Hello HOB. We’ll have Mark Stoops joining us at Noon ET today to discuss the Wildcats’ Week 3 matchup with Akron. Stay tuned for the latest news and notes here…
MARK STOOPS Q&A:
* Stoops says Cats realize they have a lot to improve on before the competition level really starts to pick up. That needs to start with today’s practice.
* Stoops acknowledges the 9/11 anniversary and the need for us to keep those folks’ memory in our hearts and minds. Thankful for all the first-responders, police, fire, emergency medical.
* Stoops says the prognosis looks good for OC Liam Coen and his return to the office after a medical situation that led to a trip to the hospital on Sunday afternoon. “We’ll be fine. We’ve got it under control.” Had a good night of work to get things in place for Akron.
* Familiar with Akron HC Joe Moorhead from his time at Mississippi State. Will recognize some of the same stuff that he ran down there.
* On being pass-heavy early in games… Always searching for balance. Some situations in that game where things were blocked well. Had a couple of missed runs that they haven’t had. Sometimes trying to do too much. A couple of holding penalties, getting behind the chains. Being in 2nd & 8 or 9 a lot doesn’t leave you in a good play-calling situation, he says.
* Wasting some plays, possessions with one mistake here or there can throw the whole drive off.
* On allowing over 50% conversion rate on defense… “No excuses. There are things that we will get fixed.” A guy missing a signal, bad communication, a missed read, two guys dropping into the same area. But the guys up front are still causing a lot of pressure, so good things can happen if they clean up some stuff on the back end.
* Courtland Ford did a good job Saturday. Went the whole way. Pleased with his play at RT. Expects to have Jeremy Flax back on Saturday as well.
* Second half, Leary really got on a roll. He knows he’s got to start better, but was really good the rest of the game. Helps that they didn’t have the drops, too.
* Wallace playing fast, more comfortable in the game now. You can really see it.
* Even with the blocked punt, they were still in the plus for punting. High net. Impressive job by that unit.
* Impactful return for Barion Brown when they really needed it. Two games in a row they got that pickup from ST to help spark them.
* Akron rotated QBs this past week. Gotta be ready for a little bit of everything. They have some creatives. Really like Joe Moorhead.
* Offense still looking at things to expediate the offense, get a little more tempo going. Says Liam is hard on himself. “And people think I’m high-strong.” (Kinda some hints about what’s going on with him health-wise?)
* Bottom line is to win games and limit points, but there are a lot of stats that Stoops isn’t really crazy about right now with tempo and time of possession.
* Tayvion Robinson was a guy they challenged. Great example of maturity, being coachable, playing within the offense. Great play on that beautiful ball from Leary on the TD before halftime. Ran a great route, and Devin put the ball exactly where it needed to be.
* On film review of tackling… Had some one-on-ones where they could have gotten off the field, allowed EKU to extend drives.
* Expects the team to respond to not playing as well as expected the first two weeks. Notes, to their credit, they really approached practice well this past week. “I’m confident we’ll continue to grow and develop.”
* Was great to see Ray Davis get the score on the wheel route for the last TD. Great job of running that route by Ray, great throw by Devin, and a great finish to get to the end zone. Knew he was a potential playmaker in the pass game when they pursued him in the transfer portal.
* Jager Burton played better at center this week. Got Eli a few snaps at the end just to make sure they’re prepared in case a situation arises where they need him.
* On getting back to work whenever you have a situation like they had with Liam… Always tough, but really tough in this situation because the staff is so close. Says he’s about to get emotional just talking about it. “Whenever anything happens to on of our staff members, it’s hard.”
UPDATED UK DEPTH CHART:
MARK STOOPS Q&A:
* Stoops says Cats realize they have a lot to improve on before the competition level really starts to pick up. That needs to start with today’s practice.
* Stoops acknowledges the 9/11 anniversary and the need for us to keep those folks’ memory in our hearts and minds. Thankful for all the first-responders, police, fire, emergency medical.
* Stoops says the prognosis looks good for OC Liam Coen and his return to the office after a medical situation that led to a trip to the hospital on Sunday afternoon. “We’ll be fine. We’ve got it under control.” Had a good night of work to get things in place for Akron.
* Familiar with Akron HC Joe Moorhead from his time at Mississippi State. Will recognize some of the same stuff that he ran down there.
* On being pass-heavy early in games… Always searching for balance. Some situations in that game where things were blocked well. Had a couple of missed runs that they haven’t had. Sometimes trying to do too much. A couple of holding penalties, getting behind the chains. Being in 2nd & 8 or 9 a lot doesn’t leave you in a good play-calling situation, he says.
* Wasting some plays, possessions with one mistake here or there can throw the whole drive off.
* On allowing over 50% conversion rate on defense… “No excuses. There are things that we will get fixed.” A guy missing a signal, bad communication, a missed read, two guys dropping into the same area. But the guys up front are still causing a lot of pressure, so good things can happen if they clean up some stuff on the back end.
* Courtland Ford did a good job Saturday. Went the whole way. Pleased with his play at RT. Expects to have Jeremy Flax back on Saturday as well.
* Second half, Leary really got on a roll. He knows he’s got to start better, but was really good the rest of the game. Helps that they didn’t have the drops, too.
* Wallace playing fast, more comfortable in the game now. You can really see it.
* Even with the blocked punt, they were still in the plus for punting. High net. Impressive job by that unit.
* Impactful return for Barion Brown when they really needed it. Two games in a row they got that pickup from ST to help spark them.
* Akron rotated QBs this past week. Gotta be ready for a little bit of everything. They have some creatives. Really like Joe Moorhead.
* Offense still looking at things to expediate the offense, get a little more tempo going. Says Liam is hard on himself. “And people think I’m high-strong.” (Kinda some hints about what’s going on with him health-wise?)
* Bottom line is to win games and limit points, but there are a lot of stats that Stoops isn’t really crazy about right now with tempo and time of possession.
* Tayvion Robinson was a guy they challenged. Great example of maturity, being coachable, playing within the offense. Great play on that beautiful ball from Leary on the TD before halftime. Ran a great route, and Devin put the ball exactly where it needed to be.
* On film review of tackling… Had some one-on-ones where they could have gotten off the field, allowed EKU to extend drives.
* Expects the team to respond to not playing as well as expected the first two weeks. Notes, to their credit, they really approached practice well this past week. “I’m confident we’ll continue to grow and develop.”
* Was great to see Ray Davis get the score on the wheel route for the last TD. Great job of running that route by Ray, great throw by Devin, and a great finish to get to the end zone. Knew he was a potential playmaker in the pass game when they pursued him in the transfer portal.
* Jager Burton played better at center this week. Got Eli a few snaps at the end just to make sure they’re prepared in case a situation arises where they need him.
* On getting back to work whenever you have a situation like they had with Liam… Always tough, but really tough in this situation because the staff is so close. Says he’s about to get emotional just talking about it. “Whenever anything happens to on of our staff members, it’s hard.”
UPDATED UK DEPTH CHART:
