Mike Stoops has been on Mark's radar as a staff member at UK going back a couple of years now and it became a reality this offseason. Here are notes from the inside linebackers coach who is succeeding Jon Sumrall. He's got some talent to work with and develop...
** Opens by saying the people of Lexington and the administration have been so good to his family. Mark has done an unbelievable job of building a program at UK. He's looked at opportunities before but the timing seemed better this time around for a lot of reasons. Trying to adapt to UK's system has been fun. The players have really jumped out along with the staff. The quality of players in the room and the leadership are impressive. The linebacker room has been very impressive. He wants to "create value" for them as people and players.
** There's a good culture in the locker room. Setting good examples for players is important as coaches. Relationships are very important because it's a new era for football. You want players to feel like they can be themselves and open. Their relationships will grow stronger as time goes on.
** Having two Super Seniors makes it a little easier and more enjoyable. He leans on Square and Jones. They're very good in understanding what they want to accomplish in the defense. "That's a good sign."
** Says he thoroughly enjoyed his time at Alabama. He learned a great deal. You never stop learning and better be open to learning new things or you'll die. What he learned at Alabama more than anything was how they pushed themselves and also to grow/adapt as things changed.
** The way things ended at Oklahoma was difficult. He needed a little time off but he enjoyed the process at Alabama. Every day was fun for him to go to work. It was a limited role for them but it never felt that way. No matter what your role is it's significant to Nick Saban. He had a lot of questions watching them from afar. They had tried to make some adjustments at Oklahoma to try to adapt to some things they were doing "but it was too late."
** Mike says part of the timing with him coming to UK is how Mark has grown as a coach. But he works with Brad White more than anybody. White has been explaining how and why they do things. There's still a brother connection but they've grown so much since they were together at Arizona. They're two very different people than they were back then. You stay in your lane and do your job the best you can.
** Mike Stoops says last year was a mixture a year ago. They were young in the secondary and thinks you'll see a lot of growth. Thinks there are talented players. The inside backers are talented and the edge guys will be better. JJ Weaver was coming off a knee injury and watching him two years ago vs last year was a difference. It takes a good year to come back to full strength. Thought very highly of the seniors UK lost (Paschal, McCall, Corker) based on watching tape and they're a lot to replace as well.
** Asked how familiar he is with Kentucky, Mike Stoops says he's not "overly" familiar with UK. There were some frustrating games, a couple of Florida games he's watched, and the Missouri game.
** Corey Edmond and Mark Hill have coached for three Stoops brothers. Said he has connected some with Vince from their time at Youngstown.
** Did say he was at the Kentucky-Georgia game in 2018.
** Their MO (Mark and Mike) in the business has been to take tougher jobs and make them better and winning at places where it's not the easiest or when they've had a little less talent than some jobs. It's about getting players to understand their roles and execute a game plan with toughness and discipline.
** Want to "keep knocking on the door" and UK has some steps still to take. Doesn't think UK's players are afraid of going into that world.
** Asked about the evolution of college offenses, Stoops said when he was at Oklahoma the spread was very prolific. Some of Bob Stoops' really good teams were more downhill, two tight ends. He notices more of that trend now. If you watch Georgia. Or the physical brand that Alabama plays. Even with the gun, RPO, the offense is built around physicality and the line of scrimmage. The line of scrimmage is where games are won. That's what Mark wants UK's DNA to be. Mike said he liked that and agrees. Likes what they do by creating some formations that can be problematic but there's enough deception in what they do to create vision problems for linebackers.
** Mike says Mark was the baby in the family and "you know how the littlest is." Very proud of what he's accomplished and overcome. Happy they're in a better place as a program and knowing they can still improve.
** Opens by saying the people of Lexington and the administration have been so good to his family. Mark has done an unbelievable job of building a program at UK. He's looked at opportunities before but the timing seemed better this time around for a lot of reasons. Trying to adapt to UK's system has been fun. The players have really jumped out along with the staff. The quality of players in the room and the leadership are impressive. The linebacker room has been very impressive. He wants to "create value" for them as people and players.
** There's a good culture in the locker room. Setting good examples for players is important as coaches. Relationships are very important because it's a new era for football. You want players to feel like they can be themselves and open. Their relationships will grow stronger as time goes on.
** Having two Super Seniors makes it a little easier and more enjoyable. He leans on Square and Jones. They're very good in understanding what they want to accomplish in the defense. "That's a good sign."
** Says he thoroughly enjoyed his time at Alabama. He learned a great deal. You never stop learning and better be open to learning new things or you'll die. What he learned at Alabama more than anything was how they pushed themselves and also to grow/adapt as things changed.
** The way things ended at Oklahoma was difficult. He needed a little time off but he enjoyed the process at Alabama. Every day was fun for him to go to work. It was a limited role for them but it never felt that way. No matter what your role is it's significant to Nick Saban. He had a lot of questions watching them from afar. They had tried to make some adjustments at Oklahoma to try to adapt to some things they were doing "but it was too late."
** Mike says part of the timing with him coming to UK is how Mark has grown as a coach. But he works with Brad White more than anybody. White has been explaining how and why they do things. There's still a brother connection but they've grown so much since they were together at Arizona. They're two very different people than they were back then. You stay in your lane and do your job the best you can.
** Mike Stoops says last year was a mixture a year ago. They were young in the secondary and thinks you'll see a lot of growth. Thinks there are talented players. The inside backers are talented and the edge guys will be better. JJ Weaver was coming off a knee injury and watching him two years ago vs last year was a difference. It takes a good year to come back to full strength. Thought very highly of the seniors UK lost (Paschal, McCall, Corker) based on watching tape and they're a lot to replace as well.
** Asked how familiar he is with Kentucky, Mike Stoops says he's not "overly" familiar with UK. There were some frustrating games, a couple of Florida games he's watched, and the Missouri game.
** Corey Edmond and Mark Hill have coached for three Stoops brothers. Said he has connected some with Vince from their time at Youngstown.
** Did say he was at the Kentucky-Georgia game in 2018.
** Their MO (Mark and Mike) in the business has been to take tougher jobs and make them better and winning at places where it's not the easiest or when they've had a little less talent than some jobs. It's about getting players to understand their roles and execute a game plan with toughness and discipline.
** Want to "keep knocking on the door" and UK has some steps still to take. Doesn't think UK's players are afraid of going into that world.
** Asked about the evolution of college offenses, Stoops said when he was at Oklahoma the spread was very prolific. Some of Bob Stoops' really good teams were more downhill, two tight ends. He notices more of that trend now. If you watch Georgia. Or the physical brand that Alabama plays. Even with the gun, RPO, the offense is built around physicality and the line of scrimmage. The line of scrimmage is where games are won. That's what Mark wants UK's DNA to be. Mike said he liked that and agrees. Likes what they do by creating some formations that can be problematic but there's enough deception in what they do to create vision problems for linebackers.
** Mike says Mark was the baby in the family and "you know how the littlest is." Very proud of what he's accomplished and overcome. Happy they're in a better place as a program and knowing they can still improve.
Last edited by a moderator:
