban was definitely like that. But he says they won't play a guy if they have another who can do better. Just have to trust them that they know that.
* Asked why there aren't more touches for the tight ends, VM says there's a lot of things that have to happen in order to get those opportunities. They're chipping a lot right now to help the OTs. Jokes that Mrs. Stoops, rest her soul, used to always tell Mark that he needs to get the ball to the TEs.
* Caller suggests giving it to Deone Walker at the goal line... VM laughs and says please don't let him hear that. But he's athletic enough. He could do it.
* Asked how you keep your own guys happy during a rough season in the portal era... The whole administration works together at it. We don't really lose guys who are contributors. It's usually guys who aren't getting to play a lot who leave. But acknowledges that "we're playing a different game now." You just do you best to make sure the all-around culture is good, people they are around on a daily basis, from cooks to tutors and the whole staff. Assures people that Mark Stoops is a players' coach, and they love being here with him.
* On the redshirt rule, guys who could end up playing late in the season... This was one of the best classes we've ever recruited, and some of them haven't played a whole lot. You're going to see some of those guys down the stretch.
